The Dark Web is a part of the Web that is located in the dark and is completely isolated, that is, it can only be accessed through special tools, and it is also unlike the rest of the normal Web, as it is part of the Web that is not monitored, monitored or tracked, so no one can Or an entity or government tracks websites on the dark web and users' activities cannot be tracked either.
You may have heard the term dark web from one of your friends who are interested in technology and its news, or you have seen a publication that talks about it and tells the legends and bedtime stories about this strange digital world, well I hate to tell you that most of what I heard is not true or to say inaccurate and subjective.
The dark web or the dark web is a concept that for some people means nothing but a means to break the law and spread crime and evil, as it contains the most evil and most perverted whims of humankind.
On the other hand, the dark web means more privacy and freedom for others, and their tongue calls out, “It is my right to surf the Internet away from watchful eyes.”
Among those and those who look at the subject with the eyes of the contemplator who sees, that there is always an inverse relationship between security and privacy, the more everything that happens on the Internet can be monitored and monitored, the more this means more safety for everyone.
The mistake is easily accessible, and everything is in the light and clear to everyone, but on the other hand this means a lack of privacy.
While the war is going on between those with opposing trends, there are many who do not even know what the dark web is. In fact, the dark web is a tool like any other tool that you can use in more than one way, and you can also choose not to use it at all.
In this article, we reveal to you the secrets of the dark internet, its history, the most important facts and information about it, the difference between it and the deep internet, how you can enter the dark internet, and a lot of other information and details about the dark internet.
Read also : How do search engines work ?
What is the dark web
The dark web is a large network of websites, which cannot be accessed through traditional search engines such as Google and Bing, and cannot be accessed through traditional Internet browsers such as Google Chrome or Firefox.
These sites use cryptographic techniques so that it is very difficult to identify and know the owners of these sites, also the interaction between users in these sites is using encryption techniques as well, so that it is very, very difficult to determine the location or identity of the users.
The dark web is an integral part of the web but it exists in the dark, everything there is blind and encrypted. The sites in the dark web are anonymous, the users are anonymous, and the browser used in this internet world is also specifically designed to work in this cryptographic direction to obscure the identity and location of its users.
The dark web is called by this name because it does not exist in the light and is undetectable, and the identity of its users is not verifiable or scrutinized.
The dark web is a group of websites belonging to the deep web that are intentionally hidden, and require a specific browser (Tor Browser) to access them. In other words, the dark web is a part that is not indexed by search engines.
The purpose of not indexing dark web sites is to block their visibility and access through search engines, the reason for blocking may be to hide sites that were created with bad intentions such as engaging in criminal activities without the possibility of being tracked, and it may be the unwillingness to appear on these engines.
The dark web is used to hide the traces of the criminal activities on the internet which are taking place on it very intensely because of it. On the dark web, activities such as human trafficking and the sale of stolen bank card numbers find safe havens away from the eyes of the law.
The size of the dark web is hard to pin down precisely because its location is hard to track, most estimates expecting it to represent about 5% of the deep internet.
Read also : Programming guide for beginners (how and where to start)
The most important facts about the dark web
1. The most famous dark web browser is TOR, which is short for The Onion Router. It works in an encryption method by making layers of invisibility, so that it is very, very difficult to access any data for its users.
2. Due to the absence of censorship and the possibility of monitoring in the dark world of the Internet, it has become a haven for anyone who wants to break the law, it includes a world that contains the ugliest possible face of evil.
In addition to the presence of sites specialized in the arms and drug trade, theft and swindling, you will find sites containing the worst evils and abnormal human desires, such as rape and torture of children, human flesh trade, and abnormal rituals of the strangest beliefs.
3. Despite the previous point, the dark web is not inherently evil, but it is a world that prioritizes privacy and unobservability, and the evils in it are the result of evil people exploiting the nature of this world.
It is no wonder that you find so many legitimate sites on the dark web, and according to some opinions, more legitimate sites than illegal sites on the dark web.
4. Financial dealing in the dark internet is through digital currencies, especially bitcoin. In this dangerous world, there is no room for using credit card data or banks.
5. There are some advantages in this world, or to say there are honest and legitimate uses of the dark internet, including expressing opinion freely and denouncing dictatorial regimes.
6. There are many around the world who look at the dark internet, as it is a world that gives its users freedom and privacy and this is a legitimate right for everyone, and regarding the idea of violating the law, they answer, as in the dark internet there are many sites that break the law, as well as this is found on the traditional internet.
7. In order to the previous point, there are some large sites, which have begun to adapt to the idea of giving users the privacy they want, and among these sites is Facebook! Yes, do not be surprised, as Facebook has a special version for Internet users.
8. Domain names (website links) have a special nature in the dark web world. They end with the onion dot, instead of the dot com or dot net as in the traditional internet.
How did the dark web appear?
To understand the current shape of the dark web, we need to go back in time a bit, specifically in the 1990s, during which time the redirection system on which Tor Browser was built was created.
