What exactly does Silk Road have on the Dark Web and its impact?BySydney Butler-February 13, 2019 “3/3.1829.jpg” For years and years none really cared about the Dark Web. It was simply a place where hackers could meet in secret and people with strange (and often illegal) interest would be able to exchange digital content. The combination of Dark Web and Bitcoin support technology has created a unique opportunity. One that Silk Road founders jumped on with big success.
The Silk Road in Brief
“3/3.1830.jpg” The first thing that you should note about the Silk Road is that there are many things that we simply don’t know for certain. A lot of what happened behind the scenes was hidden by its very definition. The Silk Road stuff we think we know may not even be true. So read a pinch of salt on this short history of events. At least, it gives a bit of mystery to the Silk Road narrative. The first creation of the Silk Road was in February 2011. It was one Ross Ulbricht who was responsible for founding the Silk Road. A young Texan man whose appearance and social picture would never imply someone who can control the largest online black market in the world. There is even a doubt today that Ulbricht is still the designer and real genius behind Silk Road. Ulbricht may have been a patsy or one of several people working under the name “Dread Pirate Roberts” who made the Silk Road what it was.
Rumors about Bitcoin Talk
The Gawker Blessing and Curse
Whoever was behind it, after the now defunct blog Gawker published an article about it, things really started to take off on Silk Road. The site started to get even more traffic after this. Nevertheless, it has now been brought to the attention of the FBI and other foreign organizations that were not too pleased about it at the same time.
The official Silk Road forums on Tor Hidden Services are launched in June 2011. A user named simply “Silk Road” acts as the official person involved in customer relations. It’s rumored to be Ulbricht himself, but there is no evidence for it. This lasts a while but it seems it was no longer posting in February of 2012. A new user named “Dread Pirate Roberts” instead takes over. Here authorities are more sure that Ulbricht was behind the account, but this is disputed, of course.
Forged Alliances
Technical Problems
The Silk Road experiences technical problems on 19 October 2011. It turns out the platform was operating on multiple servers without the server owners actually knowing about it. What started as a shoestring location had ended up outgrown its confines. So, some of that sweet bonus money was used by the administrators to pay for proper infrastructure.
FBI agents begin buying drugs on Silk Road late in 2011. That’s part of their information gathering activities. If any of the delivered goods will show a seller or some other details a starting point will be given. The hunt is truly on now.
Unlucky count 13
Ulbricht was ultimately sentenced to a life sentence of double life imprisonment plus 40 years to be exact. His family run a site called Free Ross, devoted to proving his innocence.
What was there for sale?
They state that approximately 70 per cent of all Silk Road goods were narcotics. That indicates that there were 7000 items for sale under different categories of medications. Funnily enough despite being a “black” Silk Road market often included lots of items that were not at all illegal. You could buy books and even clothes for legal adult artworks. It worked much like any modern online store with other shoppers ‘ feedback helping to expose scammers or poor goods.
How much money did they make?
It’s a problem to get the exact numbers running through Silk Road but there are some solid estimates out there. A staggering $1.2 billion was spent over the site’s total lifespan. Of this, Silk Road itself took commission for about 80 million. Not bad for a short run like this! Successors to Silk Road
The huge vacuum left by this groundbreaking platform after the original Silk Road bit the dust it didn’t take long for new Darknet markets to pop up and fill up. Silk Road 2.0 showed up quickly and was then taken down as well. AlphabayHansa are two other markets that were more competitive than the Silk Roads copycat but were ultimately also taken down. There’s plenty to choose from today’s Darknet Markets and it continues to show that taking them down is like battling a mythical hydra. When you disable another two pop up to replace it. The Influence of The Silk Road
The Silk Road’s main impact was most definitely the world’s sudden exposure to the Dark Web and its associated cultures and technologies. Until Silk Road technology such as Tor and Bitcoin weren’t the kind of thing that you would expect regular non-tech people to talk over dinner. However most people will have learned of the terms at least these days. Even if they do not fully comprehend it. Heck even my uncle is now in the Bitcoin business and he used to sell supplies to farmers! The US war on drugs has also been put into sharp relief by Silk Road. This revealed how much ordinary people are willing to spend money on recreational substances. The idea that recreational drug use should be criminalised is another nail in the coffin. Since the Silk Road fell marijuana is legalized in many parts of the USA for recreational use. The social attitudes have drastically changed. While you can’t put all that at the door of Silk Road it certainly made politicians think twice. Especially since it provided the people with a safe, non-violent way to get the drugs they would buy anyway. Living in a Post-Silk Road World
