Last updated on January 12th, 2024
What is the Deep web and where is it located?
You probably visit the deep web every single day.
The so-called deep web (also deepweb, deep net, deep internet) can be explained in a few words. You probably know that Google does not index all pages on the Internet. Any page that is not indexed by Google for any reason and does not appear in search results belongs to the deep web. These are, for example, pages of financial institutions, government pages, library archives, restricted access sites where you enter with a password, etc. Experts claim that the deep web contains over 90 percent of all Internet content. Even Facebook is on this deep web list. If you log into Facebook, or into your national library, or into your Google account, or into the website of your tax agency – you are visiting the deep web. In short – that’s it. It’s not that interesting, is it?
What is Dark net and how to get there?
There is a “special” part of the deep web. They call it the Darknet (also Dark Web, Dark Net). This strange place is hidden “deep” and cannot be accessed through some of the regular browsers like Firefox or Chrome. Google does not index pages from the dark web, just as it does not index pages from the deep web. So you can’t use Google to search for information on the dark web.
On the dark net, there are web pages that look like the pages on the “normal” internet. However, web addresses (domains, names of sites) on the dark net do not end in dot-com, dot-net, or dot-org. Web addresses on the dark web end in dot-onion (.onion). So, to open a page on the dark net, you need to know its onion address. To browse an onion address, you need a special browser called Tor.
What is the difference between the deep web and the dark net?
As you understand, the Dark net is just a small part of the Deep web. In other words, all darknet pages are part of the deep web, but most deep web pages do not belong to the darknet.
A site with an address ending in dot-onion cannot be opened in Firefox or Chrome browsers and cannot be found by searching on Google. As mentioned above, to open an “onion page” you need the Tor browser.
Schematically, the difference between the “normal” internet (it is called a Clear web), the deep web and the dark web can be represented as follows:
Clear Web – indexed by search engines. Contains sites with addresses ending in dot-com, dot-net, dot-org, and so on. It can be accessed with all browsers including Tor, Firefox, Chrome and so on.
Deep Web – government, medical, financial and scientific records, web archives, restricted access sites, etc. Not indexed by search engines. Contains sites with addresses ending in dot-com, dot-net, dot-org, and so on. It can be accessed with all browsers including Tor, Firefox, Chrome and so on.
Dark Web – Not indexed by search engines. Contains sites with addresses ending in dot-onion. It can only be accessed through the Tor browser.
What is Tor browser?
For now, it’s enough to know that the Tor browser has two advantages over the other browsers. First – in addition to regular pages from the “normal” Internet (Clear net), through Tor you can also open dot-onion pages. Second – Tor makes you anonymous on the internet by hiding your location (your IP address and your geographic location) and encrypting your traffic.
It is very easy to install the Tor browser – go to the official page of the project, which is www.torproject.org, download the browser from the link https://www.torproject.org/download/ and install it with a few clicks. If you need more detailed information, visit the page:
What is Tor and how to use it?
Now it is time to browse your first darknet page. Don’t worry about safety, you will visit one of the most famous pages on the dark web – the official dark version of British media BBC.
Open the Tor browser, copy and paste the following darknet address:
https://www.bbcnewsd73hkzno2ini43t4gblxvycyac5aw4gnv7t2rccijh7745uqd.onion/
Congratulations, you’ve just accessed the dark net. (Yes, the web addresses of the dark net look like this – quite ugly, long and hard to remember.)
Is it safe and legal to surf the dark web?
Short answer – yes, it’s legal and no, it’s not safe. That’s like asking if it’s legal and safe to walk late at night in some dangerous neighborhood – yes, it’s legal, but it’s not safe.
WARNING: The dark web is a kind of digital criminal underground, where you can find gun and narcotic shops, sites with stolen passwords, sites with child pornography, and all sorts of other illegal activities. It is absolutely not recommended to search and enter such pages. The security services of many countries around the world monitor the Dark net. In 2013, the FBI and Europol shut down the largest darknet market known as Silk Road.
But the deep web also has its advantages. Interesting and important documents and information can be found there. Communication on the deep web is safe and secure, with a high level of protection and privacy. This is important, especially for citizens and journalists from some countries.
We provide a list of verified and safe darknet sites. It is strongly recommended that you only access the sites from this list. Visit the page List of verified and safe darknet sites.