He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of front-line experience as a probation officer. “When the phones were analysed, there were also text messages, one of which suggested that Mr Wright was dealing in drugs and others which showed that he was buying bitcoin,” Justice Dunningham said. Customs investigators found that Wright had used encrypted applications on his phones, including messages inviting a contact to use the confidential messaging app Wickr. Police told the High Court that the “totality of evidence” pointed to Wright having been involved in the commercial supply of meth, as well as importing it. The police application to the High Court for the forfeiture of the property claimed it was “tainted”, being partly paid for by the importation and supply of methamphetamine.
The Role Of Tor
- But it can also make people do things they would never do in their real lives or would never admit to.
- These platforms keep changing their addresses to avoid DDoS attacks or law enforcement agencies.
- They were shocked when a detective produced a warrant to search their house and immediately asked to be shown their son’s bedroom.
- Dream Market is a “dark web” marketplace similar to eBay whereby anonymous users buy and sell illicit items such as prescription drugs, narcotics, personal information, Bitcoin virtual currency and other contraband.
- Also, try its services risk-free with the 30-day money-back guarantee.
One person faces 13 importing charges relating to ecstasy, LSD and cannabis. Ms Knight says the local operation has so far resulted in six arrests and 66 formal warnings. Several more investigations are in progress with more people yet to be visited. A quick guide for developers to automate mergers and acquisitions reports with Python and AI.
How To Access Dark Web Safely In New Zealand: An Easy Guide
Moreover, use it only for ethical and legal purposes to avoid legal consequences on the Dark Web. You can use Tor to access the surface web since it only provides an encrypted network and transfers your data through random nodes, making it hard to track you. You are safe to use the dark web until you access or participate in any illegal activity.
It enhances buyer transparency by importing vendor feedback with PGP proof. Torzon offers a premium account option for additional benefits and is valued at approximately $15 million, accepting payments in Bitcoin (BTC) and Monero (XMR). Some fake sellers take your crypto and never ship what you ordered, or phishing sites that look like real marketplaces but steal your login info. And then there’s malware—click the wrong link or download the wrong file, and your device could get infected. Despite growing crackdowns from law enforcement agencies, the dark web remains a hotbed of criminal activity, offering everything from drugs to stolen data.
DuckDuckGo — Private Search Engine That Can Access The Dark Web
Sci-Hub is a massive database that eliminates the barriers to getting scientific knowledge. It contains millions of scientific research documents from around the world. The site seeks to liberate information by making it free to individuals and institutions. The website is available on the surface web and has a .onion site.

One of the most common is the exit scam, where a marketplace suddenly disappears and takes everyone’s money with it. It’s been a constant back-and-forth between cybercriminals and law enforcement, with each new site trying to be smarter and more secure than the last. The second category consists of data stores, which specialize in stolen information. In 2023, the dark web attracted an average of 2.7 million daily users, with Germany now leading as the country with the highest number of Tor users, surpassing the United States for the first time in years. As the digital world continues to evolve, the Dark Web will undoubtedly remain an important and often controversial part of the internet’s landscape.
Active for a decade since 2014, it is a widely used credit card shop used to source stolen credit card information such as dumps, CVVs, Wholesale Accounts. If you ever decide to explore the dark web, protecting your identity is crucial. Most people start by using the Tor Browser, which hides your IP address.
Meth ‘supply Ring’ Busted In Christchurch
But what is really frightening is how otherwise normal they seem to be. You would think there would have to be something that gives them away, but they seem to be rational, intelligent, not necessarily lacking in social skills. You investigated “Lux” aka Matthew Graham, the young man who ran the dark web’s worst paedophile and hurtcore sites from his bedroom in Melbourne.
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For example, the Epic browser is programmed to always run in private mode, so it doesn’t store data about which sites you visit. It is based on Chromium, the open-source of Google chrome but the developers claim to have removed all Google tracking software and that the browser stops other companies from tracing you too. Tor is where the now-defunct Silk Road drugs marketplace could be found, it’s where Black Market Reloaded traded drugs and weapons, and it’s where the US National Security Agency says “very naughty people” hang out. It’s not the only network on the Dark Web – for example, you may have heard of the Freenet anti-censorship network – but it’s by far the most popular.
An analysis of over 100 darknet markets between 2010 and 2017 found sites were active for an average of just over eight months. Of the more than 110 darknet drug markets active from 2010 to 2019, just ten remained fully operational by 2019. An analysis of over 100 darknet markets between 2010 and 2017 found sites were active for an average of just over eight months.
Facebook — Dark Web Version Of Popular Social Media Site
Its focus on financial fraud and high-value transactions has attracted a dedicated user base, contributing to its growing reputation and market value. Coauthor Dr. Monica Barratt, a senior research fellow at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, said that this potential mismatch between expectation and reality is what motivated the team to conduct the research. They use pseudonymous wallets, privacy coins (like Monero), mixers, chain-hopping, and non-KYC platforms to obscure transaction trails. Ransomware and cryptocurrency-based crimes saw a significant increase in 2023, with a nearly $176 million rise compared to 2022. For example, the Freedom of Information Foundation has long advocated for the use of the Dark Web in enabling free speech in repressive regimes.

When purchased on the dark web, drugs sold as MDMA (in both powder and pill form), cocaine and LSD were significantly more likely to contain the substance advertised. This tallies with the idea that when buyers are often able to leave reviews on dark-web marketplaces, vendors there may be more accountable than their in-person counterparts. N 2025, dark web websites frequently change domains and are often short-lived. Accessing them may require .onion links and the Tor browser, but caution is advised due to legality and cybersecurity risks. No, black market websites operate illegally and pose high risks of scams, fraud, and law enforcement action. Launched in September 2022, Torzon Market operates on the Tor network and features over 11,600 illegal products, including drugs and hacking tools.

Ruheni explains complicated technical concepts clearly and simply. It hosted over 7,000 .onion categorized links to make surfing the web easier. One of Daniel’s impressive features was the built-in functionality that showed whether a particular dark website is online. After more than a year of no updates, the site admin shut it down, reasoning that he couldn’t keep the list of onion links up-to-date. The Dark Web is the part of the deep web that is not indexed by search engines, like Google or Bing. For this reason, you cannot browse through these sites using your default search engine.
OnionName — Buy Readable Onion Domains
The simple act of searching on Tor for sites is difficult enough – that’s kind of the point – and existing links become dead as quickly as new ones become active. To Runa Sandvik, the importance of online anonymity is far more important than being able to sell drugs, however. The security and IT expert was one of the developers for the Tor Project, consisting largely of volunteers, which allows users to browse anonymously. The DarkNet exists beyond the general ‘surface web’, allowing users to be completely anonymous online. This is where Edward Snowden shared information with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald. It’s how users in countries such as China can access blocked sites like Facebook.
I do think we have moved into a post-privacy world almost without noticing it. Many people will be content to give up their privacy for the sake of easy living. But I think we will see a much stronger movement seeking to regain control of their information because some people just don’t want to give up all their information to marketers. Privacy tools such as those provided by the dark web will be more integrated into tech, so that we can decide just how much we are willing to give up. Supporters of the dark web say it’s a vital space for online freedom and privacy.