Invisible Internet. Safe browsing on the Internet. Why might this be needed?

Browsers are a means of accessing information resources of the World Wide Web

Browsing Web pages is done using special programs viewing - browsers. Currently the most common browsers are Internet Explorer(its Russian version is often called Observer) and Netscape Communicator (Communicator).

If your computer is connected to the Internet, you can launch one of the browsers and go on a virtual journey through the World Wide Web.

Browser settings. After launch, a Browser window will open into which the initial Web page will be loaded.

By default in Russian Internet versions Explorer, such a page is a Microsoft Web server page.

Rice. 4.14. Window Internet browser Explorer

Browser window contains menu, toolbar, window Address:, and work area, in which Web pages are viewed.

Window Address allows you to enter from the keyboard or select from a list the URL of the desired Web page.

The toolbar allows you to move from one Web page to another (buttons Forward, Back, Home), manage the download process (buttons Stop, Refresh) and etc.

The appearance and location of toolbars can be changed by dragging toolbar components with the mouse or using the menu View.

You can change your browsing experience in your browser using numerous settings. So, you can change the address of the initial page loaded into the Browser.

Browser settings

1. In the menu Service select item Internet Options. A dialog panel will open Internet Options.

On the tab Are common in Group Homepage in field Address: enter the URL of the desired page, for example, the home page of the Computer Science and Technology Web site information Technology": http://iit.metodist.ru.

2. To make sure that you have entered correct address, click on the button Home. The browser must load home page Website "Informatics and Information Technologies".

It is of great importance to configure the Browser to view the Web page in the correct encoding, that is, the encoding in which the Web page was created. In most cases, the Browser automatically detects the encoding and, accordingly, displays the Web page correctly.

However, in some cases the user needs to configure the Browser to the required encoding manually.

3. For example, to view a Web page in encoding Windows you must enter the command [View-Encoding View-Cyrillic (Windows)].

You can speed up the loading process of Web pages if you connect to the Internet at a low speed (16.4 Kbps or less) or if Web pages are overloaded with multimedia objects that have a large amount of information. To do this, you need to disable the loading of multimedia objects (drawings, animation, sound, video).

4. Enter the command [Tools-Internet Options...] in the dialog box that appears Internet Options select tab Additionally.

Scroll to find a section in the window Multimedia and uncheck all the boxes in this section.

Traveling on the World Wide Web. In order to start traveling on the World Wide Web, you need to connect to the Internet and launch a browser, such as Internet Explorer. After loading the initial (home) page, you can do this in various ways:

• use the links of the downloaded browser web page;
• to line Address enter the address (URL) of the Web page you are interested in;
• use “bookmarks” of Web pages.

Use of links. You can start your journey on the World Wide Web by traveling through the pages of the site. Websites usually contain enough a large number of pages, so for transitions from one page to another within the site it is used navigation bar. The navigation bar contains the names of the main sections of the site.

Traveling the World Wide Web

1. Download the home page of the “Informatics and Information Technologies” Web site.

The page containing navigation bar, which is located on the left side of the page.

You can use hyperlinks to go to other Web sites. Thus, on one of the pages of the Web site “Informatics and Information Technologies” there are links to Web sites that are the winners of the student computer project competition.

3. To view the Web sites submitted for the competition, sequentially activate the links to the students’ work (the links are located in the second column of the table).

Entering a URL in the window Address. Let us be interested in information about Pentium processor 4 Intel companies. It is quite easy to “calculate” the name of the Russian-language Intel Web server where such information can be found. The company has representative offices in many countries of the world, therefore, there must be a Web server that belongs to the domain top level ru. The company has registered a second-level domain name, most likely coinciding with its name, we get intel.ru. Finally, most Web servers have the name www, so we get full name server www.intel.ru.

4. Type in the field Address URL of this server: http://www.intel.ru. The web page we are interested in will load.

Creation and use of "bookmarks". In the process of reading a book (textbook, reference book, encyclopedia), quite often you need to return to the material you read. For more quick search A bookmark is often inserted into the book on the desired page. While traveling on the World Wide Web, it is also advisable to leave “bookmarks” on interesting Web pages, so that you can find desired page among tens of millions of Web pages is much more difficult than finding a page in a book.

5. To create a bookmark, enter the command [Favorites-Add to Favorites...] in the dialog panel that appears Add to favorites select the bookmark name (by default it matches the name of the Web page) and click on the button OK. Now to load this page you just need to go to the menu item Favorites select a bookmark name.