While Silk Road is doing big business and Ross Ulbricht is doing hard times that is hardly the end of the story. There’s no doubt that this market was a pioneer but its takedown’s very public story has made newcomers smarter. Warrior. Much more upscale. It’s also helped to highlight privacy deficiencies in technologies such as bitcoin. That means it has developed better versions of these first-generation technologies. Global law enforcement is now in an arms race with those who want to run the Dark Web successfully on black markets. The question is that it’s multiple and highly motivated business owners. Darknet markets are unlikely to ever be completely eliminated rather some form of balance will be struck. Nothing is set in stone right now, however. Simple Data Bulgaria (European Union) Jurisdiction. Logs No logs to activity or to connect. 250 + servers in 65 + countries. Parallel connections 6 The AES-256 OpenVPN IKEv2 Encryption Standards. On average 72 percent. P2P Support YES Live Chat Support YES Android Linux iOS Windows MacOS routers. Cost $2.99/month. Get VPNArea Next you should know we’ve been testing VPNArea with a number of popular streaming platforms around the world. So in case you need to unblock any of those you can find useful details in the table below. US Netflix YES Hulu YES BBC iPlayerPros Strong feature set Capable of encryption Secure VPN protocols No data logging Easy to use P2P-friendly Unblocks websites Serving customers. Cons Relatively small network of servers Inferior performance average. The final verdict Our ranking 8.4/10 And let’s dive deep into all that VPNArea has to offer. We will be reviewing various aspects of this VPN so be sure to stay with us until this analysis is complete. Let’s continue, shall we?
VPNArea TechNadu’s Hands-On Analysis To ensure that we are unbiased in all of our VPN reviews we have a standardized structure in place. If you want to find out more about this phase here is how we analyze and rate VPNs.
History Jurisdiction Reputation
“3/3.1833.jpg” Like any other business entity VPN providers must comply with the laws of their country of origin. In some instances this means logging those data types. So let’s know what you need on VPNArea.
Jurisdiction Applicable laws
First and foremost you need to know that the VPNArea is a member country of the European Union located in Bulgaria. Offshore Security LTD based in Varna (Bulgaria), is the business behind this VPN. Now you have to ask if an EU country like Bulgaria is a good base for VPN operations and we have to say it looks like that. The country does not share all of its rules with the rest of the European Union, and is outside the Intelligence Treaty of 14-Eyes.
Previous Data Leaks
We are pleased to report that no previous leaks or data breaches occur in the VPNArea. This is an indication that this VPN does a good job of protecting their servers and enhancing their services continuously. It is also an indication that it seems like a good idea to be getting a long-term subscription to this VPN.
Ubuntu to Windows MacOS. Desktop IOS Mobile Platforms. N / A Internet Browsers. DD-WRT ASUS-WRT tomato, and more. Certain Kodi FireOS apparatuses. VPNArea is compatible with all of the big and currently popular desktop and mobile operating systems as you can see. What’s also nice to see is its compatibility with broad routers. As you can imagine on a router using VPNArea counts as a single device no matter how many devices you are connected to. This leaves you 5 more empty slots, so you can also protect yourself on the go. There’s one more nice feature, too. VPNArea states that account sharing is allowed. It ensures you can share a single subscription with your family friends or colleagues-as long as you are under 6 devices and one account. The only thing missing here is Web browser extensions and native media streaming device support (although you can sideload the Android app to that end). Setup Initial Configuration
“3/3.1835.jpg” It could not be easier to get started with VPNArea. This VPN did an incredible job of helping even the most novice users out there. Our Score: ‘ 10/10. The first move in running this VPN is to obtain a VPNArea subscription. When you choose a payment plan and fill in your information, you will receive your user credentials, which you need to sign in to your account page on this VPN’s official website. We must applaud VPNArea for having such a user-friendly account portal where you can verify your details. We will now test what kinds of data protection this VPN carries with it, and whether you will also find any additional features. So let’s see what kind of features VPNArea has planned for us. VPN features DNS leak security checklist YESPros Strong feature set Capable of encryption Secure VPN protocols No data logging Easy to use P2P-friendly Unblocks websites Serving customers. Cons Relatively small network of servers Inferior performance average. The final verdict Our ranking 8.4/10 And let’s dive deep into all that VPNArea has to offer. We will be reviewing various aspects of this VPN so be sure to stay with us until this analysis is complete. Let’s continue, shall we?
