The internet you usually use is quite simple. The internet has different parts used for different things. There are three main parts: the Surface Web, the Deep Web, and the Dark Web. You use the first two every day. But the third type can be a bit dangerous, depending on how you use it. Let’s learn more about it.
What Is The Surface Web?
You probably use Google every day—that’s the Surface Web. When you search on Google, the information you find is part of the Surface Web. This includes news, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. You can find all sorts of information here, and others can also find information about you, often without you knowing.
What Is The Deep Web?
Use at least a free antivirus program, but don’t rely on it completely.
This is a part of the internet that is hidden from you, but you can still use it. You won’t find information from this area on Google or Bing. For example, emails that are sent to you can only be seen by you. No one else can find them by searching on Google. This kind of information is in the Deep Web.
All company databases, your emails, Facebook chats, Twitter chats, hospital patient records, password-protected information, and information you can access by paying—all of this is part of the Deep Web. Search engines don’t show this information in their results, and companies don’t want them to.
The Deep Web is much larger than the Surface Web. For example, the information you are reading now is on the Surface Web, but the place where this information is stored (the database) is on the Deep Web. Have you ever wondered how much information is in the Deep Web? According to one survey, the Deep Web contains about 7,500 terabytes (TB) of information, while the Surface Web contains only about 19 TB. This number keeps growing. The Deep Web makes up about 90-95% of the entire web.
What Is The Dark Web?
The Dark Web is much smaller than the Deep Web. You can’t access the Dark Web using regular browsers like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, or Vivaldi. You need a special browser that also protects your privacy.
Everything on the Dark Web is hidden. For example, when you use Google Chrome with the Google search engine, Google knows which phone you are using, what you are searching for, and where you are searching from. But on the Dark Web, none of this information is tracked. You just need to be careful.
- Surface Web: Social media, news websites, blogs
- Deep Web: Hospital patient’s records, company databases, your mail
- Dark Web: Unauthorized information, transactions of murderers, intelligence
According to a survey, there are around 2700 websites on the dark web. More than 60% of these websites contain illegal content. However, there are also some good websites on the dark web.
You cannot find dark web results using Google; you need to use different search engines like Candle, Not Evil, or Spearx. To use these, you also need a special browser.
On the dark web, people hide their identities. Neither website owners nor users reveal who they are, which makes it very difficult to shut down illegal websites. Also, due to the strong privacy of the dark web, countries cannot easily regulate these websites.
Dos And Don’ts:
- Do: Gather more information about the dark web beforehand. Don’t: Get involved in illegal activities.
- Do: Use secure tools. Don’t: Install any files.
- Do: Keep your software updated. Don’t: Click on any links.
- Do: Check if a URL is safe before clicking it. Don’t: Share your personal information anywhere.
- Do: Keep your personal information safe. Don’t trust anyone.
- Do: Use cryptocurrency for any purchases. Don’t: Ignore security measures.
- Do: Be careful when chatting online. Don’t: Break the law.
- Do: Keep your webcam off, cover it, or disable it. Don’t: Share personal information on public forums.
What Are The Benefits Of Using The Dark Web?
The biggest advantage of using the dark web is privacy. It was created for this reason. According to a company survey, 70.1% of people use the Tor browser for privacy, 62.28% for security, and 27.07% out of curiosity.
Since it is hard to track activities on this part of the internet, some people use it for private and secure communication.
It is also used for good purposes:
1. Some journalists use the dark web to expose corruption in government offices.
2. Citizens or government officials use the dark web to access blocked information related to the government.
3. Some activists use the privacy of the dark web to work against the government.
4. Some people use it to get medical information without revealing their identity.
5. It is used to access websites banned by the government.
6. For searching without seeing advertisements.
7. For keeping cryptocurrency wallets safe.
8. To use social media without being monitored.
What Are The Dangers Of The Dark Web?
1. The dark web is full of illegal activities. Many websites are likely run by criminals. These websites are used for illegal transactions. If you visit these sites, your personal information could be stolen.
2. It’s hard to know which links on the dark web are safe. Clicking on unknown links can expose you to disturbing content. Downloading files can be risky because they might contain viruses.
3. Government agencies monitor the dark web. They track people who try to contact criminals or engage in illegal activities and arrest them. A single mistake could lead to your arrest.
4. The dark web has forums like Quora and Reddit, where you can contact hackers. You might hire them, buy malware, or they might try to hack your device. They don’t care about you specifically. Your information is valuable to them.
5. Websites can install remote administration tools (RATs) on your device or even hack your webcam without your knowledge.
6. For example, you might see an ad for cheap clothes on the dark web. If you buy from the website without a cash-on-delivery option, you might lose your money or receive a different product.
7. These things happen on the dark web all the time. Drugs and weapons are sold there. Some people buying drugs receive packets of glucose instead, as a scam.