Travel around virtual reality. By using special language With virtual reality modeling (Virtual Reality Modeling Language - VRML), you can create virtual three-dimensional worlds in which you can then move in different directions and view objects from different angles. There are quite a lot of servers on the Internet containing virtual worlds, and in particular virtual cities of the world, through which you can take virtual tours (for example, the server www.intoronto.com - Fig. 4.15).

To visit virtual worlds you need a special software module, which connects to a browser and allows you to view animated graphics of virtual reality scenes. The most common is CosmoPlayer.

Practical tasks

4.19. Explore the impact of installation different levels security in the browser settings for viewing Web pages.

Is it possible today to launch a new solution into the social media market and achieve success? It turns out that this is real if you do not try to compete with Facebook, VKontakte or Twitter directly, but offer the audience a product based on new principles.

Moreover, given that today, the need for increased confidentiality and protection of personal data has become a clear trend.

An example of such success is the anonymous social network Secret, which was founded literally last fall.

Now, having achieved impressive popularity in the United States, the anonymous social network Secret has opened registration for users around the world, including Russia, where the platform became available starting May 22 of this year.

Formers are behind a successful startup Google employees, David Bittow and Chris Beider-Wechseler. In addition to venture capital funds, some representatives of show business, including actor Ashton Kutcher, invested in the company at an early stage of its existence.

The ideology of the new social network was expressed by its creators in several policy statements published on home page website: " Be yourself. Secret is a platform where you can openly talk about what you think and feel about your friends and acquaintances. Speak freely, post whatever you want».

« Write elegantly. Personalize your posts by adding a photo or a colored background. Try options until the design looks perfect. Each publication is unique».

« No names, no profiles. It's not about who you are - it's about what you say. This isn't about bragging - it's about spreading judgment-free information.».

« Big ideas spread. The more people appreciate your posts, the wider their audience will become. Your thoughts can travel around the world».

During its work in the United States, the Secret social network has become famous as a resource that publishes valuable leaks about future major deals or releases of IT products. Also, popular topics Secret posts contain rumors and gossip about the personal lives of public figures and spoilers for popular films and TV series.

To date, the Secret social network is only partially localized for the Runet; some of the settings, as well as explanations inside the service, are available only on English language, but the work continues, and very soon there will be promising social platform will support Russian language.

However, it is already new social service became popular among journalists and employees of IT companies in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

For many of us, the Internet gives us a false sense of anonymity. After all, it would seem, as in virtual world Is it possible to establish a real identity? In fact, when you connect to the Internet, you are already sharing information about your computer, your geographic location, and the sites you visit.


Anonymous web surfing is possible if you find a way to bypass technologies that track your activity on the Internet and could potentially transmit your personal information to third parties. If you learn to do this, no one will know who you are, where you connect from, or what sites you visit.

When people think of using the Internet anonymously, they automatically associate it with all sorts of hacking, illegal downloading, and other illegal activities. This is not necessarily the case. In fact, there are many legitimate reasons why users would want to remain anonymous:

The employer either educational institution have strict web surfing policies and Internet access filters.
- You are a strong supporter of freedom of speech and do not want the government or anyone else to censor your activities.
- You consider the Internet to be an “ideal forum” in which you can freely express your opinion without fear of persecution for those who disagree with it.
- You believe that the UN Universal Declaration gives you the right to conduct personal affairs without outside control.
- You live abroad and want to access content that is only available to people living in your country.
- You don't like the idea of ​​search engines collecting information about your queries.
- You don't want advertisers to know where you live and what products you buy.

But surfing the Internet anonymously is not so easy.

Every computer connected to the Internet has a unique IP address. You can have static IP address or dynamic, which will change every time you connect. In any case, when you surf the Internet, you have a unique identifier.

An IP address is required to work on the Internet. A web server will not be able to send the content of a web page to your browser if your computer does not have an address on the network.

IP addresses themselves do not contain any personal information. However, if you have entered into a contract with a service provider, then the provider can easily associate your IP address with your name, home address, telephone number, address Email and even with credit card information.

Don't panic, Internet providers have fairly strict privacy policies. They will not give out personal information to the first person they meet. However, in accordance with the laws of many countries, the Internet service provider, upon request of law enforcement agencies, can provide information associated with the IP address.

Cookies are another source of information about your activities. Cookies are small text files, saved in your browser when you visit a site. The file may contain information for authorization, user settings, information about the contents of your online store cart, etc. They are designed to save you time while visiting your favorite sites, but they are also used by advertisers to show you personalized ads based on your preferences.

Third-party cookies may be placed on your computer by advertisers or others who have an agreement to share information with the site you are visiting. Advertising companies use third party cookies to track user movements across sites. For example, advertisers can track a user on all sites where their advertising banners. Many experts consider third-party cookies to be a blatant violation of privacy since you don't even know who is collecting information about your activities.