VPNArea TechNadu’s Hands-On Analysis To ensure that we are unbiased in all of our VPN reviews we have a standardized structure in place. If you want to find out more about this phase here is how we analyze and rate VPNs.
History Jurisdiction Reputation
“3/3.1833.jpg” Like any other business entity VPN providers must comply with the laws of their country of origin. In some instances this means logging those data types. So let’s know what you need on VPNArea.
Jurisdiction Applicable laws
First and foremost you need to know that the VPNArea is a member country of the European Union located in Bulgaria. Offshore Security LTD based in Varna (Bulgaria), is the business behind this VPN. Now you have to ask if an EU country like Bulgaria is a good base for VPN operations and we have to say it looks like that. The country does not share all of its rules with the rest of the European Union, and is outside the Intelligence Treaty of 14-Eyes.
Previous Data Leaks
We are pleased to report that no previous leaks or data breaches occur in the VPNArea. This is an indication that this VPN does a good job of protecting their servers and enhancing their services continuously. It is also an indication that it seems like a good idea to be getting a long-term subscription to this VPN.
Ubuntu to Windows MacOS. Desktop IOS Mobile Platforms. N / A Internet Browsers. DD-WRT ASUS-WRT tomato, and more. Certain Kodi FireOS apparatuses. VPNArea is compatible with all of the big and currently popular desktop and mobile operating systems as you can see. What’s also nice to see is its compatibility with broad routers. As you can imagine on a router using VPNArea counts as a single device no matter how many devices you are connected to. This leaves you 5 more empty slots, so you can also protect yourself on the go. There’s one more nice feature, too. VPNArea states that account sharing is allowed. It ensures you can share a single subscription with your family friends or colleagues-as long as you are under 6 devices and one account. The only thing missing here is Web browser extensions and native media streaming device support (although you can sideload the Android app to that end). Setup Initial Configuration
“3/3.1835.jpg” It could not be easier to get started with VPNArea. This VPN did an incredible job of helping even the most novice users out there. Our Score: ‘ 10/10. The first move in running this VPN is to obtain a VPNArea subscription. When you choose a payment plan and fill in your information, you will receive your user credentials, which you need to sign in to your account page on this VPN’s official website. We must applaud VPNArea for having such a user-friendly account portal where you can verify your details. We will now test what kinds of data protection this VPN carries with it, and whether you will also find any additional features. So let’s see what kind of features VPNArea has planned for us. VPN features DNS leak security checklist YESYES Unlimited Bandwidth YES Unlimited Data YES Finally let’s not forget that having a premium subscription gives you full access to this VPN. It means you will be getting unrestricted bandwidth and data transfers from the cloud. Additional features such as manual port selection and custom DNS servers will also be available so it is safe to say that VPNArea is a fully featured VPN solution.
Server Count
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Server Count
“3/3.1838.jpg” Ideally you want a VPN with loads of servers around the globe and you’ll also want to ask if you’ll be using physical or virtual servers. So here’s what you need to know about VPNArea server network. Server Count Data Server Number 250 + Location Number of Countries 65 + Local Cities Availability YES Free Switching At the moment VPNArea provides more than 250 servers which are all physical units meaning that there are no virtual servers here. This VPN takes great pride, and rightly so, in its server network. It may not be the largest network of servers out there but comes with strategically placed servers. North America Europe Asia and Oceania can have plenty of choices. Although there may seem to be plenty of 250 servers (especially for average home users) you should know there are VPNs offering more than 5000 servers around the globe. Which means that if you care about having plenty of servers at your fingertips you can easily find a better choice. After all VPNArea is still a relatively new VPN service and this is shown by its server count.
