How to do research without getting arrested?

Heh, who told you it was illegal to google the words 'dark web?' Those people are fucking with you.

It's not illegal to access the dark web, or the deep web. It's illegal to do illegal things on either, same as it is to do illegal things on the regular web.

I've looked up information on the dark web before, even going so far as to checking out what I'd need to access it (from what I remember, it's simply a series of filters you download and install on your usual browser) and I wasn't visited by law enforcement. Everybody who's been arrested for selling drugs or stolen credit card numbers were arrested for just those activities. If information about it were so illegal, it'd have been scrubbed and deleted aeons ago; hell, there's even a Wikipedia page with information on what you can find and how to access it. Want more detailed information? Here's a publicly available guide, released just this last June.

Now, calm down. The "panic" surrounding it isn't doing you any good; you can research it without fear of repercussion and disclaimers on public forums on your activity regarding said research aren't necessary and only further cultivate any misinformation.

godzillachild said:

With a title like THAT, you're probably wondering what I could possibly want to be writing about. Well, what I would like to write about is a hacker who sells mystery boxes on the Dark Web. For those of you who don't know what the Dark Web is, it's that part of the internet where all the scary people hang out and it's SUPER ILLEGAL to even google the words "Dark Web". I'm probably on a watchlist already and all I've done is watch Youtube videos of it. They say that you can't write what you don't know...but if I log on the Dark Web just to see what it's like, I risk getting in a whole lot of trouble. And I don't even have any bitcoins.

My question to the more experienced writers on this site is, what should I do for this story? Should I play it safe and make everything up based on Youtube videos, or should I take the plunge and venture into the Dark Web to get the most accurate depiction of a Dark Web hacker that I can? Or is there a safe place to do research on things that I don't know about? I don't want to get in trouble (either with the bad guys or the police) but I don't want to lie about it either. What would you do?

Disclaimer: I haven't done anything yet except watch Youtube unboxing videos, which is what gave me this crazy idea.

Click to expand...

Whoa! Slow down there buddy, chill! Dark Net isn't all that bad and you are accessing the Deep Web right now.

First of all, it's a common misconception to think that the Dark Net covers 80% of the internet while everything else you find on google only covers 20%. Now the truth is, The Deep Web is actually anything in the internet that's cannot be found using search engine, for example: Hidden Blogs, Private Youtube Videos, Your Bank Account, and maybe some threads in this website. Your email exist in the internet but people can't go find your messages content using google search. That's why it's called Deep Web, and it is sometimes mistaken as the Dark Net.

Second of all, to access the Dark Net, you need special browser. If you wanted to start your research, I suggest going to the Intel Sharing website, just look it up. I'm not going into details here since if you cannot figure it out with this simple instruction that means you're still not ready to dive into the Dark Net yet. No offense, but it's not a place to play around in, but it's pretty safe once you get the hang of it.

Thirdly and most importantly, security measures. Don't download anything from the Dark Net, read the necessary instructions on safety and stuff, don't go chatting with anons, DO NOT REVEAL YOUR PERSONAL INFO, Not email, not address, not name.

Fourth, if you are still researching on stuff in the Clear Net (Usual internet) I suggest using DuckDuckGo search engine, Proxy like Psiphon, and VPN. Not many people get in trouble for looking for stuff, but you never know. Seriously, PROXY, if you're really going to search some hardcore secret stuff like the Panama Papers, you'll get in trouble if you don't have a Proxy of VPN.

Also, if you have a webcam, cover it with something. Hackers are known to spy people through it.

Remember, stay safe! Read the safety instructions, there are a lot of them in the web. Clear Net can be as dangerous as Dark Net any day.

Also, a side note, a history of the Dark Net.

The Dark Net is actually created by the government. It is an internet that exist outside the usual internet. (Make sense?). It is used by the government to spy anonymously on people in the Clear Net.

However, one day, some dude that I can't remember his name just realized something: If only the government can access the Dark Net, doesn't that mean when people find someone accessing their server through the Dark Net, they'll know immediately that it's the Government?

And thus, the Dark Net is open for public.

In another word, no it's not illegal to access the dark net. The government needs you to access it. As long as you don't do anything stupid like searching for CP, then you won't get in trouble.

By the way: You should watch this for reference. This will give you an actual grasp on what the Dark Net is and what it does. Clear up those myths and you are on your way to be a veteran Netizen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUP0tx7Ib2w

Also, keep in mind two things. One, the internet is constantly changing. So you can easily argue "that's what THIS PART of the DW in my story is like, even if your experience is different."

Two, if the DW is not accessed by most people, they won't know if you're accurate or not. I wouldn't know. Most Hollywood scriptwriters don't know beans about computers, but they keep selling scripts where "hacking" is someone tapping frantically for a few seconds of screen time. The audience doesn't really care if it's accurate, and if you're talking about illegal stuff, perhaps that's for the best.

