Recommended: Casting Light on the Dark Web is both a concise, readable guide to the dark web and an attempt by Beckstrom and Lund to dispel the negative image of the dark web often presented in the media. The authors meet both of these goals, offering a solid primer on the history of the internet and dark web, basic technical information for accessing and browsing the dark web, and legal and ethical issues. . . [Beckstrom and Lund] provide timely, basic information that will be helpful for nonspecialists seeking to learn more about this often misunderstood sector of the internet.

Choice Reviews

For those who think of the dark web as inherently malign, this concise and informative primer will set them straight. Armed with masters degrees in, respectively, information and library science, Beckstrom and Lund set out to provide a “no-bull guide to the dark web,” starting by clarifying that calling this loose-knit group of specially-accessed websites dark doesn’t connote nefarious purposes, but user anonymity—a potentially desirable quality for political dissidents, whistle-blowers, and people simply concerned with online privacy. The authors explore the three major browsers available—Freenet, I2P, and Tor (the most popular)—and provide guidance for accessing and downloading all three, security tips, and helpful screen grabs. They also debunk six common myths about their subject—such as “the dark web is mostly a marketplace for illicit drugs” or “it is illegal to use the dark web—and cover how to avoid illegal activity on the dark web and what to do if one does encounter it (in general, call or email the FBI). Readers will immediately note how the book is structured—each chapter is self-contained, with its own table of contents and bibliography—a somewhat unusual but effective organizing principle aimed at usability. Beckstrom and Lund’s smart and well-informed guide makes a clear case for the dark web’s benefits and dispels associated myths.

Publishers Weekly

This is a concise and clear introduction to an important aspect of the Internet that is often glossed over or demonized. The authors describe both the dark web's important advantages for truly private communication, and its undeniable downsides. It is a valuable tool, especially for libraries considering whether to provide their users with access to dark web applications.

Technical Services Quarterly

At once a history, a primer, a recipe book and an ethical advisory, Casting Light on the Dark Web: A Guide for Safe Exploration dispels the myths about the anonymous web and provides reliable guidelines for using the various dark web platforms to enhance user privacy and security in libraries and beyond.

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, interim director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom and the Freedom to Read