You've probably never needed to access Twitter or any other website from the dark web. However, Twitter has considered that option, and offers its users the possibility of access the social network from alternative domains. In today's post we will show you all the tools that you can use -in a completely official way- to access Twitter through secondary routes, something that could be useful if you travel to a country where censorship is applied or in the event of an apocalypse. Go for it.
What is the Dark Web and why would you need it to access Twitter?
La dark web It has many names, like 'deep web', and it is possible that you have heard nonsense about this term more than once. We could define the Deep Web as a set of pages that are not accessible through search engines like Google or Bing and cannot be found directly by typing the URL by hand in a regular browser like Google Chrome or Safari.
Dark web pages use a different protocol than the standard, and are designed so that they can only be accessed with a specific browser that guarantees both anonymity from the user and from the server. When we access one of these websites, the browser will have previously taken care of losing our track by passing us through several proxy.
As the Dark Web is an anonymous platform, it is not surprising that it is used for illegal purposes. In fact, it is known that organizations such as Interpol or the FBI have their own security nodes. Tor, which have served more than once to intercept cybercriminals.
However, the fact that there are users who misuse the dark network does not mean that said network cannot be used with totally legitimate purposes. The greatest utility of the Tor network for ordinary users like you or me is bypassing censorship.
There are countries that prohibit access to Twitter and other social networks. It is done for pure population control. As there is no contact of the individuals of a population abroad, a government can ensure its position. The most paradigmatic case is China. Chinese citizens are banned from accessing Twitter. However, in February 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic unleashed chaos in that country, many of its citizens were able to access Twitter and post videos, images, and information that explained that the version their government was giving was wrong. totally adulterated. All those people were able to access Twitter using alternative means such as the Tor network or even a VPN at best.
However, there are more factors that can mean that one day you will not have access to certain Internet websites. Recently, Russia's invasion of Ukraine led many Internet services to charge Russian users, who saw their connection to certain websites limited, despite not being directly to blame for the war. Although it may seem appropriate, the censorship It is always a scourge, since it restricts freedom of expression. If Russia decides to cut off access to Twitter —for example—, or vice versa, the world will be left without knowing what is happening inside that country, even silencing journalists of different nationalities who are there with the aim of reporting. For that very reason, Twitter has a couple of backdoors created by themselves that will allow us access safely in these cases.
What do I need to access Twitter from the Deep Web?
Take note of the following tools.
Tor Browser
In this open source browser designed to navigate The onion router, which is what the dark network is called, because it works with several levels that act as layers. It is a modified version of Mozilla Firefox developed by the non-profit organization The Onion.
Tor Browser is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android mobile phones. In this second case, you can download it both from Google Play and from online repositories such as F-Droid, which will be useful in case you are in a country that also limits access to the Google store, something that unfortunately is also quite common.
Another very interesting option if you have a computer and you are going to have to avoid censorship very often is to use Tail Linux in Live CD mode (we do not recommend that you install it on your hard drive). It is a Linux distribution designed for privacy, bypass censorship and avoid tracking. The system is fully shielded at the security level and contains Tor Broser as default browser. You can create a flash drive with this system and start your computer with this distribution when you need it. Another positive point of Tails is that you won't leave a trace on your computer. There will be no Tor icon on your desktop, and using Tor as a Live CD, your search history and any information you entered into the operating system before posting it to the Internet will be gone the moment you turn off the machine or remove the Tor. flash drive from the USB port.
Alternative domains
Once you have the browser installed on your machine, you will have to access Twitter. But be careful, because on the dark web, finding websites is not as easy as going to Google. In fact, Google is blocked when browsing through TOR, so you will have to use alternatives like DuckDuckGo if you want to use a search engine.
With Tor started, you could access Twitter via its regular domain (ie twitter.com). However, if you have problems, there is an alternative that you can use to access the social network through a TOR network domain. The address that you should paste in said browser is the following:
https://twitter3e4tixl4xyajtrzo62zg5vztmjuricljdp2c5kshju4avyoid.onion
On the other hand, there are two other domains with an 'onion' extension that allow access to certain limited features of Twitter in the event that the previous option fails. They are the following addresses:
twitterhbmit57bzbcjnujedrn7uk73geo4ackio4lxdj6t7w6f4zsid.onion
twitterhpgjerufcvrmzerg2novpipy42rk3anvb5b7np4zggm4rwaqd.onion
With all this and a little care, you will be able to publish tweets and contact other users of the social network privately, even if you are in a place that prohibits access to the Twitter server.