What is Dark Web and How to Access it?
What is it?
While many people use the terms Deep Web and Dark Web interchangeably, the two are far from synonymous. That’s because the Dark Web is actually a (very small) subset of the Deep Web and includes censor-resistant platforms, like Tor, Freenet and I2P (Invisible Internet Project). A huge majority of websites on the Dark Web are on the Tor platform, and have .onion as their top-level domain (TLD). Those on the I2P platform, meanwhile, have .i2p as their top-level domain name. While accessing the first lot is relatively easier, it’s the I2P-based sites that are a little trickier.
Often called the modern Wild West, the Dark Web is a completely different sub-system that’s far-removed from the regular ‘surface web’ that you and I access everyday. It has its own search engines, the most famous being ‘Grams’ that looks and feels a bit like Google, and is even referred to as the ‘Google of the Dark Web’ by fans and critics alike.
Accessing the Dark Web
It is a fairly simple process once you know how to. As mentioned earlier, there are multiple different networks that form the Dark Web, so the process will vary depending on which sites you’re trying to access. For the purpose of this article, we’ll take a look at how to access sites on the Tor network that hosts over 90% of the sites on the Dark Web.
To Access the Tor-based Dark Web sites, all you’ll need is a piece of specially-curated open source software called ‘Tor’ that you can download from torproject.org. There are two ways to go about it, though. You can download just the Tor software, but then you’ll need to configure it exactly right for it to work the way it was intended to. Hence, you’d be better off downloading the Tor Browser Bundle, which contains the Vidalia Control Panel along with a modified version of the Mozilla Firefox browser.
All you now need to do is run the .exe file to install the software on your computer, and you’re good to go. Every time you want to connect to Tor, just double click on the Tor Browser shortcut icon, wait a while for the network to get up and running.
Once everything is set, a browser window will open up for you automatically, and you will be able to surf the web in complete anonymity.
It is NOT illegal
The Dark Web is not illegal in most countries and merely accessing it won’t send you behind bars. It’s what you do once you’re in there that may, potentially, land you in hot water depending on your local law. So long as you don’t buy or sell illicit substances or devices, don’t download any banned imagery, and stay away from the sites that host illegal content, like terrorist propaganda, human trafficking and pedophilia, you don’t have anything to be afraid of, although, you’d still do well to check the local laws in your region before you venture out in that direction. We’d also advise you to take the following precautions before you started browsing the Dark Web.
Advantages
First and foremost, its anonymity. Many activists, reporters, researchers and whistle-blowers truly need the anonymity who can bring the real image of bad government, behemoths and aristocrats. Secondly, it can prove helpful technically. Cyber security researchers also use Tor to test firewalls and provide emergency services in case of DNS failures.
While many people use the terms Deep Web and Dark Web interchangeably, the two are far from synonymous. That’s because the Dark Web is actually a (very small) subset of the Deep Web and includes censor-resistant platforms, like Tor, Freenet and I2P (Invisible Internet Project). A huge majority of websites on the Dark Web are on the Tor platform, and have .onion as their top-level domain (TLD). Those on the I2P platform, meanwhile, have .i2p as their top-level domain name. While accessing the first lot is relatively easier, it’s the I2P-based sites that are a little trickier.
Often called the modern Wild West, the Dark Web is a completely different sub-system that’s far-removed from the regular ‘surface web’ that you and I access everyday. It has its own search engines, the most famous being ‘Grams’ that looks and feels a bit like Google, and is even referred to as the ‘Google of the Dark Web’ by fans and critics alike.
Accessing the Dark Web
It is a fairly simple process once you know how to. As mentioned earlier, there are multiple different networks that form the Dark Web, so the process will vary depending on which sites you’re trying to access. For the purpose of this article, we’ll take a look at how to access sites on the Tor network that hosts over 90% of the sites on the Dark Web.
To Access the Tor-based Dark Web sites, all you’ll need is a piece of specially-curated open source software called ‘Tor’ that you can download from torproject.org. There are two ways to go about it, though. You can download just the Tor software, but then you’ll need to configure it exactly right for it to work the way it was intended to. Hence, you’d be better off downloading the Tor Browser Bundle, which contains the Vidalia Control Panel along with a modified version of the Mozilla Firefox browser.
All you now need to do is run the .exe file to install the software on your computer, and you’re good to go. Every time you want to connect to Tor, just double click on the Tor Browser shortcut icon, wait a while for the network to get up and running.
Once everything is set, a browser window will open up for you automatically, and you will be able to surf the web in complete anonymity.
It is NOT illegal
The Dark Web is not illegal in most countries and merely accessing it won’t send you behind bars. It’s what you do once you’re in there that may, potentially, land you in hot water depending on your local law. So long as you don’t buy or sell illicit substances or devices, don’t download any banned imagery, and stay away from the sites that host illegal content, like terrorist propaganda, human trafficking and pedophilia, you don’t have anything to be afraid of, although, you’d still do well to check the local laws in your region before you venture out in that direction. We’d also advise you to take the following precautions before you started browsing the Dark Web.
Advantages
First and foremost, its anonymity. Many activists, reporters, researchers and whistle-blowers truly need the anonymity who can bring the real image of bad government, behemoths and aristocrats. Secondly, it can prove helpful technically. Cyber security researchers also use Tor to test firewalls and provide emergency services in case of DNS failures.
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