You might have heard terms like the dark web, deep web and surface web and also dark side of internet being thrown around without actually knowing what they mean. Do you want to know what is the dark web, deep web, surface web and also dark side of internet ? They are three distinct terms used to describe and categorize the internet.
Today we will tell you what these terms mean and how you can differentiate between them. We will also tell you how you can use the dark web wiki to browse the dark web, which is often the most obscure and mysterious part of the internet out of the three.
What Is the Surface Web?
First, let’s cover what is the surface web. It is the most obvious of all the three and this is the part of the internet that we use in our everyday lives. The surface web is the part of the Internet that is easily accessible to the general public and searchable using regular web search engines.
By regular search engines, we mean popular engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing or Duckduckgo. The deep web is considered the polar opposite of this. The “Surface Web” or “Visible Web” refers to the portion of the internet that is indexed by search engines.
Even though the surface web, or the internet as we know it, seems vast and almost unlimited it only makes up a small portion of the internet. In reality, the surface web only covers 4% of all the websites in existence. This means a large portion of the internet is still unindexed and unsearchable for the general public.
What Is the Deep Web?
As we have already discussed, the deep web is the exact opposite of the surface web. You should have some idea about what the deep web is from that statement alone. To put it simply, the deep web is a segment of the dark side of internet whose contents are not indexed by regular web search engines.
The deep web’s content is concealed behind HTTP formats, and it includes many popular uses including webmail, online banking, and services that require payment and are covered by a pay wall, such as a video on demand, some online magazines and newspapers, and many others.
The deep web’s content can be found and accessed through a direct URL or IP address, but it may require a password or other security access beyond the public website page. This is the part of the internet that covers the rest of the 96% of the internet.
As you can see, most of the content on the deep web is perfectly legal and is hidden from search engines for security purposes. But that is not true for all of it, as we will see in the next section.
What Is the Dark Web?
Surface web and deep web are polar opposites of each other, but the dark web is simply a part of the deep web. The dark side of internet is a branch of the Deep Web that relies on trusted peer connections and can only be accessed with advanced software, resources, or equipment.
This makes the dark web harder to access, as its users want to limit its accessibility to the general public and value their own privacy. Tor and I2P are two common tools for this. These programs are well-known for ensuring user privacy.
The most direct way to find sites on the Dark Web once logged into Tor or I2P is to obtain a connection to the page from someone who already knows about it. You can also use the dark web wiki which has indexed many of the dark web websites.
It has a layout similar to Wikipedia and it’s not really a search engine, but only a wiki for the dark web. The Dark Web has become well-known as a result of media coverage of illegal activities taking place there.
The Dark Web is often used by malicious actors to communicate about, sell, or distribute illicit material or things such as narcotics, illegal guns, malware, and stolen data among other things. Accessing information, sharing information, defending one’s privacy, and interacting with others are all legal practices on the Dark Web, just as they are on the Surface Web.
To secure confidential sources, many news media use the Dark Web. Not every website on the dark web is illegal, nor does every single person on the dark web take part in illegal activities but this what the dark web has become notorious for. As a result, it often attracts more people with malicious intent.
How to Access the Dark Web?
The surface web can be accessed simply using regular, everyday search engines. Access to the deep web requires proper authorization, and this is usually for the safety of its user’s data and most people would not need access to that information.
But if you want to access the dark web, you will either have to be invited in or you will have to know where to search and how. One easy way to gain access to the dark web is to use the dark web wiki.
It is also sometimes called the hidden wiki.
The dark web wiki has listed many of the more popular websites on the dark web and can be used to browse the dark web, especially as a new user. You will also obviously need to use TOR or I2P as a browser and use a proper VPN service to browse the dark web.
On the dark web, you need to always value your privacy and security above anything else and be cautious of everything.
Conclusion
We tried our best to explain to you what is the dark web, deep web, and surface web. And now you also know how you can use the dark web wiki to navigate the dark web. But even TOR, the most popular browser for the dark web, isn’t completely secure and can compromise your information.
If you want to browse the dark web, we suggest you do more research about how to keep your privacy secure.
