How to Browse the Dark Web
The dark web is a virtual area beyond the regular, everyday internet (including the website you’re currently viewing). It’s a place Google and Bing don’t index, and accessing it requires specialized tools.
It’s a place where data leaks and illegal transactions can be found, but also legitimate online activities that users want to conduct without attracting the attention of law enforcement or the government. It’s a less regulated and more shadowy part of the internet, which has its pros and cons.
Intrigued? I’ll explain how to access the dark web and what you can find there—though Lifehacker doesn’t condone any illegal activity, so I won’t tell you how to do anything you shouldn’t.
Deep Web vs. Dark Web: What’s the Difference?
You’ll often encounter these terms online, and there’s some confusion about their meanings. Let’s start with the “deep web” : this is everything online that isn’t indexed by regular search engines, including paid-for pages, private databases, email archives, corporate intranets, and so on.
Think of all the parts of the internet you can’t access without logging in, from scientific journals to your Netflix account page: that’s the “deep web.” By some estimates, it accounts for around 90 percent of websites, so we’re talking about a significant portion of everything online.
The dark web I’m talking about here is a small subset of the deep web, and it includes websites that specifically strive to remain unnoticed. These pages have additional protections for user anonymity and data security, and accessing them requires specialized software. You can’t access them through a regular web browser, like most 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 discuss later). One of the dark web’s unique features is that it can’t be accessed through a regular web browser, and information on it can’t be found using Google Search .
The availability of a private and anonymous space online naturally facilitates the spread of certain types of illegal activity: hacking tools, drugs, counterfeit passports, pornography, firearms, and much more are sold on the darknet. It’s a bit like walking through the worst part of town, with all the attendant consequences.
However, there are many legitimate online activities that require privacy and anonymity. The darknet is used by journalists, whistleblowers, and political activists who require the protection it provides. Anything that needs to be done, to some degree, outside the law, for noble or ignoble reasons, can be done on the darknet.
To browse the dark web, you will need a dark web browser.
To access the darknet, you need a browser specifically designed for this purpose, and Tor is the best. Tor is a browser designed for additional security and privacy, and it can be used for browsing both the regular, surface internet and the darknet . It blocks trackers, prevents fingerprint identification, encrypts data, and reroutes your traffic so no one can see where you are.
Tor is a kind of public gateway to the darknet, and it also has mobile apps for Android and iOS . While there are other browsers that can be used to access the darknet, Tor is generally recommended by most people as the best due to its features and ease of use.
The key operating principle of Tor is so-called onion routing technology. It gets its name from the fact that it creates multiple layers of obfuscation between you and the internet, like the layers of an onion: your traffic is rerouted between multiple nodes, meaning it’s not as fast as regular web browsing, but it also makes it very difficult for anyone else to determine who you are and where you are.
When you first open the browser on your computer, you’ll see options to “Configure Connection” or simply “Connect.” Choosing the former gives you greater control over the nodes (or “bridges”) used to connect to the network. For most users, letting Tor handle this automatically is sufficient (and you can also set this as the default setting in your browser if you prefer).
Once you’re connected, everything works just like a regular browser. You can access the entire regular internet through Tor and take advantage of the extra privacy provided by redirection, as well as delve into the dark web. However, there are a few nice extra features, such as the “New Identity” button (the broom icon in the upper right corner), which clears everything from your current session and restarts Tor.
Mobile apps are also easy to use. Tor for Android is the official app for Google’s mobile platform, and while there’s no exact equivalent for iOS, the open-source Onion Browser is recommended: the buttons for “moon-loading” websites are located in the upper-left (Android) and upper-right (iOS) corners. In both cases, you can install the Orbot VPN service, also part of the Tor project, for additional internet security.
However, even with Tor and onion routing, you don’t suddenly become completely invisible and free to do whatever you want without consequences. Some details of your traffic can be intercepted at the entrance and exit of nodes by the people running those nodes, if they know what they’re doing and what they’re looking for. You’re also susceptible to threats like end-to-end correlation attacks , so while Tor is much more secure and offers greater privacy, it’s by no means completely safe.
Also keep in mind that your internet service provider (ISP) will be able to see how you connect to Tor nodes, even if they don’t know exactly what you’re doing. Many people also install a VPN , but then you’re trusting an additional third party that won’t track your activity or report it to anyone else.