Cookies and IP addresses alone won't reveal your personal information, but when combined with each other or other data - such as your search history - you could unwittingly reveal your identity to hackers, scammers or government investigators.

Search engines typically store search queries associated with your IP address. Google stores search queries for nine months. By examining hundreds or thousands of requests from a single IP address, it is possible to learn a person's identity.

The easiest way to track your online activities is to view your browsing history in your browser. The browser keeps a chronological list of all the sites you visit. Most browsers by default “remember” the history of visited pages for a week.

If you surf the Internet on a work computer, your bosses don't need to physically turn on the computer and look at your browser history. Since you work in corporate network, your employer has the right to control which websites you visit.

Proxy servers

Every time you enter a URL in address bar browser and press "Enter", the computer sends a request to the web server, which then sends the web page back to you. To do this, the web server must know your IP address.

Using a proxy server is one way to avoid revealing your IP address to the web server. A proxy server is a machine that sits between you and the rest of the internet. When making requests for web pages, they first go through a proxy server.

Anonymous proxies erase your IP address and replace it with their own. When the web server sends the requested page back, the proxy server will give it to you without any additional scripts that may compromise your personal data.

The most popular type of anonymous proxy servers is web proxies. All you need to do is go to the proxy service website and enter required address in a special field. The service will forward the request to the web server anonymously.

But there are also some disadvantages to using anonymous proxy servers. Every outgoing request and resulting page must be processed by a proxy server, which often results in slow loading pages. And since the proxy server tries to remove or bypass any suspicious elements in the returned web pages, many of them will not load correctly.

You need to be careful when choosing a web proxy. There have been cases where attackers created fake anonymous proxy servers for collection confidential information. When using a proxy server, information is often sent unencrypted, which allows hackers to see things like usernames, passwords, etc.

You should also avoid so-called open proxies. These are proxies that have supposedly been abandoned and accidentally left "open" for one reason or another. Many of them are traps created by hackers who want to steal personal information. Some open proxy servers are actually virus-infected computers of unsuspecting users.

Browser settings

Anonymous proxy servers are in a great way, to hide your IP address, but a lot of information about your actions is stored on your computer. Fortunately, many privacy settings can be adjusted directly in the browser.

The easiest way is to manually delete your browser history. All modern browsers - Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome- allow you to delete your web surfing history.

However, it should be noted that a network administrator - in the office or at your ISP - can access the web surfing history on network level, even if you delete it from your computer.

You can also control how your browser handles cookies. By default, most browsers accept cookies from all sites. You can block cookies completely - which may prevent you from using some online banking services and trading platforms. You can only block third-party cookies.

Anonymous use of the Internet is becoming more and more popular. Latest versions Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Google Chrome include special settings, when enabled, the browser will not save the history of visited sites, search queries, cookies, download history and passwords.

Activate features anonymous surfing In some of the most popular web browsers you can do this:

In Internet Explore, open new tab and select "View with InPrivate".

Internet browsers are used to navigate the World Wide Web. Windows XP includes several such programs. First of all, this is the Internet Explorer browser. Let's look at how you can surf the web using this program. First you need to launch Internet Explorer. This can be done by clicking on the icon in the panel quick launch or by selecting the desired command in the main Windows menu. The program will be launched and, if you are not connected to the Internet, a dialog will appear stating that it is impossible to load a Web page without a network connection (Fig. 7.7).

Figure 7.7.

We won't be connecting to the internet for now, so click the button Offline(Stay Offline). The screen will appear working window Internet programs Explorer. Let's look at the main elements of the working window. Like other programs, the top of the window contains a title bar, menus, and toolbars. Below the toolbar bar there is a field for entering the address of the page you want to view. The central part of the program window is intended to be displayed open in currently Web pages. The status bar is intended to indicate those actions that are in progress. this moment performed by Internet Explorer. For example, this line displays the address of the currently loading page, the currently executing action, as well as a progress indicator informing about the completion of the current operation.

One of the main concepts when working with the World Wide Web is the concept of a Web page. Such a page is understood as a document containing, in addition to text, also graphic images, sound accompaniment and video. A web page may contain links to other pages or mailboxes. Typically, links are highlighted in a document with color or underlining. The mouse pointer, when passing over the link, changes its shape to a stylized image of a hand. A program designed to view Web pages always begins by loading a special page called the home page (in English language Home page). You can go to the page you need by entering its address in the field provided for this. The address entry is completed after pressing the button Transition(Go). If the loaded page has links, you can then follow them to other pages.

