Content
The users only have access to a fraction of the available data and web pages. As mentioned above, you need a special browser, but often word of mouth is one way people find out about sites that might deal in unlawful activities. There are a number of forums and directories that also make mention of Tor activities, such as Reddit. You should never visit a site like this without a VPN, which will mask your identity. Many other precautions are usually recommended, such as enabling “noscript” in the TOR browser and turning off your webcam. Even with all precautions in place, just one visit to a Dark Website can alert local police.
The email might ask you to supply your Social Security number to access your account or to click on a link to respond to a request for information. You might be tempted to access your personal information on the deep web on an unprotected public Wi-Fi network. For instance, you might want to pay your bills while waiting to catch a flight at an airport. For instance, your accounts on the deep web contain a lot of your personal information that criminals might value. That’s one reason why it’s important to use strong, unique passwords on all your accounts. That might include a hard-to-guess combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.
Private Browser: The Dark Web
I strongly advise all users who want to access the dark web on their iPhones to utilize a VPN because it provides additional protection and privacy. While the Super Onion offers a good balance between usability and safety, solutions with better anonymity, privacy, and/or security do exist. Most require running a special OS on bare-metal computers. It’s worth noting that Whonix does not provide better safety than our onion for dark web browsing. Buy a brand new phone, make a fake account, turn that location off then download them to be safe. However, while the dark web is very useful and informative, it can also be dangerous.
A few years later, the Tor browser was developed to provide users with a secure way to access the dark web. They are simply domain names used by sites on the Dark Web. Some legal organizations have .onion versions of official websites, including Facebook and ExpressVPN. It is the content or services offered by some websites with the .onion domain that makes them illegal.
How To Get To The Dark Web
If you’re experiencing symptoms or have a health concern, there are doctors available on the dark web that can offer you their expertise. This is especially helpful for those who want to keep their health concerns personal, or simply don’t have the funds to visit a clinic. Although no one knows your identity when using TOR, some people like to add an additional layer of protection and connect to TOR via a Virtual Private Network .
Other dark web search engines include Not Evil, Torch, Haystack, and Ahmia. The subreddit r/deepweb is a good starting point for asking more experienced users about how to search the dark web and deep web for the content you want. Lastly, The Hidden Wiki is a collection of dark web links — but the links may not work and may lead to dangerous websites. Surface web search engines can’t access the dark web, but specialized dark web search engines can help you find what you’re looking for.
Tech Friend: If I use Apple devices, should I stick to Apple apps?
This is a big no-no on some networks, especially in authoritarian regimes. It offers state-of-the-art security features like 256-bit encryption, DNS/IP leak protection, and a kill switch. Plus, its no-logs policy means that none of your data is ever stored. During my tests, I didn’t find any leaks on ipleak.net, either. This means that any time you browse the dark web, your true location and data won’t be exposed. The surface web — or clean web — is the part of the internet you can access at any time using mainstream browsers (like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.).
- Both the WikiLeaks network and whistleblowers like Edward Snowden have used the dark web in the past to spread their message.
- You can conduct discussions about current events anonymously on Intel Exchange.
- You can disable Javascript by clicking on “Preferences” in the macOS app or “Settings” in the Windows app.
- On the flipside, bank security staff will have their own deep web admin area that the public can’t access.
- This is especially relevant in countries with draconian censorship laws such as China.
The dark web, for instance, can be used to offer illegal goods and services or to get around government censorship in nations with strict internet regulations. The dark web refers to a part of the internet that is not indexed by search engines and can only be accessed using a specialized browser. As such, it is different from the surface web we use daily that does not require a special browser and can be found using search engines. While the intent of masking data origin is similar, Tor makes use of a decentralized network of user-operated nodes. VPN services, on the other hand, provides users with networks of privately-run secure servers operating under strict guidelines and standards.
It offers 256-bit encryption, but you can also choose slightly weaker 128-bit encryption — this will still keep you safe on the dark web, but should increase your speeds. The kill switch is also customizable, and there’s a Multi-Hop feature that sends your traffic through 2 servers for double the protection. You also get a network lock kill switch — in the unlikely event of a VPN failure, your internet connection will be shut down to protect your data from being exposed accidentally. I tested its effectiveness by activating the kill switch and changing the server. During the 15 seconds it took to switch servers, my internet connection was completely disabled.
The Deep Web just refers to web data that isn’t indexed by a search engine like Google. Unlike the Dark Web, which is the hidden corner of the internet often used to conduct illicit or anonymous activity, anyone can get to the Deep Web safely using a regular browser. We’ll show you how to find information on the Deep Web, as well as how to safely dip your toes into the Dark Web. You can access the dark web from any computer; you just need to download Tor Browser or Brave.
