How to Browse the Dark Web
The Dark Web, for the uninitiated among you, is a virtual area outside of the normal everyday Internet (including the website you are currently viewing). This is a place that Google and Bing don’t index, and you need special tools to get to it.
It’s where you’ll find data breaches and illegal trading, as well as legitimate, legal online activities that users want to do without attracting the attention of law enforcement or governments. This is the part of the Internet that is less regulated and more shady, for better or worse.
Piqued your interest? I’m going to explain how to get on the dark web and what you can find there, although of course Lifehacker doesn’t condone activities that break the law , so I’m not going to tell you how to do what you should do. ‘T.
Deep Web vs Dark Web: What’s the Difference?
You will often see these terms used in your travels on the Internet, and there is some confusion about what they mean. I’ll start with the deep web : it’s everything on the Internet that isn’t indexed by regular search engines, including pages locked behind paywalls, private databases, email archives, company intranets, and so on.
Think of all the parts of the Internet that you can’t see without logging in, from scientific journals to your Netflix account page: it’s the deep web. By some estimates, it accounts for about 90 percent of websites, so we’re talking about a significant portion of everything on the Internet.
The dark web I’m talking about here is a small part of the deep web and refers to websites that specifically try to stay under the radar. These pages provide additional protections for user anonymity and data security, and you need special software to access them—you can’t access them through a regular web browser like you can with much of the rest of the deep web.
Darknet tools and services
The dark web has its own set of tools and services, including web browsers and search engines (which I’ll talk about in a moment). Part of what makes the dark web a dark web is that you can’t access it through a regular web browser. You also can’t find anything about it through a Google search .
Having a private and anonymous place on the Internet will, of course, facilitate certain types of illegal activities: the dark web deals in hacking tools, drugs, fake passports, pornography, firearms and much more. It’s a little like wandering through the most nondescript part of a real city with all the ensuing events.
However, there are many legal and legitimate activities on the Internet that require privacy and anonymity. The darknet is used by journalists, whistleblowers and political activists who need the protection it offers. Anything you need to do that is somewhat unaccounted for, whether for noble or shameful reasons, can be done on the dark web.
To browse the dark web, you need a dark web browser.
To get on the dark web, you need a browser built for the job, and the best at it is Tor . Tor is a browser designed to provide additional security and privacy. It can be used to navigate the regular web as well as the dark web. It blocks trackers, prevents users from being fingerprinted, encrypts data, and redirects your browsing so no one can see where you are in the world.
The key to how Tor works is its so-called onion routing technology. It gets its name because multiple layers of obfuscation are created between you and the Internet, like layers of an onion: your traffic is routed between multiple nodes, which means it’s not as fast as regular browsing, but also no one else can do it . tell me who you are and where you are.
Tor is the public doorway to the dark web, and there are even mobile apps for Android and iOS. While there are other browsers you can use to access the dark web (a quick internet search will reveal a few), Tor is the best for most people in terms of the features it offers and the ease with which anyone can use it. .
Dark web search engine
Open Tor and you will no longer see the dark web staring back at you. Not only do you need a dark web browser, you also need a dark search engine. This search engine will take you to the sites you want, although you can also go directly to darknet addresses if you know what they are, as with standard URLs.
DuckDuckGo is the default search engine in the Tor browser, and once you turn on the Onionize toggle in the search box, you can use it to search for dark web links. They are usually followed by “.onion” rather than something like “.com” as on the standard web.
Other dark web search engines worth exploring are Ahmia, Torch, NotEvil and the Onion URL Directory – just enter a few keywords for what you’re looking for. Some of these sites can be found through regular web browsers, but you’ll have to switch to Tor once you have onion links you want to follow.
Dark websites
Individual sites on the dark web look similar to those on the regular web, although many are a little rougher around the edges. (Presentation and polish aren’t that important in this part of the Internet.) Click any website link and it will appear on the screen with the address at the top.
Some of the websites worth checking out on the dark web include mirrors of both the BBC and investigative journalism platforms ProPublica, designed to help inform people living in countries where the internet is heavily censored. If you need secure email, look no further than Proton Mail .
Given the associations that the dark web has and some of the illegal activities that occur on it, you won’t find a huge number of well-known websites there – most of the dark web consists of sites, wikis, and forums maintained by volunteers. However, there is still a lot to explore here.
What is sold on the darknet
I’ve already touched on some of the things you’ll find for sale on the dark web: it’s a far cry from eBay, let me put it that way. Anything you think you shouldn’t download or buy can usually be found somewhere on the dark web.
For obvious reasons – after all, I don’t want to get you or myself into trouble – I won’t go into detail when it comes to what you can find for sale on the dark web. Transactions are primarily processed through Bitcoin, which is in keeping with the spirit of the darknet when it comes to maintaining privacy and anonymity. That doesn’t mean you should assume that everything you do there can’t be tracked—law enforcement has gotten pretty good at tracking down people who think they’re operating in the shadows .
There aren’t many good reasons to take your legitimate trading activities to the dark web: because of the way it works, it attracts a lot of scammers and hackers, and you have very little protection if you find yourself being scammed.
Is the dark web illegal?
The dark web itself is not illegal and you won’t get into any trouble just by visiting it, but it is where a lot of illegal activity takes place because it is much harder for law enforcement to see what is going on. happening there.
You’ll often see news about criminal activity related to the dark web, and because of what happens in some corners of the dark web, it tends to scare off law-abiding businesses and users alike. Sections of the darknet are also often closed as part of police operations.
With all of this in mind, you need to exercise caution when viewing the sites you visit and other users with whom you interact. Keep in mind also that freedom of speech and censorship laws vary from country to country, which is one of the reasons the dark web exists in the first place.
Stay on top of the hacker underground
Hackers spend a lot of time on the dark web, and gaining access to hacking tools and data leaks on this part of the Internet is not that difficult. However, it is much more difficult to reach the people who upload and download files.
If you use a password manager , it may have a feature that monitors the dark web for mentions of your email address and password or any other personal information. It’s something built into the password management services offered by Apple and Google so you don’t have to manually hunt for data leaks.
As I said earlier, it is recommended to minimize your interactions with the dark web unless you can completely trust the people you are dealing with. It’s common to see a sign in stores that says “Look, Don’t Touch,” and it’s a good adage to keep in mind when navigating the dark web.