Cybersecurity should also cover all physical data on your computer that law enforcement or government agencies may have the right to seize upon request. If you want to remain unnoticed and undetected, connecting to the dark web via the Tor browser is an important step in this direction, but not the only one.
Darknet search engine
Open Tor and you won’t suddenly see the dark web. You’ll need not only a dark web browser but also a dark web search engine. This search engine will lead you to the sites you need, although you can also navigate directly to dark web addresses if you know them, just like standard URLs.
DuckDuckGo is the default search engine in the Tor browser, and by enabling the Onionize switch in the search bar, you can use it to search for links on the dark web. These typically have the “.onion” extension, rather than the “.com” extension found on the regular internet. On the dark web, you’ll have to become your own search engine: you’ll often receive links from other users or forums, and you’ll need to bookmark them to return to them later.
Other darknet search engines worth considering include Ahmia, Torch, NotEvil, and Onion URL Directory—just enter keywords to search. Some of these sites can be found in regular web browsers, but once you find the links you need in Onion, you’ll need to switch to Tor.
Darknet websites
Some websites on the dark web look almost identical to those on the regular internet, although many are slightly less appealing. (On this part of the internet, appearance and design quality are less important.) Click on any link on a website, and it will appear on your screen with the address at the top.
On the darknet, there are some sites worth checking out, including mirror sites of the BBC and Mediapart platforms, created to inform people living in countries with strict internet censorship. If you need secure email, use Proton Mail . If you visit a regular website with a darknet counterpart (.onion), you’ll see a message in the upper right corner of Tor that reads: Click the “Visit .onion” button to view it.
Given the connections associated with the darknet and some of the illegal activity occurring there, you won’t find many well-known websites there—most of the darknet consists of volunteer-run websites, wikis, and forums. However, there’s still plenty to explore.
What is sold on the darknet?
I’ve already touched on some of the things you can find for sale on the darknet: it’s a far cry from eBay, let’s be honest. Anything you can imagine that shouldn’t be downloaded or purchased can usually be found somewhere on the darknet.
For obvious reasons—after all, I don’t want to cause problems for either you or myself—I won’t go into detail about what can be found for sale on the darknet. Many transactions are conducted using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which is relatively (but not completely) private and anonymous. Another privacy cryptocurrency you might encounter is Monero , which prides itself on being untraceable.
This doesn’t mean you should assume that any transactions you make on the darknet will never be linked to you—law enforcement agencies have become quite adept at tracking people who believe they’re operating in the shadows . Even if you use a private, anonymized crypto wallet, there are other ways your identity can be revealed—even if it’s something as simple as accidentally mentioning personal information in an instant message.
Overall, there aren’t many compelling reasons to move your legitimate purchases to the darknet. Due to its nature and the types of goods typically sold at discounts, it attracts numerous scammers and hackers, and you have virtually no protection if you fall victim to a scam.
Is the darknet illegal?
The darknet itself is not illegal, and you won’t get into trouble just by visiting it—but it is a place where a lot of illegal activity occurs because it is much harder for law enforcement to track what’s going on there.
News reports of criminal activity on the darknet are common, and what’s happening in some corners of it is a source of concern for both legitimate businesses and users. Some sections of the darknet are also frequently shut down as part of police operations.
Given all of the above, you should exercise caution when browsing the web, choosing websites, and interacting with other users. Also, remember that laws on free speech and censorship vary from country to country, which is one of the reasons the dark web exists.
How to Stay Informed in the Hacker Underground
Hackers spend a lot of time on the dark web, and accessing hacking tools and data leaks in this part of the internet isn’t that difficult. However, getting to those uploading and downloading content is much more difficult.
If you use a password manager, it may have a feature that monitors mentions of your email address and password, as well as other personal data, on the dark web. If dark web monitoring isn’t included in your security suite, there are other ways to do so , and there are steps you can take if your information is compromised.
As I’ve already said, it’s best to minimize your interactions with the darknet unless you absolutely trust the people you’re dealing with. You’ll often see signs in stores that say “look, don’t touch,” and that’s good advice to keep in mind when navigating the darknet.