To connect to the Internet while working offline, you must first change the program's operating mode. To do this, uncheck the menu command File * Autonomous operation (File * Work Offline). Now enter the address of the required page in the address field and click the button Transition(Go) to the right of the address field. A dialog will appear again with a warning about the impossibility of loading the page (Fig. 7.6). Click the button Connect(Connect) and the connection settings dialog will appear.

The input fields of this dialog are already filled in in accordance with the Internet connection settings made earlier. However, you can change your username and password, and choose a different connection if you have more than one. Once you are sure that all fields are filled out correctly, click the button Connect(Connect). The process of connecting to the Internet service provider will begin, after which the dialog will disappear, and on the right side of the panel Windows tasks An icon will appear indicating that the connection has been established. Double-click this icon to open the connection status dialog. This dialog shows how long you have been connected to the network, how much information has been received from the Internet and how much has been transferred, as well as other helpful information. You can terminate the connection at any time by pressing the button Disconnect(Disconnect). Pressing the button Close(Close), you will again collapse the dialog into an icon on the display panel. Now you can start actually browsing Web pages.

After connecting to the Internet, a Web page will appear in the Internet Explorer window. You can enter in the field Address(Address) the web page address you need and click the button Transition(Go) to the right of the address field. You can also go to another page by clicking on the link you are interested in. By setting page addresses and following links, you can surf the entire Internet. If you change your mind about viewing a page while it is downloading to your computer, you can interrupt the process by clicking the stop button on the toolbar.

Internet Explorer remembers previously entered addresses, so you can return to previously viewed pages without having to re-enter the address. If you want to return to previously viewed pages in the current Internet session, you can use the buttons located on the toolbar. These buttons take you one step, that is, to the previous or next page of those that you have already viewed. To move forward or backward several pages, use the q buttons located next to the buttons. Click the button located to the right. A list of viewed pages appears. Please note that this is not a click-through. Internet Explorer substitutes in the field for you Address(Address) the desired address. If you want to revisit pages that you were on not only in the current communication session, but also earlier, you should use the button on the right side of the field Address(Address).

Since there is so much information on the Internet, the ability to search for information online is important. There are specialized search engines that make it easier to find. A search engine is a place on the Internet that helps you find necessary information among huge amount Web pages. There are several such systems in Russia, and the program knows about it. To search for information using Internet Explorer, click Search(Search) on the toolbar. In this case, a group of controls will appear on the left side of the working window, in which you specify the search phrase. Searching the Internet is similar to searching for files in Explorer, which we described above.

To close your Internet browser, click the X button on the right top corner working window of the program. Moreover, if no other program works with the Internet, a shutdown dialog will appear. If you want to continue online, click the button Don't disconnect(Stay Connected). Otherwise, click the button Disconnect(Disconnect Now).

What is the dark side of the Internet? For the uninitiated, who heard such a term for the first time, it will seem something very mysterious and, perhaps, even frightening. And there is a reason for this. The whole horror is that, contrary to the colorful epithet, the dark side of the Internet is a more than real phenomenon, information about which is recommended to be read only for superficial acquaintance and in no case calls for active use.

What it is?

The dark side of the Internet implies anonymity. That is, this is an opportunity to “surf” the network without leaving traces behind. And although this can be done without any malicious intent, under such conditions many not entirely legal, or rather, completely illegal, things happen. That's why it's the dark side of the Internet.

Why might this be needed?

Network on top of network - here it is short description"darknet". What is hidden in the dark side of the Internet, how to get there - many other nuanced questions are currently becoming relevant. And all because they provide access opportunities to which now (taking into account all kinds of laws against piracy) are becoming more and more numerous.

And, of course, ordinary human curiosity. Sometimes it is precisely this that makes the user go to the other side of the Internet - fortunately, it sounds intriguing and promising. Well, in a sense this is true. But, unfortunately, not in the best way.

Two sides of the coin, or How it was

The Internet is a powerful, uncontrollable element. He plays in life modern people not the least important role. It’s not surprising that the authorities of many countries would like to subjugate it - what a means of mind control! Freedom-loving “users” and advanced “hackers,” however, resist with dignity and honor. And so it turned out that it was divided: into a visible part like sites provided search engines, and invisible, dark, providing anonymity, which means more freedom and space. But freedom is a dangerous thing, and it can be used in different ways. Most people find it dizzying, and the risk that comes with walking on sharp edges only makes them more nervous. But this is not something to play with.

How to get there?

Let's continue the conversation about what the dark side of the Internet means. there? Well, from the outside everything seems not so difficult: for this they use special client- that is, a specific browser with which you can access specific sites. This uses .onion domains.

