Is Dark Web Still a Mystery to you? Not Anymore!

You must have heard the word Dark Web when you talk about internet. Often, you wondered what it is but, never gave two cents about it? Don’t worry we’ve got answers for all your questions on Dark Web. The what, the how and the why. You’ll get it all.

Essentially, it is a whole internet that--sort of--operates underground, meaning without the notice of the surface internet users. Users need special software to access the submerged internet civilization. Whereas, users have high anonymity while browsing or dealing in the Dark Web. So, let’s understand more about it with some questions.

What is Dark Web?

The term Dark Web refers to the websites that are not accessible from your regular browser. As these sites and networks are heavily encrypted, you’ll need a special browser that keeps you and the web sources anonymous. Most of these sites provide a platform for the underground or black market. Where all the dealings are carried out with absolute anonymity of buyers and sellers. To keep their transactions untraceable, bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies are used to conduct business.

What tools are needed?

As mentioned earlier Dark Web relies entirely on anonymity. Therefore, all the websites you visit are served through an encrypted channel. Should you need to access them, you’d require Tor encryption tool to hide the identities of the websites. Tor can also be used to spoof your location to make it appear you’re in a different part of the globe in contrast your actual location. As a result, making it much like a VPN service, which also creates an encrypted channels for communications. When a website is run through Tor it has a similar effect.

How is it different from Deep web?

While the terms sound extremely similar and are used interchangeably to refer one another. There is a stark difference between them: Deep web refers to anything online that is hidden from search engines and not indexed. It may include all the resources and assets that are additional to websites like copies of web pages, documents, immense amount of stored data and anything that needs a code to access it.

Why is it illegal?

Strictly speaking: it’s not. However, legality cannot be viewed on a surface level. When looked, it appears that you’re just hiding your identity to communicate with the world much like anonymous letters you send to other strangers. But, if the communication you sent is harmful or a threat to the society then it would be seen as a crime. Similarly, when you browse with a veil on yourself, it wouldn’t be against the law, but the action one performs by hiding under veil will determine the criminality.

After reading this, you may be tempted to explore the dark side of the internet. But you must remember that anything not regulated brings inherent risks. Later, you may be held accountable for your actions performed under the hood. Not to mention, a lot of illegal activity goes around in the Dark Web viz. Child pornography, hiring contract killers, violent footages and much more. So you don’t want to be caught amongst this, do you?