To be found in this article
- What is the difference between internet and web?
- What is Deepweb?
- Why can’t Deep Web content be found on the internet?
- What are the repercussions of Deep content on its website?
- What is the Darkweb (dark web)?
- How does the Dark Web work?
- Who uses the Dark Web?
- How to access the Dark Web?
What is the difference between internet and web?
Before we dive into the deep waters of the Deep and the Dark web, let’s start with the basics: the internet and the web. It is often thought that these two terms are synonymous, but it is not true! The Internet is a network that connects computers around the world and which appeared in the 1970s. It can be accessed in several ways: by FTP, or file transfer, by VOIP telephony, by electronic mail protocols POP, IMAP or SMTP, via peer-to-peer networks… and also via the web!
Invented in the early 1990s by Tim Berners-Lee, the web is based on the hypertext system : it works through links that allow you to surf from one page to another, and is today the most commonly used computer application for researching the Internet network.
What is Deepweb?
To understand what the Deep Web is, you have to know what the Surface Web is. The Surface Web, or the canvas, is the most commonly used web: it includes pages indexed by the search engines Google, Bing or Yahoo. You simply access the World Wide Web via an internet browser such as Firefox, Chrome or Safari. Even if the surface web is the best known web, it only represents the tip of the iceberg of the web: the majority of web pages are not within the reach of search engines. These pages constitute the Deep web, or “deep web”.
This network is huge: it would include, according to estimates, 75 to 96% of websites. It is therefore the heart of the internet . And most of this invisible web is legal: there are pages of corporate sites, social networks, media, online banks…
Why can’t Deep Web content be found on the internet?
Deep Web pages and sites have the particularity of not being indexed by a search engine . They can for example be blocked by passwords , as in the case of paid content, bank accounts, back offices or emails. It can also be unlisted pages, which are not accessible through the tree structure of a website. Finally, it may be data fragments that are not indexed because they are too large. To access these pages, you just need to know the URL or the password.
What are the repercussions of Deep content on its website?
None ! Finally, it all depends on the type of content offered. As long as it’s legal, you won’t have any problems. In fact, if you have a business website, you are probably already part of the Deep Web: all websites can have pages located in the deep web.
And you certainly frequent the Deep Web on a daily basis: when you watch a series on Netflix , log into your bank account or consult your medical records online, you are accessing the Deep Web network. The Deep Web includes many other entirely legal contents, such as scientific research journals, private archives, certain Amazon pages, corporate extranets, databases and even legal documents.
What is the Darkweb (dark web)?
The Dark Web is part of the Deep Web. As with the Deep Web, its pages are not indexed by search engines. The difference is that the indexing of these pages by a robot is simply impossible, because they are intentionally hidden. Therefore, Deepweb and Darkweb should not be confused: the Deep Web is a largely legal network and easily accessible with a web browser, while the Darknet contains illegal sites .
There are, in particular, drug trafficking sites, pages dedicated to the pedophile network and illegal information, such as stolen passwords and credit card numbers. However, not everything is outside the law: the Deep Web also hosts encrypted sites to escape censorship in certain countries, and networks allowing Internet users to communicate anonymously.
How does the Dark Web work?
The Dark Web or Darknet has a complex operation , which guarantees total anonymity to its users. As its pages are not indexed by the robots of the search engines dedicated to the surface web, traditional internet browsers cannot access the Darknet network, and one navigates there via a kind of “virtual tunnels”. Users’ IP addresses are anonymized using the TOR browser, and it is impossible to track who has visited a Darknet site.
Who uses the Dark Web?
The Dark Web is used by criminals who want to sell or buy illegal information or resources: drugs, pornography, pedophiles, weapons, stolen data, etc. But it is also valuable for Internet users in search of freedom: journalists and whistleblowers , as well as people who live in countries plagued by censorship and who wish to access prohibited sites or communicate without taking any risk on the Darknet thanks to TOR.
How to access the Dark Web?
To access the darknet, you have to use a special browser like TOR, “The Onion Router”. Based on Firefox and run by volunteers, TOR hides users’ IP addresses by bouncing the signal from one computer to another around the world, so it’s much more efficient than a VPN and guarantees near security . total to Internet users who swim in the dark waters of the Dark Web. You can also use the Aleph search engine, dedicated to the Darknet.
However, we must be very careful : while it is not illegal to surf the Dark Web, participating in activities punishable by law is obviously illegal. And, as the Darknet network is very unregulated, one can easily find illicit sites, resources, services, products and items. In conclusion, you can download TOR and venture into the Darknet network, but it’s at your own risk!
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