Casting Light on the Dark Web: A Guide for Safe Exploration

by Matthew Beckstrom, Brady Lund

Overview

Covers topics from what the dark web is, to how it works, to how you can use it, to some of the myths surrounding it.

Casting Light on the Dark Web: A Guide for Safe Exploration is an easy-to-read and comprehensive guide to understanding how the Dark Web works and why you should be using it! Readers will be led on a tour of this elusive technology from how to download the platform for personal or public use, to how it can best be utilized for finding information. This guide busts myths and informs readers, while remaining jargon-free and entertaining. Useful for people of all levels of internet knowledge and experience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538120934
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/05/2019
Series:	LITA Guides
Pages:	132
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Matthew Beckstrom was born and raised in Montana. He received an Associate’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Montana, and then later, a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Montana State University. After working in various technology jobs, he finally settled into the job of systems manager at the Lewis & Clark Library in Helena in 1999. In 2012, he received his Master’s degree in Information Science from the University of North Texas after receiving a grant from the Montana State Library to attend library school.

Brady Lund is a PhD student at Emporia State University’s School of Library and Information Management. He holds a Master's of Library Science from Emporia State and a Bachelor’s in Communication Science and Disorders from Wichita State University. He has previously published articles in several major Library and Information Science Journals on topics ranging from information security to knowledge organization and initially presented on the topic of the dark web at the 2017 American Library Association Annual Conference.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - What is the Dark Web?

What is the dark web?
Ways to access the dark web
What is the value of the dark web?
What can it do for me?

Chapter 2 - History of the Internet and Dark Web

Beginner’s overview of Information Theory
Basic history of the Internet
Understanding privacy needs on the early Internet
From the deep web to the dark web
Freenet
I2P
Tor

Chapter 3 - How It Works: The Dark Details

Introduction
Understanding the Internet
The Dark Web

Chapter 4 - Distinguishing Fact from Fiction: Is the Dark Web Really Dark?

How do we define the dark web?
Myth 1: The Dark Web is the place where terrorists go to buy weapons and plan attacks
Myth 2: The Dark Web is mostly a marketplace for illicit drugs
Myth 3: The Dark Web has no value to an “upstanding” citizen
Myth 4: It is illegal to use the Dark Web
Myth 5: The dark web will steal my personal information
Myth 6: I need to buy some special hardware or software in order to use the dark web
Some prominent reports on the dark web

Chapter 5 - How to Access the Dark Web

How to Install Tor
How to Install Freenet
How to Install I2P
Similarities and Differences Between Platforms
How to Choose Which Platform to Use
Is Installing the Dark Web Legal?
Should I Let My Child Download the Dark Web?

Chapter 6 - How to Browse Using the Dark Web

How to Browse Tor
How to Browse Freenet
How to Browse I2P
Brief History of Dark Websites
Major Dark Websites

Chapter 7 - Addressing Legal and Ethical Concerns

History of legal and ethical issues on the dark web
Examples of the illegal content on the dark web
How to avoid illegal content on the dark web
Limiting others’ access of illegal content on the dark web
Can the dark web be “taken down” and why you should care

Chapter 8 - Research and Advocacy on the Dark Web

Dark web research
Infrastructure
Advocacy
Financial opportunity

Chapter 9 - Your Future With the Dark Web

A Tale of Internet Past
The big pitch
Final Words
The End

Editorial Reviews

At once a history, a primer, a recipe book and an ethical advisory, Casting Light on the Dark Web: A Guide for Safe Exploration dispels the myths about the anonymous web and provides reliable guidelines for using the various dark web platforms to enhance user privacy and security in libraries and beyond.

Deborah Caldwell-Stone

Recommended: Casting Light on the Dark Web is both a concise, readable guide to the dark web and an attempt by Beckstrom and Lund to dispel the negative image of the dark web often presented in the media. The authors meet both of these goals, offering a solid primer on the history of the internet and dark web, basic technical information for accessing and browsing the dark web, and legal and ethical issues.. . [Beckstrom and Lund] provide timely, basic information that will be helpful for nonspecialists seeking to learn more about this often misunderstood sector of the internet.

Choice Reviews

This is a concise and clear introduction to an important aspect of the Internet that is often glossed over or demonized. The authors describe both the dark web's important advantages for truly private communication, and its undeniable downsides. It is a valuable tool, especially for libraries considering whether to provide their users with access to dark web applications.

Technical Services Quarterly

Recommended: Casting Light on the Dark Web is both a concise, readable guide to the dark web and an attempt by Beckstrom and Lund to dispel the negative image of the dark web often presented in the media. The authors meet both of these goals, offering a solid primer on the history of the internet and dark web, basic technical information for accessing and browsing the dark web, and legal and ethical issues.. . [Beckstrom and Lund] provide timely, basic information that will be helpful for nonspecialists seeking to learn more about this often misunderstood sector of the internet.

Choice

Recommended: Casting Light on the Dark Web is both a concise, readable guide to the dark web and an attempt by Beckstrom and Lund to dispel the negative image of the dark web often presented in the media. The authors meet both of these goals, offering a solid primer on the history of the internet and dark web, basic technical information for accessing and browsing the dark web, and legal and ethical issues.. . [Beckstrom and Lund] provide timely, basic information that will be helpful for nonspecialists seeking to learn more about this often misunderstood sector of the internet.

CHOICE

At once a history, a primer, a recipe book and an ethical advisory, Casting Light on the Dark Web: A Guide for Safe Exploration dispels the myths about the anonymous web and provides reliable guidelines for using the various dark web platforms to enhance user privacy and security in libraries and beyond.

Deborah Caldwell-Stone Caldwell-Stone