I'm a tech correspondent who used the dark web for a day, here's what I saw trends now
The dark web is the notorious 'hidden' side of the internet - hosting websites that cannot be found on Google and can only be accessed via special browsers.
Identities and locations of darknet users stay anonymous and cannot be tracked due to layered encryption systems, making it a hotbed for criminals.
Last month the Department of Justice busted a major fraud network that sold access to over 80 million account access credentials, including usernames and passwords.
Many former and current hackers have shared horror stories about what they've found on the dark web in recent years. So this week, DailyMail.com decided to log on and see what is lurking on the darknet — and the results were shocking.
Hitman marketplaces selling murder-for-hire: 'Hitman' websites had alleged killers offering to murder people for as little as $5,000, with one website describing itself as the 'most reputable' hitman website on the dark web
Other marketplaces sell meth in wholesale quantities. 'The dark web is part of the internet which is accessible through software such as Tor, or The Onion Router,' said Bischoff
Unlike the worldwide web, there are no publicly available links and you must know exactly where you are going.
So DailyMail.com recruited the help of a cyber security expert, Paul Bischoff, from the company Comparitech.
I first had to install Tor - short for The Onion Router - to my computer. Tor is a seething matrix of encrypted websites that allows users to surf beneath the everyday internet with complete anonymity.
From there, I went to a 'clear web' version of a popular 'listings' site for the dark web, which lists many of the illegal markets and sites available - and then to the dark web version of that site.
I could follow links to other dark web markets and listings sites from there. Many markets have high levels of computer security, such as generating a password you can't then reset.
Browsing the dark web is a slightly nerve-wracking experience due to the abundance of highly unpleasant material on it - although generally speaking, the drug markets tend to shun more severe criminal material such as human trafficking.
Within minutes we accessed sites openly selling thousands of stolen credit cards, hard drugs, 'hacker services' that will plant child abuse material on people's computers to 'ruin their lives'.
We also accessed 'hitman' websites where alleged killers offered 'worldwide services' to murder people for as little as $5,000.
One website described itself as the 'most reputable' hitman website on the dark web (it's worth noting, however, that there have not been any cases where it's been proven that a murderer was contracted via one of these sites).
A step-by-step guide to fraud: The dark web sells guides on how to commit cybercrimes
Fake ID is freely on sale: Visitors of the dark web appear to have access to sites that sell fake identification cards for any US state
Stolen PayPal accounts for sale in bulk, which has led to many recent cybercrimes. Bischoff said that while organizations, including the CIA have a presence on the dark web - as do some news organizations - he believes 'most' users use the hidden layer for illegal purposes
Hard drugs are freely on sale for cryptocurrency: DailyMail.com accessed sites openly selling hard drugs that can be bought with cryptocurrency
On the dark web, 'most' sites are a scam, and you can't believe anything you see, Bischoff warned - and if you find links on the 'clear' internet, they often guide you straight into the hands of scammers.
Bischoff suggested a popular listing site as a jumping-off point for looking at dark web sites - which have a suffix .onion instead of .com and are not accessible through normal web browsers.
Bischoff said that while organizations, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have a presence on the dark web - as do some news organizations - he believes 'most' users use the hidden layer for illegal purposes.
According to Cision, some estimates suggest that between two percent and five percent of global GDP is laundered via the dark web.
Several platforms offer access to the dark web, including i2p, FreeNet and Tor. One study estimated that there are around 2.6 million Tor daily users.
Peter Scully (left) is spending life in prison for abuse videos involving the torture of toddlers he released on the dark web. Josh Duggar allegedly downloaded a video made by Scully that shows an 18-month-old being tortured and is now spending more than 12 years in jail
Sites allegedly offering contract killings are also rife on the third layer of the internet, with dark web drug dealer Ross Ulbricht (pictured) - currently serving life without parole - having allegedly solicited assassins for $730,000 in cryptocurrency
'Somebody basically has to give you an
