What is the Deep and Dark Web?

Dark web definition

The dark web is the hidden collective of internet sites only accessible by a specialized web browser. It is used for keeping internet activity anonymous and private, which can be helpful in both legal and illegal applications. While some use it to evade government censorship, it has also been known to be utilized for highly illegal activity.

What is the dark web, deep web, and surface web?

The Internet is sizable with millions of web pages, databases, and servers all run 24 hours a day. But the so-called "visible" Internet (aka surface web or open web) — sites that can be found using search engines like Google and Yahoo — is just the tip of the iceberg.

There are several terms surrounding the non-visible Web, but it's worth knowing how they differ if you're planning to browse off the beaten path.

The open web, or surface web, is the “visible” surface layer. If we continue to visualize the entire web like an iceberg, the open web would be the top portion that’s above the water. From a statistical standpoint, this collective of websites and data makes up under 5% of the total internet.

All commonly public-facing websites accessed via traditional browsers like Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Firefox are contained here. Websites are usually labeled with registry operators like “.com” and “.org” and can be easily located with popular search engines.

Locating surface web websites is possible because search engines can index the web via visible links (a process called “crawling” due to the search engine traveling the web like a spider).

The deep web rests below the surface and accounts for approximately 90% of all websites. This would be the part of an iceberg beneath the water, much larger than the surface web. In fact, this hidden web is so large that it's impossible to discover exactly how many pages or websites are active at any one time.

Carrying on with the analogy, big search engines could be considered like fishing boats that can only "catch" websites close to the surface. Everything else, from academic journals to private databases and more illicit content, is out of reach. This deep web also includes the portion that we know as the dark web.

While many news outlets use "deep web" and "dark web" interchangeably, much of the deep portion as a whole is perfectly legal and safe. Some of the largest parts of the deep web include:

Databases: both public and privately protected file collections that are not connected to other areas of the web, only to be searched within the database itself.

Intranets: internal networks for enterprises, governments, and educational facilities used to communicate and control aspects privately within their organizations.

In case you’re wondering how to access the deep web, chances are you already use it daily. The term "deep web" refers to all web pages that that are unidentifiable by search engines. Deep web sites may be concealed behind passwords or other security walls, while others simply tell search engines to not “crawl” them. Without visible links, these pages are more hidden for various reasons.

On the larger deep web, its “hidden” content is generally cleaner and safer. Everything from blog posts in-review and pending web page redesigns, to the pages you access when you bank online, are part of the deep web. Furthermore, these pose no threat to your computer or safety at large. Most of these pages are kept hidden from the open web to protect user information and privacy, such as:

Financial accounts like banking and retirement..

Email and social messaging accounts..

Private enterprise databases..

HIPPA sensitive information like medical documentation..

Legal files..

HOW TO USE DARK WEB / HOW TO USE TOR?

How to access the dark web safely

If you have a legitimate or viable need to access the dark web, you’ll want to make sure you stay safe if you decide to use it.

7 Tips for safe access to the dark web

Trust your intuition. To avoid being scammed, you’ll want to protect yourself with smart behavior on the web. Not everyone is who they seem. Staying safe requires that you watch who you talk to and where you visit. You should always take action to remove yourself from a situation if something doesn’t feel right.

Detach your online persona from real life. Your username, email address, “real name,” password, and even your credit card should never be used anywhere else in your life. Create brand-new throwaway accounts and identifiers for yourself if necessary. Acquire prepaid, unidentifiable debit cards before making any purchases. Do not use anything that could be used to identify you — whether online or in real life.

Employ active monitoring of identify and financial theft. Many online security services now offer identity protection for your safety. Be sure to take advantage of these tools if they are made available to you.

Explicitly avoid dark web file downloads. Fear of malware infection is significantly higher in the lawless territory that is the dark web. Real-time file scanning from an antivirus program can help you check any incoming files in case you do opt to download.

Disable ActiveX and Java in any available network settings. These frameworks are notorious for being probed and exploited by malicious parties. Since you are traveling through a network filled with said threats, you’ll want to avoid this risk.

Use a secondary non-admin local user account for all daily activities. The native account on most computers will have full administrative permissions by default. Most malware must take advantage of this to execute its functions. As such, you can slow or halt the progress of exploitation by limiting the account in-use to strict privileges.

Always restrict access to your Tor-enableddevice. Protect your children or other family members so they aren't at risk of stumbling across something no one should ever see. Visit the Deep Web if you're interested, but don't let kids anywhere near it.