The Dark Web: What Is It?
What is the Dark Web? You’ve probably heard this term on the news, a movie, or a TV show. In this article, we’ll go over what the Dark Web is, what the Invisible Web is, how you get to the Dark Web, what you can find there, and much more.
Different “layers” to the Web
It’s probably best to start by explaining that there are actually several “layers”, so to speak, of the Web: the Surface Web, the Invisible Web, and the Dark Web. The web that we’re all used to – the one that offers up our favorite sports websites, gossip news, online magazines, etc. – that is commonly known as the Surface Web. The Surface Web includes any content that is easily crawled, or indexed, by search engines.
The Invisible Web
The Deep Web – also known as the Invisible Web – is a little bit different than the Web we can access (also known as the “surface Web”) via a search engine or direct URL. This unseen Web is so much larger than the Web we know – most experts estimate that it’s at least 500 times larger than the measurable Web, and growing exponentially.
There are parts of the Deep Web that we can get to via inventive Web searches (see What is the Invisible Web? and The Ultimate Guide to the Invisible Web for more information on this).These sites are all publicly accessible, and search engines add these links to their indexes constantly. Some sites choose not to be included in a search engine’s listing, but if you know their direct URL or IP address, you can visit them anyway.
However, there’s a limit to what search engines include in their indexes. That’s where the term “invisible web” comes into play. The term “invisible web” mainly refers to the vast repository of information that search engines and directories don’t have direct access to and are not including in their index, like databases, libraries and court records.
Unlike pages on the visible, or Surface Web (that is, the Web that you can access from search engines and directories), information in databases is generally inaccessible to the software spiders and crawlers that create search engine indexes.
There’s generally nothing nefarious going on here, and there are several different factors as to why a site would not be included in a search engine index, but basically they simply boil down to technical barriers and/or deliberate decisions on the part of the site owner(s) to exclude their pages from search engine spiders.
For instance, university library sites that require passwords to access their information will not be included in search engine results, as well as script-based pages that are not easily read by search engine spiders. There’s also really large databases in there, both public and private; anything from NASA, the Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to databases like LexisNexis, which require a fee to search.
How do you access the Invisible Web?
It used to be that these pages were hard to get to, but over the years, search engines have gotten pretty sophisticated and are including more and more of the content that was difficult to find in their indexes. However, there are still many, many pages that are not making it into search engines for whatever reason; you can still find them directly if you know how. Basically, you can “piggyback”, so to speak, on search engines to drill down into databases to find these pages. For example, if you did a search for “weather” and “database”, you’d come up with some pretty fascinating information. From this initial search query, you can drill down into the database’s index to find what you’re looking for.
So the difference between the Dark Web and the Invisible Web is….
Now we can finally get to what the Dark Web – also known as DarkNet – really is. If the Surface Web is basically everything that a search engine offers up in its index, and the Invisible Web – which, incidentally, is estimated to be at least 500x times larger than the Surface Web – is basically information that a search engine does not or cannot include in its index, then the Dark Web is a relatively small portion of the Invisible or Deep Web, one that has a lot of different stuff going on, anything from drug trafficking to murder for hire to people who are looking to share information safely in an unsafe environment or culture, with complete freedom from censorship; in other words, it’s not all bad stuff going on there.
What is the Dark Web?
There are also parts of the Deep/Invisible Web that are only accessible via specialized software, and this is most commonly known as the Dark Web or “DarkNet”. The Dark Web can best be described as the “seedy underbelly” of the Web; shady dealings and illegalities can be found here, but it’s also becoming a haven for journalists and whistle blowers, such as Edward Snowden:
“According to security experts, Edward Snowden used the Tor network to send information about the surveillance program PRISM to both the Washington Post and The Guardian in June 2013…..
Without complicating our lives, it is possible to create a server on which files can be stored in encrypted format. The authentication could be implemented in various ways, depending on the level of security desired; for example, it is possible to allow access to the user only if he is in possession of a digital certificate on his machine.
The files could all be encrypted and the certificate could be also used as a container to hold the keys to decrypt the information.
If the clear web seems to have no more secret for intelligence agencies, the Deep Web is totally different from this.” – “How Edward Snowden Protected His Information and His Life“
How do I get to the Dark Web?
In order to visit the Dark Web, users must install special software that anonymizes their network connections. The most popular is a dedicated browser called Tor:
“Tor is free software and an open network that helps you defend against traffic analysis, a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security.”
Once you’ve downloaded and installed Tor, your browsing anonymity is secure, which is crucial for visiting any part of the Dark Web. Because of the anonymity of the browsing experience on the Dark Web – your tracks are completely covered – many people use it to engage in activities that are semi-legal or illegal; drugs, weapons, and pornography are common here.
I’ve heard about something called the “Silk Road”. What is that?
The Silk Road was a large marketplace within the Dark Web, mostly infamous for the buying and selling of illegal narcotics, but also offering a wide variety of other goods for sale.
Users could only purchase goods here using Bitcoins; virtual currency that is hidden inside the anonymous networks that make up the Dark Web. This marketplace was shut down in 2013 and is currently under investigation; according to several sources, there were over one billion worth of goods sold here before it was taken offline.
What can you find on the Dark Web?
