Understand What Dark Web, Darknet Means and What it is Used For

What is Dark Web?

There are two webs. The normal web we use every day like the one you are using in reading this post, which is easily accessible and indexed by search engines, and we also have the “dark web” (hidden websites) this websites would not show up when you search or use Google or other Search Engines, and can not be accessed without special software.

What is Darknet?

The “dark web” is a subset of the “deep web”. The deep web is just the part of the web that isn’t accessible by search engines. You won’t find these websites when you use a search engine like Google or Bing, but they are otherwise normal websites. The “dark web” is a smaller part of the deep web that can’t be accessed without special software.

The dark web exists on darknets, which are “overlay networks”. They’re build on top of the normal Internet, but they require special software to access, so they aren’t normally visible or accessible to people who aren’t in the know.

For example, the free software Tor, it hides a darknet. While you can use Tor to anonymize your web browsing activity on normal websites, Tor also offers .onion sites, or “Tor hidden services”. These are special websites that can only be accessed through Tor. They use Tor’s anonymity to cloak themselves, hiding where the server is located–assuming the server is configured correctly. Only people connected to Tor can view them, so they aren’t normally accessible and it’s difficult for anyone to track who visits them.

In theory, it would be impossible to track down these servers and see who visits them. In practice, Tor has had some security flaws and Tor hidden services are sometimes configured incorrectly and may expose their real location to the authorities.

Tor’s “hidden services” are the most popular darknet, so we’re focusing on it here. But there are other darknets designed to serve other purposes, like file sharing networks designed for secret sharing of pirated software and media files.

Benefits of The Dark Web:

1. Darknets hide websites that don’t want to be on the normal internet, where they can be tracked down. These websites comprise what’s known as the dark web.
2. The dark web provides anonymity–both for people visiting the websites and the websites themselves. Political dissidents in a oppressive country could use the dark web to communicate and organize. Even Facebook offers its website as Tor hidden service, making it more safely accessible to people in countries where Facebook may be blocked or monitored.
3. This anonymity enables other sorts of websites, that would have been blocked on the normal web. You will find websites selling stolen credit cards, lists of social security numbers , forged documents, counterfeit currency, weapons, and drugs. You will also find gambling websites and directories of criminal services, including people who advertise themselves as assassins. Payment for such services generally involves Bitcoin, a digital currency.

NOTE: Not everything you see on the dark web is legitimate, most of it might not be, especially the more extreme listings. Are the criminal services and products advertised real, or do they just exist to scam people out of their money? Perhaps some of them are traps laid by the authorities to catch people who try to hire assassins, buy weapons, or acquire counterfeit currency.

When You Should Use The Dark Web:

If you’re in a oppressive country and want to access social networking or news websites that are blocked or censored by your government, the dark web will be useful to you. If you’re a whistleblower and you need to leak documents to the media while maintaining your anonymity, that might be another good reason to visit the seedy underbelly of the web.

But i don’t recommend clicking around and exploring the dark web without a good reason. There’s a lot of nasty stuff on the dark web–even if a good amount of what you will find there are scams.