This system was created to protect individuals in the intelligence community by allowing them to communicate anonymously. He also worked to protect whistleblowers and allow freedom of thought and expression for citizens and journalists who lived under repressive regimes.
In 2002, the largest anonymity project on the Internet was created, the Onion Routing Project, now known as the Tor Project, after which the US Navy released browser codes to the public to be available for use by everyone.
In 2006, many of the same scientists who developed Tor founded Tor, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization. The program and browser of the same name is sponsored by the Tor organization and continues to receive funding from the US government to date.
While Tor (and similar dark web browsers) have uses for keeping people's digital safe, and preserving their privacy, this browser can be exploited for anonymity for criminal purposes, which began to happen in the following years.
In the period from 2011, the presence of black markets on the Internet and sites that provide illegal services increased. At that time, access to these markets and sites was as easy as accessing regular sites and without censorship.
When governments and cybersecurity organizations began closing these sites and marketplaces and moved the latter to the dark web, these sites used the Tor browser to continue their illegal practice and deal with their customers.
The dark web has created a unique opportunity for digital black markets to thrive and people are starting to take advantage of it. Transactions on this network are often carried out using cryptocurrencies.
Law agencies and governments try to combat criminal activities that appear on the dark web as soon as possible. Of course, this is a difficult process due to the difficulty of tracking sites and users on the dark web, but it has already succeeded in closing many sites on it.
The difference between the dark web and the deep internet
There are some who think that the terms deep internet and dark internet have the same meaning, but the fact is that despite their connection, the deep internet has a completely different meaning than the dark.
Deep Internet: It represents all web pages that cannot be accessed through search engines, and cannot be accessed even directly by typing the link in the browser, because these sites or pages are only available (visitable) to specific members.
Examples of deep web pages:
A) All websites belonging to institutions and companies that contain a database available only to employees, such as banks and government agencies.
b) All pages of sites that require logging in before accessing them, for example, the content of the courses in your account on one of the courses sites, it does not appear to you until after you log in, it is not available to everyone, including search engines.
C) All the pages of users of private social networking sites, if you have an account on Facebook, for example, and you adjust the settings in it so that it does not appear in search engines, then it is included in the deep Internet, as well as the chat pages between you and your friends.
d) All pages of paid products and services that appear only after completing the payment process, these are also included in the list of the deep Internet.
e) Sites that require a paid subscription to access, private databases and, of course, dark web sites.
f) Your email inbox is part of the Deep Internet.
The idea here is simply that the deep Internet includes all private web content, it is not available to anyone and cannot be accessed through search engines, and it is often password-protected, and this means that the deep web represents the majority of web content in general.
The deep Internet represents about 94 percent of the entire Internet volume, the rest is called the Surface Web or the Surface Web and it consists of sites and pages that all users can easily access through search engines.
deep web
The difference between the dark web and the deep internet is clear through the nomenclature. The deep internet is in deep areas (ie not on the surface) on the web, and you can access it as long as you have the authority to do so (through traditional browsers).
The login page for your Gmail account belongs to the traditional internet that is available to everyone, while the messages on your private mail are deep internet that no one can access except through login data (email and password).
As for the dark web, it is in a dark area on the Internet, it cannot be accessed through traditional search engines or through regular browsers as well, and it cannot be tracked, but it is in any case available to everyone.
What is TOR Browser?
Tor Browser
Tor Browser is a free, open source browser that helps you surf the Internet anonymously. The browser automatically erases your browsing history with each session and encrypts your movements and browsing on the Internet.
Tor allows you to access the dark web and its hidden and non-indexed sites. Due to its ability to allow you to access all websites on the Internet freely, some countries block this browser completely.
Note that your browsing on the Internet is always monitored from more than one side, and this is a fact that does not cause fear.
Entities that monitor this browsing may be entitled to do so, such as Internet service providers (by orders of governments), websites and search engines.
This is not a big problem for most Internet users, especially since most of the parties that record their data do not use it except in special cases.
ISPs use it for special legal cases, and Google and the websites use it for (mostly) marketing purposes.
On the contrary, there is a category of Internet users who need to hide their identities on the Internet for many reasons, these reasons may be innocent or out of privacy protection, and they may be to gain freedom to engage in certain illegal activities.
That is, if your purpose is to browse the dark web, then it is the best browser that you can rely on for that purpose.
What is the meaning of the name TOR browser?
Tor is an abbreviation of the word The Onion Router. The router is the router that you use to access the Internet. The reason for calling the word “onion” is to compare the layers of protection provided by the browser to the layers in the onion plant.
In simpler terms, the browser was called by this name to express the idea of having a special router that provides several levels of protection and encryption.
How to browse the dark web securely?
In order to surf the dark web securely you need:
1. TOR Browser
Tor Browser is a completely free browser, and it is a 100% legitimate project. It takes the shape of the onion as its logo, because it relies on the layering system to hide user data and prevent the ability to track them from any side, and the sites you visit through the Tor site cannot know your real location either.
