11 Aug Deep Web vs. Dark Web: How They Differ
In simple words, the deep web differs from the dark web in the sense that the dark web is an encrypted network forged between Tor servers and their clients, while the deep web simply consists of sites and services not indexed by a conventional search engine.
What is the deep web?
The deep web is any site that you cannot find on a conventional search engine. This would imply any site that is pay-for-access, password protected or does not have a permanent URL as it is dynamically generated. These are all part of the deep web primarily because they don’t exist on the surface of the web.
It might come as a surprise for you that you access the deep web pretty often. The emails in your Yahoo account, your banking interface, your corporation’s intranet as well as the private photos on Facebook are all part of the deep web.
While it’s not entirely clear how deep the deep web really is, it is expected to hold a vast majority of online content. You can also find masses of raw data in the deep web which government officials and scientists use for research.
What is the dark web?
The dark web is an under-layer of the deep web. You cannot access it using a search engine or through your favorite web browser. This is where disreputable sites and private communication are said to abide.
Basically, the dark web has sites that conduct illegal activities like drugs, extremism, illegal pornography, and weapons.
But because it offers a great level of anonymity, the dark web is also the favorite haunt of the dissidents or journalists in countries where Internet censorship and surveillance is high.
The privacy-centric search engine Duck Duck Go has a hidden service on the dark web.
While the mainstream dark web uses a Tor encryption tool, other services include the I2P and Freenet. You do need specialist software to browse the dark web and while it isn’t illegal in most countries, beware of conducting any illegal activities.
Here is an article that will tell why and how you can stay anonymous online.
