[UPDATE: One of our readers pointed out that the source code of this extension indicates that it is not decentralized, but reliant on the extension creators servers.]

This quick tutorial shows you how to easily gain access to the awesome hidden world of .bit websites. The only pre-requisite is that you are using the Google Chrome browser, the rest is easy. Hopefully in the future, similar easy to use extensions will be available for other browsers.

WHAT ARE .BIT DOMAINS?

On their website, Namecoin states that it is “a decentralized open source information registration and transfer system based on the Bitcoin cryptocurrency”, one of those information types being the .bit domain name. This means you have a decentralized domain name system (DNS) which is completely resistant to censorship attempts by powerful forces.

Remember back when Wikileaks was being hounded by the US government for its leaks of the diplomatic cables? During that period, the Wikileaks.org domain name had lots of trouble and disruption, resulting in the website moving frequently, confusing those looking for it. With .bit domains, this type of thing isn’t needed. Your presence at mydomain.bit would be unaffected, and even if the servers which run your site were attacked, you would just need to update the information in the namecoin blockchain and service would be resumed as normal.

This presents an interesting future, where gatekeepers such as ISP’s, ICANN (the US non-profit that controls most web namespace) and corrupt governments have much reduced power in their ability to silence others.

HOW TO VIEW .BIT DOMAINS IN CHROME

This dotbit.me .bit web surfer extension is an open source (https://github.com/Tagide/chrome-bit-domain-extension) Chrome add-on that allows you to easily view .bit websites.

Step 1. Open up Chrome and go to this link in their webstore.
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dotbitme…
Step 2. Click the blue “+ FREE” button in the top right to install. That’s it! Easy as pie.

Now you should be able to view .bit websites. For a cool directory of current .bit websites, visit https://dotbit.me/ and click the “Surf .bit” tab.

TIP: One thing to note is that when you’re inputting the .bit address into the address bar, Chrome will not automatically recognize it, instead sending you to a Google search for whatever you typed in. A way around this is to add a trailing / to the end of the domain. So instead of domain.bit it would be domain.bit/

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BY CHRIS ROBINSON