Ease of Use
Server Settings: VPNArea allows custom DNS servers to be selected from different protocols and a custom DNS port to be selected from. “3/3.1841.jpg” Contact Log: You will be asked to send your credentials in case of any technical issues. This option allows you to copy the relevant information into your clipboard to enable you to send it over the Internet. Kill Anti-DNS Leak Switch: We suggest that you keep those two options available. This will protect your Web traffic even if you accidentally disconnect from a secure server in some way. “3/3.1842.jpg” We have to admit that there is no VPNArea which has the most polished UI out there. It’s easy to use though, and offers various settings that you can fine-tune. With this said we believe novices as well as seasoned users would enjoy it.
Media Streaming Torrenting Support
“3/3.1843.jpg” Would you like to unblock various versions of Netflixstream Hulu even outside of the US? Okay let’s see if this will support VPNArea. Media Streaming Torrenting Help Netflix US YES Hulu BBC iPlayer YES Amazon Prime Video NO Torrenting (P2P) VPNArea provides dedicated servers configured for Netflix US Hulu and BBC iPlayer-and we have been able to verify that all three of these streaming platforms are operating. Unfortunately for Amazon Prime Video, the same can not be said and we have been told that VPNArea is currently working on a solution to this. As far as downloading torrent files is concerned this VPN comes with numerous optimized servers spread around the globe. You can also use virtually any server available here to access torrents (not just the P2P-optimized ones), just remember to check the load of your chosen server as you want to avoid throttling your Web link.
Privacy Policy
It should also be noted that even in China, which attests to its website-unblocking capabilities, VPNArea can be utilized. Hence we highly recommend this VPN if you leave in a country with a high censorship level.
Logging Policy
VPNArea does not collect any personally identifiable information according to this VPN Privacy Policy. It is not monitoring your online activities and it is not making records of what you are doing online. This ensures that information such as login date timestamps for incoming and outgoing IPs or other related data will never be stored on VPNArea managed servers.
DNS Leak Check
“3/3.1845.jpg” Eventually we have tested DNS leaks in the VPNArea. As you can see from the above picture no leaks have been found. It means your actual IP address hostname ISP and your county of origin is never leaked to any online third party. Speed Quality
“3/3.1846.jpg” Sadly the quality of the VPNArea comes with a deceit. This is well below the average result because it slowed us down by around 72%. Our Rating: 3/10. Now let’s test what sort of performance VPNArea might expect. You can expect some throttling just like with any VPNs but the best VPNs out there keep this at 10-15 percent. In this respect, here’s how VPNArea ranks. Figure 1 Our pace in baseline. We checked the speed of our web connection to start with without activating this VPN. As you can see from the above screenshot we got 147.73 Mbps to download and 9.85 Mbps to upload. We then tested the velocity of a nearby computer. “3/3.1848.jpg” Figure 2 Performance of a VPNArea server nearby. Based on VPNArea’s feedback, we linked to a server in a neighboring country (by the way, we are located in Europe). As already mentioned, VPNArea gives you a list of fast-performing servers based on location. We received 59.66 Mbps for downloads after running a speed test, and 9.05 Mbps for uploads. Figure 3 A remote server with VPNArea results. Finally we connected to a remote server found in the U.S. too. We got 23.73 Mbps for downloads this time around, and 4.08 Mbps for uploads. So let’s put all those numbers in a table and see the outcome. Download Speed Upload Speed Reduction 59.6 percent Remote Server 23.73 Mbps 4.08 Mbps 83.9 percent
Customer Support
“3/3.1850.jpg” VPNArea offers numerous customer support channels which all seem to be extremely active. You can be sure the problem will be resolved in a timely fashion. Our Score: “10/10. Live Chat Skype: We’ve spoken to this VPN team via live chat and we’ve always managed to get our questions answered in a timely manner. Surprisingly enough VPNArea also has a Skype channel so you can send a message via Skype and even set up a video / audio call.70 percent You’ll end up with a nice deal even if you decide to subscribe to VPNArea via its monthly plan. However in the long-term plans you will find the greatest savings. Knowing its history and how easily this VPN evolves its apps, we conclude that investing in long-term plans comes with virtually no risks. In its 36-month plan, you’ll find the greatest savings bringing the price down to just $2.99. Finally, remember that VPNArea provides money-back guarantees (30 days for its 12-month and 36-month plans, and 14 days for its 1-month plan). You can also pay various other payment processors through PayPal credit cards, and Bitcoin is sponsored as well.