The Hidden Wiki
 | |
Type of site | Internet directory |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | Optional |
| Current status | Ambiguously forked |
The Hidden Wiki was a dark web MediaWiki wiki operating as Tor hidden services that could be anonymously edited after registering on the site. The main page served as a directory of links to other .onion sites.
History
The first Hidden Wiki was operated through the .onion pseudo top-level domain which can be accessed only by using Tor or a Tor gateway.[1] Its main page provided a community-maintained link directory to other hidden services, including links claiming to offer money laundering, contract killing, cyber-attacks for hire, contraband chemicals, and bomb making. The rest of the wiki was essentially uncensored as well and also offered links to sites hosting child pornography and abuse images.[2]
The earliest mention of the hidden wiki is from 2007 when it was located at 6sxoyfb3h2nvok2d.onion.[3]
A well known iteration of the Hidden Wiki was founded some time before October 2011, coming to prominence with its associations with illegal content.[4]
At some point prior to August 2013, the site was hosted on Freedom Hosting.[5]
In March 2014 the site and its kpvz7ki2v5agwt35.onion domain was hacked and redirected to Doxbin.[6] Following this event, the content began to be mirrored to more locations. During Operation Onymous in November 2014, after its Bulgarian hosting was compromised, the site served a message from law enforcement.[7]
Successors
There are several .onion websites hosting successors based on mirrors of the Hidden Wiki; as such, there is no longer one single official Hidden Wiki.[7] Many are hosted for accessibility reasons, due to frequent downtime and instability of the main wiki, while others were launched in order to filter links to child pornography.[8]
See also
References
- ↑ Gallagher, Sean (23 October 2011). "Anonymous takes down darknet child porn site on Tor network". Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/business/news/2011/10/anonymous-takes-down-darknet-child-porn-site-on-tor-network.ars.
- ↑ Williams, Christopher (27 October 2011). "The Hidden Wiki: an internet underworld of child abuse". The Daily Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/8851242/The-Hidden-Wiki-an-internet-underworld-of-child-abuse.html.
- ↑ Karsten (June 2007). "Length of new onion addresses". https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-dev/2007-June/001442.html.
- ↑ Williams, Christopher (24 October 2011). "Anonymous hacktivists target child abuse websites". https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8846577/Anonymous-hacktivists-target-child-abuse-websites.html.
- ↑ Howell O'Neill, Patrick (4 August 2013). "An in-depth guide to Freedom Hosting, the engine of the Dark Net". http://www.dailydot.com/news/eric-marques-tor-freedom-hosting-child-porn-arrest/.
- ↑ "The Hidden Wiki Hacked, WikiTor Fills The Gap". DeepDotWeb. March 14, 2014. http://www.deepdotweb.com/2014/03/14/hidden-wiki-hacked-wikitor-fills-gap/.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 DeepDotWeb (15 November 2014). "The Hidden Wiki Seized (Old Domain)". https://www.deepdotweb.com/2014/11/15/the-hidden-wiki-seized/.
- ↑ Mead, Derek (12 March 2014). "A Hacker Scrubbed Child Porn Links from the Dark Web's Most Popular Site". VICE Motherboard. http://motherboard.vice.com/read/a-hacker-scrubbed-child-porn-links-from-the-dark-webs-most-popular-site.
External links
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