The Dark Web is organized – and I use that term very loosely – very differently than what we’re used to seeing, with web pages and links. There’s very little structure here; you can find different directories that have been organized by category to make browsing here a little easier, and these categories range from news to forums to hacking information.
There’s a lot of stuff that is illegal or toeing the line here, but there’s also homegrown alternatives to various commercial services; like an alternative to Pandora, or Twitter, or Reedit. Scammers and people who are looking for easy marks abound on the Dark Web, too, unfortunately; there’s also the risk of really being scammed by someone trolling the Dark Web looking for people who are not doing a good job of covering their tracks; I’ve heard from a couple people that this is becoming a big issue.
To be honest though, the Dark Web is not the super exciting undercover haven that a lot of movies and TV shows are making it out to be. Many sites are non-functional. A lot of the black market stuff is still there, and there are always new sites popping up – you can definitely still find some pretty active forums that are mostly conspiracy-related. There’s a lot of crazy and terrible stuff on there, but there’s also some really interesting content. Is it worth visiting? That’s up to every individual to make up their minds about; the Dark Web has become a haven for all sorts of different activities; not all of them strictly aboveboard. It’s an important part of the Web that bears careful monitoring as privacy concerns grow in importance to society at large.
Is it safe to visit the Dark Web?
That decision is left completely up to the reader. Using Tor (or other similar anonymizing services) certainly will hide your tracks and help you gain more privacy in your Web searches, which is something that is very important to many people.
Your activity online can still be followed, but not as much detail can be ascertained. If you intend to visit the Dark Web purely for curiosity’s sake, you most likely don’t have anything to worry about; however, if more nefarious undertakings are your goal, be advised that this activity will most likely be tracked and watched by someone. More on this from Fast Company:
“While the Deep Web houses the retail of weapons, drugs, and illicit erotica, there are also useful tools for journalists, researchers, or thrill seekers. It’s also worth noting that mere access through Tor is not illegal but can arouse suspicion with the law. Illegal transactions usually begin on the Deep Web but those transactions quite often head elsewhere for retail, private dialoguing, or in-person meetups; that’s how most people get caught by law enforcement officials.”
Basically, it’s up to you whether you’d like to take this journey – and reader discretion is certainly advised. The Dark Web has become a haven for all sorts of different activities; not all of them strictly aboveboard. It’s an important part of the Web that bears careful monitoring as privacy concerns grow in importance to society at large.
What is the appeal of the Dark Web?
Why do most people in real life decide to go on the Dark Web? It’s not a place you can just drop by online casually; it does take some doing and a certain level of technological sophistication.
Anonymity
The Dark Web’s offer of anonymity is definitely a huge draw for people who are looking to procure drugs, weapons, and other illicit items, but it’s also gained notoriety as a safe haven of sorts for journalists and people who need to share information but can’t share it safely.
For example, many people visited a storefront called the Silk Road on the Dark Web. The Silk Road was a large marketplace within the Dark Web, mostly infamous for the buying and selling of illegal narcotics, but also offering a wide variety of other goods for sale.
Users could only purchase goods here using Bitcoins; virtual currency that is hidden inside the anonymous networks that make up the Dark Web. This marketplace was shut down in 2013 and is currently under investigation; according to several sources, there was over one billion worth of goods sold here before it was taken offline.
So while visiting the Dark Web can certainly include illegal activities – for example, buying stuff on the Silk Road, or digging up illegal images and sharing them – there are also people using the Dark Web who are legitimately in need of anonymity because their life is in danger or the information they are in possession of is too volatile to share publicly. Journalists have been known to use the Dark Web to contact sources anonymously or store sensitive documents.
Interested in hiding your tracks more securely online? Read Anonymous Browsing 101.
The bottom line is this: if you are on the Dark Web, you’re there because you don’t want anyone to know what you’re doing or where you are, and you’ve taken very specific steps to make that a reality.
Privacy and the Dark Web
Privacy concerns are on many people’s minds lately, especially as more evidence comes to light that our activities online can possibly be monitored by various entities. The Dark Web could have uses for people who want to stay anonymous and private, for whatever reason – perhaps you just aren’t keen on the idea that your personal browsing habits could be under scrutiny by outside parties.
Is privacy online really possible? Read Ten Ways to Protect Your Web Privacy.
However, it’s important to clarify that the Dark Web and the tools you use to access it – to stay anonymous – are two completely different things. Many people use anonymizers, the most well-known of which is Tor, to make sure their activities online are private – and never actually visit the Dark Web.
Information safety
Journalists use the Dark Web to share information and to receive sensitive information from anonymous whistleblowers – for example, the New York Times has a secure lockbox on the Dark Web that people can send files anonymously to.It’soming a haven for those who need to share information safely.
For those countries where Internet use is restricted; anonymizing tools and proxies can help with safe transfer of information; however, this is not limited to merely accessing the Dark Web, but also to merely access the Surface Web, the Web that most of us use on a daily basis without any issues.
Privacy, safety, and anonymity
It is inevitable that the Dark Web will continue to grow and evolve; the appeal of an anonymous pipeline for various activities (both legal and illegal) is just too appealing to resist. As more people are growing concerned their completely legal online activities, communications, etc. are being monitored, tools that help us attain privacy will also grow in popularity.