What is the Dark Web?

It isn't all just about illegal activity, but is it for you?

Last September a joint operation between 16 European countries and the US shut down an estimated 400 domains on the 'dark web'. These sites were primarily involved in selling drugs and weapons, and the list of targets included the latest incarnation of the notorious contraband sales website Silk Road. It was described as a major blow to the dark web and online crime in general.

But what is the dark web? And what does it contain? Is it just a tool for crime, or is there anything else on it?

How to get paid more

Cole Henley looks at what we can do to turn our passion for the web into a sustainable, profitable career

Many of us get into the business of making websites through a hobby or personal interest. Lots of us love what we do and are in the rare situation of being able to make a living doing something we enjoy. Which makes it all the more harder to be objective about making money.

We often find it hard to talk about the financial side of our work. That is why I started the Freelance Rates survey in 2011 (netm.ag/2011-266). When I started working freelance I had no idea what was an acceptable rate to charge. I knew what I used to earn as an employee and how much I needed to survive, but not what I wanted – or even could – charge. It is a conversation few of us are happy to have in public, but one that is absolutely essential to our success in, and our enjoyment of, what we do.

The reality behind magic design

With computers, anything is possible – right? Wrong. If you’re not considering practical constraints and creating technical prototypes, you’re living in a fantasy land, says Vasilis van Gemert

A while ago I spoke to a designer who used to design television sets for Philips in the 1980s. He and his team would decide what new televisions would look like. In turn, I told him about how we would work together at the design agency I used to work for. I told him about the waterfall process, where an interaction designer would first create a fully functional wireframe. After the client had signed it off, a visual designer would add colour (and rounded corners) in a photo editing program. And when those pictures were signed off, a developer would turn them into something that worked in a browser.

My stories amazed him. To him, this sounded like the assembly line in a factory, where the different parts are turned into working televisions – after all the designing had been done. Waterfall, he explained, is not meant to be a design process. It’s how production works.

10 Security Tips For Everyday Computing

Simple steps for safer surfing

Maintaining security while you're using your computer isn't a full time job, but it does require full-time vigilance. If you're acting in a way that isn't secure, changing that behaviour can be difficult - especially if you're not aware of it in the first place! To help you improve your computer security, we've compiled this list of things - some you might be aware of, some of which you probably won't be - to help keep your time on the PC and internet as secure as possible.

Understanding Online Security

How are you protected when you're on the web?

Although security is an issue many of us are very concerned about, there are a lot of ways you can make your online life more secure that you may not be aware of. From device-secured password authentication to always-encrypted traffic to file integrity verification, the protocols and software exist to help make everything you do that much less vulnerable to interception and attack. If you're not using at least some of these, then you should be!

Attacks & Vulnerabilities: Understanding Computer Security

James Hunt imparts some essential information about malware

There are many ways that your computer can be attacked, and part of stopping yourself from becoming a victim of malicious or fraudulent activity is knowing how your computer might be targeted, what might be targeting you and why they might be doing it. Although it's common to hear terms like malware, spoofing, phishing and more, it's not always clear what they mean or why they're a problem. Hopefully with this article we can change that for you.