Content
For example, some of our favorite social media platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, have set up mirror sites on the dark web for people who don’t want to be watched by the government. Some users looking for how to access the dark web can do that simply because they want to check whether their personal data is for sale. In 2015 it was announced that Interpol now offers a dedicated dark web training program featuring technical information on Tor, cybersecurity and simulated darknet market takedowns. In October 2013 the UK’s National Crime Agency and GCHQ announced the formation of a “Joint Operations Cell” to focus on cybercrime. In November 2015 this team would be tasked with tackling child exploitation on the dark web as well as other cybercrime.
- In general, most average internet users will never need to access content on the dark web, although it is perfectly legal to use Tor.
- Use only known directories to reach authenticated destinations.
- Never download files or accept chat requests while on the Dark Web.
- Technically speaking, the dark web is a smaller subset of the deep web.
- This means content of such sites isn’t accessible to web crawlers.
SIM-swapping is the same as swapping out your SIM to activate a new phone. The only difference is that cybercriminals trick or bribe employees at mobile phone carriers instead of using your SIM. In this case, signing up for credit monitoring and checking your rating regularly is also a good idea. It’s also a good idea to take it a step further and leverage a dark web monitoring service. If your data is actively being bought and sold online, there are some signs that will alert you to identify theft.
.Onion Dark Web
For added safety, first connect to a VPN, then use Tor in a practice known as Tor-over-VPN. Many internet service providers and governments may be suspicious of Tor use, and a VPN will hide your internet activity and prevent anyone from knowing that you’re using Tor. Further, if you try to buy something on the dark web — even if it’s not illegal — there’s a chance you’ll be scammed. For example, they may hold money in escrow but then shut down the e-commerce website and take off with the money.
In the real world, there are ways to remain anonymous and secretive by, say, paying with cash rather than a credit card. However, if you’re planning to use it for illegal activities, there are significant risks involved. For example, one of the most common ways to access both the deep web and the dark web is through Tor. The terms “deep web” and “dark web” are commonly used interchangeably. Although this is accurate in terms of the underlying technology, there is a slight difference.
Browser fingerprinting and online tracking are virtually impossible when you’re connected to the dark web via Tor Browser. That means your browsing behavior and traffic patterns can’t be collected and used by third-party advertisers. Software as a service solutions, paid news websites, and streaming services. This connection methodology enables users to interact with the dark web with minimal risk of their activity being tracked or otherwise exposed. However, the deep web can also host illegal content such as pirated media.
In case you decide the VPN is not for you, simply ask for a refund. I canceled my subscription after 26 days of usage by contacting the VPN’s 24/7 chat support. The representative immediately processed my request, and I got my money back in just 4 days. Although it has multiple subscription plans, I found the long-term plans to be more affordable.
Keep in mind that Tor is a product of the US government, so government surveillance is always a possibility. Hackers on the dark web can easily access your personal data by using trojans, phishing, and other types of fraudulent websites or programs. Sometimes all it takes is a simple misclick before all of the information stored on your computer gets leaked. Even worse — cybercriminals have been known to activate computer cameras and microphones to get live streams from unsuspecting victims. A reference to how Tor works; sending encrypted traffic through layers of relays around the globe as it hides content, the sender, and their location.
PRIVACY ALERT: Websites you visit can find out who you are
It is often offered in some portals to give threat actors the tools for cyberattacks. However, it also lingers all across the dark web to infect unsuspecting users just like it does on the rest of the web. Think of Tor as a web browser like Google Chrome or Firefox. The dark web was once the province of hackers, law enforcement officers, and cybercriminals. However, new technology like encryption and the anonymization browser software, Tor, now makes it possible for anyone to dive dark if they’re interested. Google and other popular search tools cannot discover or display results for pages within the dark web.
Some of these are well-known, established threats that circulate in this nook of the web. However, others may be taking advantage of the dark web’s reputation to trick users out of large sums of money. Also, some users on the dark web may attempt phishing scams to steal your identity or personal information for extortion. Malicious software — i.e. malware — is fully alive all across the dark web.
Is the dark web safe and do I need a VPN to access it?
There are a ton of other things you should take note of, but here’s one final tip – Be cautious of making friends on the dark web, it’s not Facebook. Something you can expect to see at any time on the Dark Web – seized websites. Web Hosting (yes, that’s the site’s name) allows you to run a Dark Website and includes essentials like Apache, PHP, MySQL, and a free .onion domain name.
The only other way to access a deep web site is to click on a link once you are inside the deep web. The dark web lives on the Tor ecosystem and can only be accessed through the Tor browser. It’s a free, open-source software using a global network of servers to help you stay anonymous online. For instance, your Facebook posts are unindexed and won’t be found via a web browser.
App Privacy
Internet providers and websites can detect when Tor is being used because Tor node IPs are public. Although websites can’t identify you and ISPs can’t decrypt your internet traffic, they can see that Tor is being used. There are many legitimate uses for dark web services and communication. Drugs, weapons, and stolen IP and data are all hot businesses in the dark web, with hundreds of terabytes of information on offer. Traders cash in on stolen credit card data dumps, initial access points to vulnerable systems, credentials, and intellectual property belonging to companies comprised during cyberattacks. However, it isn’t widely known that today’s most popular search engines — including Google, Bing, Baidu, and DuckDuckGo — only index a portion of the internet.
The dark web refers to content on the internet that is intentionally hidden and requires special software, like Tor Browser, to access. The dark web is a subset of the deep web, which is all content on the internet that isn’t indexed by search engines. My advice is to research before entering sites you find through search engines and protect your personal information with a highly secure VPN.
