dasho@github:~$ ls
  dasho.txt   infosec_interests.txt   active_pojects.txt   other_pojects.txt
  fav_dev_tools.txt   dasho_of_darknet.pgp

dasho@github:~$ cat dasho.txt
  Hi, I'm Dasho
  * OpSec background
  * Outdoor, sports & pizza lover
  * Infosec enthusiast driven by passion, curiosity and willingness to learn
  * I'm currently working on [Dashed Droplets](https://github.com/d-a-s-h-o/droplets)

dasho@github:~$ cat infosec_interests.txt
  Network security, penetration testing / physical penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, threat intelligence, CTF

dasho@github:~$ cat active_pojects.txt
  * [Dashed Droplets](https://github.com/d-a-s-h-o/droplets)
  * [The Underground Railroad](https://github.com/d-a-s-h-o/chat) // Taking a break
  * [uploads@sokka]() // Discontinued
  * SECRET_PROJECT

dasho@github:~$ cat other_pojects.txt
  * [DNDz](https://github.com/d-a-s-h-o/dnd)
  * The Sokka Project
  * [TV@sokka]() // Discontinued
  * [DNK//Share]() // Discontinued

dasho@github:~$ cat fav_dev_tools.txt
  * [GitHub](https://github.com) 🐙
  * [Docker](https://www.docker.com) 🐋
  * [Kubernetes](https://kubernetes.io) 🛞
  * [Jenkins](https://www.jenkins.io) 🤖
  * [Jira](https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira) 🪲
  * [Keybase](https://keybase.io) 🔐
  * [Cloudflare](https://www.cloudflare.com) ☁️

Here's a list of my favourite books of all time. If you have made it this far, and bother to read any of these books, I'd love to hear your thoughts about them. Feel free to contact me on any of the platforms listed below. Reading is one of the greatest pleasures in life, and I'm always looking for new books to read. If you have any recommendations, please let me know!

• The Dark Net by Jamie Bartlett
• IT by Stephen King
• The President is Missing by Bill Clinton & James Patterson
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose
• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
• Four Past Midnight by Stephen King
• Sleepers by Lorenzo Carcaterra
• The Green Mile by Stephen King
• For a Lost Soldier (translated from Voor een Verloren Soldaat) by Rudi van Dantzig
• War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
• Once by Morris Gleitzman

If you so desire, you can see a complete list of books I've read on my website, with commentary provided by yours truly.

Let me put a lot of the hype aside and tell you that the deep web is not as scary as it sounds. It's not a place where you can just go and buy drugs, guns, or hire a hitman (thank you Hollywood for the bad rep). Some of the most common uses of the deep web are:

• Privacy - The deep web is a place where you can browse the internet anonymously. This is done by using the Tor browser, which is a modified version of Firefox. The Tor browser routes your traffic through a network of relays, making it (nearly) impossible to track your location or your browsing history. This is a great tool for journalists, activists, and anyone who wants to browse the internet without being tracked.
• Censorship - The deep web is a place where you can access websites that are blocked in your country. One of the most common examples of this is the immensly popular (and extremely important website) Wikipedia. In some countries (_{cough china cough}), Wikipedia is blocked, and the only way to access it is through VPNs (which are also blocked in some countries (_{cough china cough})), or through the Tor browser. Other examples of blocked websites include news websites, social media, and even Google.
• Decentralization - The deep web is a place where you can host websites without having to worry about censorship or being shut down. Many news outlets, activists, and whistleblowers use the deep web to host their websites. This is a great way to ensure that your website will not be taken down by the government or by a malicious actor. Just take a look at these surprising examples:
  • https://www.nytimesn7cgmftshazwhfgzm37qxb44r64ytbb2dj3x62d2lljsciiyd.onion/ - The New York Times
  • https://www.facebookwkhpilnemxj7asaniu7vnjjbiltxjqhye3mhbshg7kx5tfyd.onion - Facebook
  • http://p53lf57qovyuvwsc6xnrppyply3vtqm7l6pcobkmyqsiofyeznfu5uqd.onion/ - ProPublica
  • https://www.bbcnewsd73hkzno2ini43t4gblxvycyac5aw4gnv7t2rccijh7745uqd.onion/ - BBC News

Just to name a few, and there are many many more!

Tor is just another tool available to cybercriminals. It is clunky and slow, and you might be surprised to here, but you can actually do a lot more damage on the clearnet (the regular internet) than you can on the deep web.

• Drugs - You can buy drugs on the deep web, but you can also buy drugs on the clearnet. In fact, you can buy drugs on Facebook, Instagram, Discord, Telegram, and even on eBay. The deep web is not the only place where you can buy drugs, and it's not even the most popular place to do so. Due to the anonymity of the deep web, most drug dealers (or vendors) on the deep web are actually scammers. They will take your money and run, and there is nothing you can do about it (except not give them your money in the first place). If you want to buy drugs, don't. But if you really want to, you're better off doing it on the clearnet (but you will get caught).
• Guns - Buying guns on the deep web is a lot like buying drugs on the deep web. You can do try, but you're going to get scammed. What's more, arms trafficking is primarily an offline activity. Face-to-face transactions are the norm, and the deep web is not a popular place to buy guns, or any other weapons for that matter. The 'black market' is not a place, it's a network of people who know people who know people. Unfortunately, unless you're part of a gang, cult, mafia, or cartel, you really can't just buy a gun. Almost all trafficked weapons come from someone who legally purchased them, and then sold them to someone else with the serial numbers filed off (and for a hefty profit). And honestly, if you're not part of a gang, cult, mafia, or cartel, you really don't need a gun.
• Grooming - This is a serious issue, and it's not just on the deep web. Grooming is a process by which a predator gains the trust of a child, and then uses that trust to manipulate the child into doing things they wouldn't normally do. According to the 2020 NSPCC report, Instagram is the most used platform for grooming, Snapchat, and TikTok. Children don't use the deep web, and predators don't use the deep web to groom children. They use the clearnet, and they use the most popular platforms.
  
  Update: According to the 2023 NSPCC report, 73% of all grooming cases across the UK involved Snapchat and Meta
  
  
• CSAM - CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) is (regrettably) a very real issue, and it's not just on the deep web. Finding CSAM on the deep web isn't all that hard... if you have the link. Thankfully though, it isn't just something you accidently stumble upon. You have to go looking for it, and if you do, sure, you will find it. But you can also find it on the clearnet. In fact, you can find it on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and even on YouTube. In fact, one of WhatsApp's most popular groups that had members from over 28 countries, was a group that shared CSAM. Further on this, the majority of CSAM is self-produced, recorded and shared by the victim themselves on platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, and WhatsApp. This of course is not to say that CSAM isn't one of those connotations of the deep web, but it is a sadly unavoidable part of it. And given the way that Tor is built, it's a problem to fix on the clearnet first.

But hey, for the most part - it's actually pretty empty. The only people who do go there nowadays are network developers and those of us who like hosting websites for free. It's a fun place to play around experemintally. And on that note, here's a great article on the subject: The Dark Web Is Mostly Full of Garbage.

dasho@github:~$ cat dasho_of_darknet.txt
  I am no longer active on the dark net, but here are some of the services I used to run:
  * Sokka's Shares
  * Chatterbox
  * Dashed Droplets
  * DarknetBB

• Telegram - @dasho (also on Telegram - @d_a_s_h_o)
  
  
• Keybase - @d_a_s_h_o
• Chat // Discontinued
• Sonar // Tor only
• Discord: _dasho
• Email