The Darknet, also known as the Dark Net or the Dark Web, is a hidden part of the Internet which can only be accessed using special software, made up of around 400,000 hidden websites.
While the Darknet can be accessed by various means, most users use Tor, a sophisticated anonymization technology developed by the US Naval Research Laboratory in the mid-90s.
While writing our security articles on Softpedia, we mentioned the Darknet countless times in many of our articles. Unfortunately, most of the times, we make references to it because cyber-criminals have found a comfy home on it, using features initially created for protecting military and espionage personnel to hide their trail of illegal activities from authorities.
It is true that the Darknet is the place to find a lot of illegal products ranging from guns to drugs, and from child pornography to cyber-warfare tools, but there are many other Internet users who employ it to freely express political views, disclose government abuses, and exchange information in a safe and truly anonymous manner (journalists for example).