8. You might share personal information like your address and phone number. If you pay with a credit card, they can get your card information. Most transactions are done with cryptocurrency to make them difficult to trace.
9. Reading about how secure and private the dark web is and then using it carelessly puts you at risk. It can lead to big problems.
10. There are forums used by terrorists who spread hateful messages to incite violence.
Is Using The Dark Web Illegal
The answer is partly no. Using the dark web isn’t illegal by itself, but using it for illegal activities is a crime. Many journalists and government officials use it too.
If you want to use the dark web, you need to follow the instructions below and use it at your own risk. A small mistake can get you into big trouble, so be careful!
How To Use The Dark Web
The information below is for informational purposes only. You can use it as you wish.
Tor Browser:
This is the most popular method. There are other ways, but this is the safest and most well-known, so I’ll explain it. Tor stands for “The Onion Router.” If you use the surface web with Tor, all your information will be private and secure.
When you connect to the Tor network, your information passes through three servers. At each server, your information is encrypted.
The first server you connect to registers your IP address, which is not encrypted, but all other information is encrypted. This first server knows nothing but your IP address.
The last server decrypts the information as soon as the information arrives at its assigned destination. Then that information gets encrypted again. Therefore, this last server knows everything you’re doing on the dark web, in addition to your IP address.
You can achieve security and privacy through the Tor network, but its weakness is the last server, which has all your information. Since your information is decrypted there, that server can read it.
Government agencies also exploit this weakness. If they seize such a server, they can find you. They use time to track you. For example, they check when you connected to the Tor network and when you connected to the last server.
You can use the Tor browser to connect to this Tor network. The US Navy created this browser. Then, in 2004, it was released to the public. This browser can be downloaded from the Play Store, if you are using android, or you can visit their website, if you are using a desktop.
If you want to use it, you have to be patient. Because the connection passes through at least three servers and is encrypted, it works very slowly. A 40 Mbps speed becomes very slow on this network. Therefore, on a regular 4G network, it will work like a turtle.
Using a VPN:
Like I mentioned when talking about Tor, your IP address is visible to the first server, which could be risky. To protect yourself, you can use a VPN. But don’t just use any free VPN you find on the Play Store. You should only use VPNs that have a “no logs” policy. This means they won’t store any of your information. If you don’t know of any such VPNs, buy one from a reputable company. It’s safer to pay for a trusted service than risk your data with a free, unknown option.
Dark Web Search Engines
Regular search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, and Baidu don’t show websites from the dark web. You need special search engines for that.
DuckDuckGo
This search engine is the default for the Tor browser. It’s famous worldwide for its privacy features. It doesn’t track users, so you can use it for dark web searches too. DuckDuckGo ensures your searches remain private.
Torch: This search engine also respects user privacy and is one of the oldest ones available, making it a reliable choice.
Ahmia.fi:
If you want to see dark web search results on Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge, you can use this search engine to find them. However, you won’t be able to open the websites directly in those browsers. To open them, you’ll need to connect through the Tor network. Ahmia.fi helps bridge the gap between regular browsers and dark web content.
Dark Search:
According to its creators, this search engine crawls the web every 24 hours, ensuring up-to-date results.
Dark Web Websites
Now that you know what you need to access the dark web, how do you identify a dark web website? Look at its URL. Regular websites usually end in domains like .com, .in, or gov.in.
But dark web URLs end in “.onion.” Also, these URLs are usually very strange and hard to remember. I’ve included some examples below. Dark web websites often change or disappear because of illegal activities or because the owners get bored. They might shut down one site and start a new one. It’s a constantly shifting landscape.
What Is Sold On The Dark Web?
You’ve probably heard about website hacks. Hackers often steal databases full of people’s personal information. They then try to get money from the companies by threatening to release the data on the dark web. Scammers then use this information for their schemes.
Passports, driver’s licenses, ID cards, phone numbers, bank details, social media usernames, and passwords are all commonly sold on the dark web. It’s a marketplace for stolen identities and sensitive data.
You can also find guns, malware, computer viruses, drugs, and other illegal items for sale. The dark web is unfortunately a hub for illegal marketplaces.
Hackers can also find work here. It is a place where people looking for illicit activities can find people willing to perform them.
You can find pirated files, software, books, movies, and other copyrighted content on the dark web, making it a haven for illegal downloads.
Who Created The Dark Web?
The U.S. government is behind it. The U.S. government invented it for its spies to exchange secret information. The original creator was the US government.
You can access the dark web using the Tor browser. American spies used this browser to send information and communicate secretly. It was initially meant to be a secure communication channel.
The U.S. later made Tor open to the public. The original goal of the dark web was to provide security and privacy. But it has largely been misused. The invention of Bitcoin made things even more complicated because, before that, credit cards were used for payments. Now, cryptocurrencies are used that are nearly impossible to track. This makes it harder to trace illegal transactions.
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