The first thing that came to mind when I read this thread title was the instructions I gave my husband and adult son last night. (We were watching some crime show on TV.)

"If I'm ever arrested - for anything. ANYTHING. Whether I did it or not. Actually, ESPECIALLY if I didn't do it - burn my computers and iPad. All of them. Do a low-level format and then put everything into a kiln or something."

With all the searches I've done for various crimes, they can put together a circumstantial case for just about anything.

Myrealana said:

The first thing that came to mind when I read this thread title was the instructions I gave my husband and adult son last night. (We were watching some crime show on TV.)

"If I'm ever arrested - for anything. ANYTHING. Whether I did it or not. Actually, ESPECIALLY if I didn't do it - burn my computers and iPad. All of them. Do a low-level format and then put everything into a kiln or something."

With all the searches I've done for various crimes, they can put together a circumstantial case for just about anything.

Click to expand...

Just FYI burning won't do crap. There are forensic data recovery firms that specialize in recovering data from fire-damaged drives and machines of all types. You can ship them a soaking wet, charred lump and they'll send you back your files.

You want very powerful magnets.

Also, bonus tip, if you commit a crime using a gun, seal it in a ziploc with salt water. A week or two later it'll be useless to a ballistics expert. They'll never match it to bullets fired.

godzillachild said:

With a title like THAT, you're probably wondering what I could possibly want to be writing about. Well, what I would like to write about is a hacker who sells mystery boxes on the Dark Web. For those of you who don't know what the Dark Web is, it's that part of the internet where all the scary people hang out and it's SUPER ILLEGAL to even google the words "Dark Web". I'm probably on a watchlist already and all I've done is watch Youtube videos of it. They say that you can't write what you don't know...but if I log on the Dark Web just to see what it's like, I risk getting in a whole lot of trouble. And I don't even have any bitcoins.

My question to the more experienced writers on this site is, what should I do for this story? Should I play it safe and make everything up based on Youtube videos, or should I take the plunge and venture into the Dark Web to get the most accurate depiction of a Dark Web hacker that I can? Or is there a safe place to do research on things that I don't know about? I don't want to get in trouble (either with the bad guys or the police) but I don't want to lie about it either. What would you do?

Disclaimer: I haven't done anything yet except watch Youtube unboxing videos, which is what gave me this crazy idea.

Click to expand...

Lee Child's Make Me ( link ) is about the Dark Web.

-cb

cornflake said:

Just FYI burning won't do crap. There are forensic data recovery firms that specialize in recovering data from fire-damaged drives and machines of all types. You can ship them a soaking wet, charred lump and they'll send you back your files.

You want very powerful magnets.

Also, bonus tip, if you commit a crime using a gun, seal it in a ziploc with salt water. A week or two later it'll be useless to a ballistics expert. They'll never match it to bullets fired.

Click to expand...

I used to work for a government contracted organization and one of the things I had to do was take the hard drives out of retired computers - I stacked these had drives above 10 high into a cylinder that held about 10 of these stacks around the circumference. So, about 100 drives at a time. Then I'd walk over to the wall, flip a switch that controlled power to the outlet where this contraption was plugged in. A loud resounding CLANG sounded as these hard drives hit the rather large magnet at the core of this cylinder. The power was left on for about a minute. The power was then cut, and the drives would be removed, now completely de-magnetized. Then they'd be sent down another contraption that had a conveyer belt. This would mechanically remove the platters inside the drives themselves and send them into the equivalent of a CD shredder. The shredded shavings would then be bundled in shielded locked containers and shipped off to Iron Mountain

Yay Iron Mountain! Locally (Vancouver) they store our hard-copy files (the stuff that has to be kept for 7 years for the government, etc.) They have never lost anything. We occasional misfile, but nothing has ever been lost.

If the OP must delve into the nether depths of the web, one may be well advised for some peace of mind to do so via a well-regarded VPN and employ the TOR browser (or perhaps via TAILS . . . see link).

https://tails.boum.org/

Or you could ask a cybersecurity expert. You don't have to jump off a skyscraper to find out what happens when you fall off a skyscraper, or suffer a gunshot to the arm to understand a gunshot wound to the arm. And the best part is you can maintain contact with your expert to make sure you are correctly applying what you have learned.

Wow. This is scary stuff. I'm trying to write a short story about a 14yo hacker. Thinking now that I should make it more character-driven and leave out all the tech stuff I don't know about.

I'd go with 'character-driven' as well, because tech change happens so fast, relatively speaking. If you write the latest and best state-of-the-art tech, by the time it's published, something newer and better will have come along.
Better to keep it a little fuzzy.
Look how telephones have changed in the last 60 years. And yet, 'I made a call' still works.