There are two websites, the normal web that most people use every day, which is easily accessible and indexed by the search engines. And then there is the Dark Web or Deep Web, hidden websites that do not appear when you search on Google, and which cannot be accessed without a special browser.
Dark Web or Deep Web
The dark web is a subset of the dark web or deep web. The deep web is just the part of the web that search engines cannot access. You will not find these websites when you use a search engine such as Google or Bing, but even so, they are normal websites. The dark web is a smaller part of the deep web that cannot be accessed without a specific browser.
The dark web exists in darknets or dark networks, which are superimposed networks. They are based on the normal Internet, but require a special software or browser to access, so they are usually not visible or accessible to people who do not have or know about it.
So, you will have heard of Tor, a free software that hides a darknet. While you can use Tor to anonymize your web browsing activity on normal websites, Tor also offers .onion sites, or hidden Tor services. These are special websites that can only be accessed through Tor. They use Tor’s anonymity to hide, hiding where the server is located, assuming the server is configured correctly. Only people connected to Tor can see them, so they are usually not accessible and it is difficult for anyone to track who visits them.
In theory, it would be impossible to trace these servers and see who visits them. In practice, Tor has had some security flaws and Tor’s hidden services are sometimes configured incorrectly and can expose their actual location to the authorities.
The hidden services of Tor is the most popular darknet network, but there are other dark networks designed for other purposes, such as file sharing networks designed to secretly share pirated software and multimedia files.
What you can find in the Deep Web?
Darknets hide websites that do not want to be on the normal Internet, where they can be tracked. These websites comprise what is known as the dark, dark web.
The dark web provides anonymity, both for the people who visit the websites and for the websites. Therefore, political dissidents, people from oppressive countries, and anyone else who does not want to be tracked can use this network.
However, this anonymity allows other types of websites that would otherwise be imprisoned on the normal web. You will find websites that sell stolen credit cards, lists of social security numbers, forged documents, counterfeit currency, weapons and drugs. You will also find betting websites and directories of criminal services, including people who advertise themselves as murderers. The payment of such services generally involves Bitcoin, a digital currency which is also impossible to track.
It should also be noted that not everything that appears on the dark web can be real. We refer to the number of websites that can offer some type of service and product for the sole purpose of cheating or in order to hunt or investigate people who use these types of services or buy these types of products.
Should you visit the Dark Web?
You really do not need to visit it, unless you are in an oppressive country and want to freely access websites or social networks without fear of being blocked or censored, and without fear of knowing about your use of these services.
It is not advisable to freely access to explore the dark web unless you have a good reason, since in it you can find quite unpleasant things, most of them, scams and extortion attempts.
