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Most people search material online using the surface web, a portion of the internet where sites are indexed by popular search engines and can be quickly accessed with regular web browsers. Although most of what the typical user views is shown on the surface web, the dark web has many more layers of hidden content. Under the cover of an anonymous IP address, users of a unique browser called The Onion Router (Tor) may explore these secret sites and participate in both legal and illegal activities. Here is a look at the dark web’s operations and the several legal and illicit uses people employ it for.
The Surface Web
Sites on the surface web also known as the open web are those that normal users may view without using Tor or any other specialized browsers or tool. Additionally, indexable and readily discovered with search engines are sites on the surface web. Though many of the most often used .com, .net, and .org sites make up the surface web, it is estimated that only roughly 5% of all the content on the internet comes from there; the remainder is found on the deep web or dark web. In a conventional sense, the surface web might be seen as the tip of a huge iceberg whose bulk stays secret just under the surface.
How Different the Deep Web from the Dark Web Is?
Every day millions of consistent internet users access credit card accounts and email inboxes from private databases. These pages are deep web secured behind security walls, authentication forms, and passwords; they are not indexed by search engines.
About 90% of all websites are on the deep web, and many are accessed by companies, government organizations, and nonprofits, among other groups. Within the deep web, there is a section known as the dark web—that is, a region accessible only to Tor browsers. Though it is quite legal to utilize Tor, most regular internet users will generally never need to access materials on the dark web.
When and why did the Dark Web first emerge?
Originally started in 2000 with the publication of Freenet, the thesis project of University of Edinburgh student Ian Clarke aimed to build a “Distributed Decentralised Information Storage and Retrieval System.” Clarke sought to develop a new method of discreet internet file sharing and communication. Released in 2002 and starting a browser in 2008, the Tor Project built on that foundation. Users of Tor could now investigate websites judged to be part of the “dark web” and browse the internet entirely anonymously.
How the Dark Web Works
Originally utilized by the United States Department of Defense for covert communication, the dark web has evolved into a central gathering place for people wanting to stay anonymous worldwide. Legal as well as illicit activities are conducted on the dark web. It employs a technique known as “onion routing,” which shields consumers from tracking and surveillance down a haphazard path of encrypted servers. Users of Tor access a site, and their information travels hundreds of relay points covering their trails and renders their browsing extremely impossible to follow.
Legal Uses of the Dark Web
Although on the surface, utilizing the dark web seems suspicious, Tor and anonymous browsing have numerous justifiable purposes and are quite lawful. For instance, the dark web is frequently a venue for communication free from official restriction and inspection in nations where government surveillance might be used to spy on and subjugate political dissidents. Users should still be wary utilizing the dark web and adopt appropriate security steps, like routinely updating their security software, browsing with a strong VPN, and avoiding the use of a conventional email address, notwithstanding these extra layers of security.
Dark Web Illegal Uses
The dark web, being anonymous, is also used for dubious and even criminal activities. These cover the trafficking of illegal pornography and other possibly dangerous goods as well as the purchasing and selling of firearms, narcotics, passwords, and stolen identities. Government agents have found several websites containing illicit content, including Hansa, AlphaBay, and Silk Road, which have just been closed. The anonymity of the dark web has also resulted in cybersecurity concerns and several data leaks during the past several years.
