What did you hear about the Dark Web? Did you hear it is a place for only bad things? Or possibly a place designed for only hackers and criminals, or a dangerous place to visit by ordinary people? If those are what you heard, please read on, as there is more to it.
It is important to note that the above arguments are wrong for understanding the dark web. Even though bad things happen on the dark web, it became so because the good abandoned it for the bad.
One funny thing is that it costs more to become a content creator on the surface web than it does on the dark web. You can get your “.onion” URL domain for free and host your own dark web hidden services on your personal computer from the comfort of your home.
Therefore, the dark web is not inherent in evil, as many assume. It is a network designed for anonymous communication and privacy protection, more than existing on the clearnet.
Disclaimer: This post is for educational purposes. Confamtips is not responsible for how you decide to use the information gathered herein. Illegal activities that go on the darknet are many; do not indulge in them.
What is the Dark Web?
The web is divided into three layers: the surface web, or Clearnet; the deep web, or invisible web; and the dark web, or Darknet.
1. The Surface Web or Clearnet
The Surface Web, or Clearnet, as the name implies, holds contents that are not hidden from public view. Contents on the surface web are indexed by Google searches or other search engine searches. The surface web is also that part of the internet most of us use. It runs with less encryption if compared with the darknet. It is where most of the website data we browse on the internet using ordinary browsers reside.
2. The Deep Web
The second layer of the web is the deep web, also known as the hidden web or invisible web. It is that part of the web that contains contents that are not indexed by search engines. These include that restricted portion of a website that is out of public view, like your website database or any other part of the web page that is not for public view.
3. The Dark Web or Darknet
The Dark Web is also known as the Darknet. It contains contents that are not indexed by search engines. It requires special software before you can access its content.
Unlike the surface web and deep web domain URLs that end with.com,.net,.org,.net,.org, or.edu, etc., the dark web URL has a unique root domain extension of.onion,.tor,.i2p,.loki, and.bit used by Zeronet.
For example, to access the Facebook dark web website, you will have to use the Facebook onion address here (facebookwkhpilnemxj7asaniu7vnjjbiltxjqhye3mhbshg7kx5tfyd.onion).
How to Use The Dark Web
For you to be able to visit a website on the dark web, you will need a special browser called the Tor browser. Tor Browser is free open-source software that is designed for enabling anonymous communication on the internet. The Tor project is for people who want to keep their internet activities private and free from spying.
The Tor browser is available for download on all the popular operating systems, like Linux, Android, Windows, and Mac OS. To download Tor on your android phone, you can go to the Play Store and search for Tor. The browser has over 10 million downloads already on the Play Store.
You can also download Tor for other computer OSs from the tor project official website. After the download, install it and start using it.
Remember, Tor is not only used to access the dark web. You can also use it to access the surface web anonymously. The only disadvantage is that it is always slow while accessing the surface web.
Another browser with a Tor project embedded that can access the darknet is the Brave browser. You can also download Brave from its official website. To visit the darknet from brave, you will have to open a new Tor enabled tab in a similar way you open the incognito tab while using other regular browsers like Chrome.
You can also visit and use the.bit or.i2p domain networks by downloading Zeronet and i2P respectively, from their official websites.
How To Get Started Visiting the Darknet?
To start surfing the darknet, you will just have to follow in this two easy steps;
1. Download and Install a Tor or Brave Browser
The Tor browser can be downloaded for Android phones and other popular computer operating systems.
To get your own Tor or Brave Browser downloaded on your computer, just visit the Tor Project official website or the Brave Browser official website, respectively.
2. Get the onion address of the darknet hidden website you want to visit and access it using Tor or Brave.
The best place you can gather websites to visit in the darknet is in the hidden wiki onion URLs directory on the clearnet. Or from the uncensored hidden wiki Darknet onion URLs directory (http://zqktlwi4fecvo6ri.onion/wiki/index.php/Main_Page). To get the clearnet address for the hidden wiki, search for the hidden wiki on Google, then follow the search result or click here to visit the hidden wiki webpage directly.
The hidden wiki contains lists of hidden service URLs for the darknet websites. This is a good place to pick places you might want to visit in the darknet.
Is the Dark Web safe and legal to visit?
It is safe and legal to visit the dark web. The only thing you should be conscious of is your activity. Buying things from the dark web is great, but it is advisable to be careful as there are tendencies that the things you purchase might be counterfeit.
Also, Buying software programs like hacking tools from the darknet might be risky and the creator might embed backdoor codes into the software to track your activities. Make sure you are good at reading other people’s codes before thinking of buying software from the dark web. Just try as much you can to avoid indulging in criminal and illegal transactions while on the dark web.
Is Dark Web Totally Anonymous Or Can I Be Tracked?
The fact is that there are cases where anonymity on the darknet might not protect you. This may be a case of connected identity. That is a situation where your previous activities on the clearnet can help expose your darknet identity.
There are also some cases where state security operatives infiltrate the dark web with their undercover operatives. This implies that you might be dealing directly with security-sponsored personnel without your knowledge. Indulging in illegal activities on the darknet is not 100% safe and anonymous. There are measures that security operatives can use to track you.
Suggested Post: How to Check If Your Data Was Exposed in an Online Breach On The Darknet-Data Security
The Challenge of Using the Darknet?
One common challenge you will face while using the dark web is the slow loading of websites. Browsing using the Tor network is very slow due to the number of routing nodes data has to pass through before getting to its destination.
The second challenge is detecting fraudulent and counterfeit sites. Most darknet URLs come with random characters, and this is very difficult to keep track of, unlike on the clearnet, where domain names are simple.
Suggested Post: How to Check If Your Data Was Exposed in an Online Breach On The Darknet-Data Security
Conclusion
Remember that visiting the darknet is not illegal and it is important also to note that the darknet doesn’t only support criminal and illegal activities. It is important more people are encouraged to create their own free darknet hidden services address and start putting out legal and valuable content.
All you need to start your journey on the darknet is your tor browser or the tor client.
Remember to be careful and vigilant with your activities on the darknet. There may be a lot of counterfeit and fraudulent sites and vendors on the darknet.
