Related Terms: What Is Dark Web
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What Is Dark Web?
A collection of websites on the internet known as the "dark web" are accessible only with a specialized web browser. It is used to hide Internet-related activity, which has both legal and illegal advantages. It is well known that some people use it for very criminal acts, despite the fact that some utilize it to avoid government censorship.
Different Forms Of Web
Difference Between Dark Web, Deep Web And Surface Web
The scale of the Internet is huge due to the millions of databases, websites, and servers that are always active on it. Did you know that the websites that can be searched using a standard search engine like Google make up a very small portion of the entire Internet? The Visible Web, Surface Web, or Open Web is the name given to this portion of the Internet that is readily available.
Now let's see the difference between Dark Web, Deep Web and Surface Web.
Surface Web Or The Open Web
The layer of the Internet that is visible is known as the Open Web or Surface Web. The open web, in the case of an iceberg, would be regarded as the water's upper surface. According to statistics, the open web and the collection of websites only account for 5% of the total amount of content available on the Internet (including dark web and deep web data).
This layer includes all of the websites that regular users of popular browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, or Opera access. Websites are typically identified by registry operators like ".com" and ".org" and are simple to find using well-known search engines.
It is easy to find the websites that are present on the surface web because search engines index them with the help of their visible links (by crawling).
Deep Web
Ninety percent of all websites may be found at this layer of the Internet, which is located beneath the Open Web. As an iceberg is far larger than the surface or the open web, it would be seen as the surface beneath the sea. In fact, the volume is so high that it is difficult to predict how many websites or web pages are open at any given time.
Keep the iceberg example in mind, and imagine that search engines are like a boat and websites are like fish. Now the search engine i.e. the boat will access the same fish i.e. websites that are at or near the top level. Everything else, from academic journals to private databases and more illegal content, is out of reach. The deep web also includes part of the layer we call the dark web.
Although many news outlets interchangeably use the phrases "deep web" and "dark web," a sizable portion of the deep web is still secure and legal for access. The following are present in abundance on the Deep Web:
- Databases: Groups of publicly and privately held files that are searchable only within the database itself and are not connected to other parts of the Web.
- Intranet: Private networks used by large businesses, governments, and educational institutions for internal communication and management.
If you're unsure of how to access the Deep Web, it's likely that you already do so without even knowing it. Therefore, the term Deep Web is called so, because search engines cannot identify the web pages on this layer.
Websites on the deep web are either password-protected or by asking search engines not to index them.
In the deep web at large, its hidden content is usually clean and secure. Most of such pages are hidden only to protect user data. This data may include the following:
- Data related to Bank Accounts
- Data about email and social messaging
- Private databases of large enterprises
- Sensitive information like medical documents
- Files related to legal affairs
Some users may be able to get TV or movie services that aren't available in their local areas by dodging local restrictions in some portions of the Deep Web. Others go a little further and download unauthorized music or steal newly released films.
The more you advance towards the dark web, the more you will come across harmful content and dangerous activities.
Still so many portions of the deep web can be accessed through common browsers. This way, the users may access a portion of dark web while staying in the deep web and see more violent and forbidden content.
Dark Web,
Dark Web refers to the sites that are not indexed on the search engines and are only accessible by specific links with the help of a specific browser. This significantly smaller portion than surface web is normally considered a portion of deep web. The dark web is the portion of the iceberg that is submerged, if you remember our iceberg analogy.
Few individuals will be able to interact with or even view the dark web, which is a hidden area of the deep web. In other words, the deep web covers everything below the surface web, including the dark web, that can be accessed with the right software.
Some of the layers that make up the dark web's structure are what make it such a haven for the anonymous.
- Web Pages Not Indexed: The search engines on the surface web cannot index pages on the dark web. That is why search engines have no information about these pages.
- Virtual TrafficWhich comes through a disorganized infrastructure
- Traditional browsers not being able to access it: Traditional browsers cannot access it due to its unique registry operators. Moreover, it is protected by additional security measures like firewall and encryption.
The reputation of the dark web is often connected to the illegal and criminal activities. Besides, illegal trading and buying illegal products is also associated with dark web. But so many companies have also used it for legal and legitimate purposes as well.
Talk about safety of dark web, deep web has different risks associated with it than those of dark web. Before we further mention the risks associated with dark web, let's see how and why people access the dark web.
How To Access Dark Web?
There was a time when dark web was a haven only for hackers, law enforcement officers and cybercriminals. But now with the advent of new technologies like anonymization browser software, Tor and encryption, anyone can access the dark web.
The Tor ("The Onion Routing" project) network browser allows users to access websites that have the registry operator ".onion". This browser was developed by American Naval Research Laboratory in the late 1990s.
An early version of Tor was developed to protect communications for surveillance reasons because it was obvious that the Internet would never provide complete privacy.
It was eventually made public in its current form after being developed for years with privacy in mind. It's free to download for anyone.
Consider Tor to be a browser similar to Chrome. In particular, the Tor browser employs a random path of encrypted servers, or "nodes," to go between your computer and the deepest areas of the web rather than the direct path, due to which u sers can follow their actions. It enables users to access the Deep Web without worrying about their browser history being exposed or being hacked.
It is impossible to determine who controls a website on the Deep Web or where it is hosted because the Deep Web also employs Tor to maintain its anonymity.
To save this article from being lengthy, we will only talk here today. Today we have seen what dark web or deep web is and how it can be accessed. The next article will begin this series and discuss the concerns associated with the dark web, the legal and illegal aspects of using it and how it can be accessed safely. How did you like today's article? Be sure to express your opinion in the comment section.
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