Tor Browser is not only a dark web browser but a browser that works to visit any website, it is basically a browser that hides the identity of users, and preserves their privacy, so you can use it as a traditional browser.
As we explained earlier, the Tor browser is an essential tool for browsing the dark web. The browser itself is very secure, camouflaging and encrypting your connection to a high degree and can be relied upon to browse the dark web safely.
However, the following tools are important tools to protect your data while browsing the dark web and use them will not do any harm if not good.
2. The VPN software is guaranteed not to log or leak your browsing data
VPN or Virtual Private Network are programs that disguise your Internet connection through several encryption protocols, using VPN programs with Tor Browser will provide you with a new level of data protection.
Simply, the VPN programs get you a fake IP address that is different from the real IP address of the computer you are using.
3. A powerful anti-virus, malware and malware software
As a computer user, your use of anti-virus and anti-malware software is an essential element without which it is not recommended to surf the Internet.
This element doubles its importance when browsing the dark web which is the biggest market for selling ferocious viruses like ransomware.
Antivirus software will help you protect your device from the dangers of the dark web, however, you must be careful while roaming the dark web sites, and check every link before clicking on it and do not download any files that you do not trust.
Read also : What is computer science and what are its fields and functions (comprehensive guide)
4. Know some dark web sites
Tor Browser will allow you to browse the dark web, but to enter one of the already dark web sites, you need to know the link to this site, or you have to use one of the dark web search engines, the most famous of which are notEvil and Torch.
Also, there are many sites on the dark web that offer tracks to the most popular sites, including The Uncensored Hidden Wiki.
5. Consider this before you start using the dark web
1. The dark web contains many and many illegal sites, which by visiting them, you in some way support them and help their survival, so you can use the dark web by visiting only legitimate sites.
2. The dark web contains a lot of hackers, who can hack your device and cause problems with it or steal your data, so you should not download anything from the dark web, be vigilant and do not share your data with anyone.
3. There are a lot of sites that provide violent, immoral and gay content, and your exposure to this may have a bad psychological impact on you, so you should not leave yourself entirely to your curiosity.
4. The dark web is where you can feel really private, but with smart use of the traditional internet you can also keep your privacy.
What are the most useful uses of the dark web?
The dark web contains several useful sites that can be used in multiple ways, including, but not limited to:
1. Create an email box that provides a high degree of privacy
We all know that services like Google monitor and collect their users' data for at least many purposes for marketing and advertising purposes.
The dark web contains a large number of platforms that provide email creation with a high degree of privacy and security.
A service like ProtonMail enables you to create email without collecting or recording your data and provides a secure and protected mailbox.
ProtonMail has a traditional online version that enables you to create an excellent email inbox. The difference between the two versions is the extent of protection and privacy that the dark web enjoys in general, and that the version available on it benefits from.
2. Access to full scientific research
Sci-Hub is a library that contains a large number of scientific research in various fields. The main purpose of the site is to provide this research to everyone without conditions or adherence to intellectual property rights laws.
The site puts in your hands the most important and latest scientific research in all fields, and the site's indexing of its contents is very organized.
The site will benefit you greatly if you are passionate about a scientific field, or you are a scientific researcher, or if you are studying a scientific field.
3. Read comics
If you love reading and downloading comics, you will love the Comic Book Library because it provides an endless number of them. The site contains a huge number of stories that belong to international publishing houses, but of course it does not care about intellectual property rights.
The site also contains the most important rare stories available for public use, which we recommend reading.
Of course we do not recommend violating intellectual property laws by reading or downloading any illegally available stories.
4. Make a safe search
The Google search engine records information about the topics you are looking for, while the DuckDuckGo search engine does not, this engine enables you to search for anything you want securely and in complete privacy without logging your data or search topics.
What is unique about this engine is that you can access it by traditional methods of browsing and you do not need a special browser, unlike the previous sites, however, your use of the engine with the Tor browser and the VPN program will provide more security and privacy.
Read also : Installing Windows 11 on Old Devices (How to Prepare Your Device for Windows 11)
Conclusion
Curiosity is one of the main traits that we humans are, which has played an important role in our history, evolution and discoveries. A person without curiosity is a person who is unable to learn anything new.
But what makes matters more complicated is that curiosity sometimes has an ugly face, it can pollute our thoughts and lead us in ways we absolutely do not want.
There are a lot of very important and very useful sites on the internet available to everyone, and you can learn great things from them.
In short, you mostly do not need to use the dark web, but if you have an important and legitimate motive to enter this world, my advice to you is to be careful, and be fully aware of what you are doing, and above all, you must possess sufficient technical know-how for this.
In this article, we presented a simplified explanation of the dark web without going into complicated technical details. It is important to know that accessing dark web sites is not easy and depends on a lot of experience and a large number of steps, not to mention that it is criminal in some countries.