Whenever the dark side of the Internet is mentioned, TOR immediately comes up in conversations. This is the name of that very necessary client. It is not the only one of its kind, but it is the most popular.

How does he work?

Tor forms a chain of encrypted connections: thus, when a user goes to a specific site, he leaves no traces. Anonymity is provided not only to “users” who want to visit resources whose legality is questioned (pirate torrent trackers are the most innocent of them), but also to such sites themselves.

What's the trick?

The question might arise: is it not so invisible, the dark side of the Internet? "Thor" is not such a hidden fact, and there are countless articles on this topic.

You could say the principle of “hidden in plain sight” is at work here. TOR works with the so-called onion routing, network connection which cannot be traced. The client may be known, as well as the technology, there are also instructions on how to enter the dark side of the Internet. But how to find out who else is using it, whose website offers illegal services or carries out illegal trade - the question is much more complicated.

Underwater rocks

The multi-step, convoluted route that Tor offers provides a certain level of anonymity, necessary topics or other users. But, as you know, for every action there is a reaction, and not everything becomes so simple. User surveillance can be carried out using malicious software. software, in simple terms - viruses, for example, the well-known "Trojans". Such software is implemented directly into the browser and, instead of anonymity, the average “user” receives a “pig in a poke” as a gift from some “hacker” who posted it in free access infected Tor client.

How to access the onion website?

The first step is to download and install Thor directly. It can be taken from the official website. The download package, in turn, contains everything you need: the client itself for accessing the network, and a proxy server that will “cut out” the “unnecessary” from the traffic, and a program that helps you conveniently manage all this goodness, ensuring anonymity and unhindered surfing by" invisible side Webs."

Then you can start searching for resources. Beginners are advised to start with hidden Wikipedia, which will redirect the user wherever he wants, and it would be better if this was communication on harmless anonymous forums.

More alternatives

By the way, not only Tor gives access to the “other side”. There is also FreeNet - essentially not a client, but also YaCy (which is a search engine). I2P is also developing rapidly. Now it is she who is the most technically advanced.

I2P has been nicknamed “the ultimate paranoid network” because it has the highest level of anonymity. On the other hand, this also causes main drawback- malfunctions and low speed, required for constant re-encryption and change of tunnels. Strengthened cryptography loads not only the browser, but also the computer processor, through which access to the dark side of the Internet is provided, and this has its own, not rosy, consequences.

Advantages and disadvantages of TOR

The very widespread TOR, on the one hand, provides both anonymity and comfortable surfing, and on the other hand, it is already blocked in many countries. But, actually, it’s for the better.

The essence of building the TOR network

The network is built by volunteers who establish exit points. They provide completely anonymous channels to access sites. Resources on the .onion domain are internal Thor sites, essentially hidden web servers. This is double-level anonymity: on the one hand, the owner of the site cannot be tracked, on the other, neither he (the owner) nor anyone else can track the visitor.

Blocking resources is also very problematic - there are great difficulties in determining the location of the site server.

Network nodes are divided into:

• those through which traffic passes are relays;
• those through which access to the “big” Internet occurs, that is, providing access to blocked sites, for example, pirated torrent trackers, etc. - exit nodes;
• those used in countries where Thor is banned are called "bridges".

Warnings

Anonymity is not called absolute for nothing. There is still a small chance of surveillance. In addition, the possibility of being “discovered” increases if you take rash actions: for example, entering passwords. On the darknet, this is almost the stupidest thing you can do.

There are also concerns open list Rayleigh What does this mean? In the world, this means that Tor is completely or partially blocked on many sites on the “light” Internet. Wikipedia, for example, does not allow you to edit articles through it.

Don't jump down the rabbit hole, Alice...

Curiosity, as they say, killed the cat. So before you rush into the pool, and in this particular case, the darknet, you should first read what you can find there.

So, the most popular topics on the other side of the Internet:

• 18+, sex services;
• social networks are also of an intimate nature;
• politics (currently relevant Ukrainian topics);
• trade in illegal means (weapons, drugs, bitcoin currency);
• stolen databases, stolen bank card data;
• closed resources, access to which is blocked even for the majority of darknet users.

Is it worth it?

All of the above topics are not innocent jokes, but real, actively developing crime. Exactly on dark side Internet killers freely post their advertisements for services, and the “dark”, or as it is also called, hidden “WikiPedia” provides articles on pedophilia and other perversions for reading - not in purely scientific language, indicating criminal penalties, but in the form of instructions to help "beginner". There is active trade on darknet forums: methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, fake passports and government data. Going there is like a "bad area" on the streets. And the worst thing is that all this is real. So, is simple curiosity worth it? Because, ultimately, this is a problem that needs a solution.