Content
Dark Web websites often run on networks of private servers, allowing communication only via specific means. This enables a high degree of anonymity and makes it difficult for authorities to shut down – which, unfortunately, makes the Dark Web a hotbed for many illegal or immoral activities. As previously mentioned, more than 90% of the traffic on the Net is already on the deep web, so the keys to accessing it safely are virtually the same as for the open web. Assess every website you visit for threats and security holes.
Clickjacking attacks trick users into clicking on an element in a genuine webpage and, instead, taking to a clickjacking site. It’s been less than a week since February 2023 started, yet we are, reading about a new medical breach. Over 90% of hospitals have admitted to being victims of data breaches. Every time we see a medical data breach, we think, “There can’t possibly be any more. That’s every hospital in the U.S.! ” It’s not. Forgiving debt is a global phenomenon, from single credit cards to billions in government relief. Debt forgiveness has been part of the narrative for generations.
Use a VPN to encrypt your internet traffic
Let’s say you want to go on the dark web to see what information of yours, if any, is floating around. You can install the TOR browser on your system by using a virtual private network. A VPN allows people to use a public network as if they were transmitting information on a private one. There are billions of websites on the internet that are safe and freely accessible, but it’s possible for your kids to be curious enough to search the deep or dark web. Deep web games or deep internet music might draw younger children, while drugs, weapons, and dark web images might draw the interest of older children. It’s almost always stuff you don’t want to expose yourself to.
- A common experience is geo-restriction, where news sites and streaming services serve different content to different users based on their geographical location.
- But good VPN services don’t force you to browse at a snail’s pace to achieve online security.
- This is because lenders won’t be able to access your frozen credit report to make lending decisions.
- SIM-swapping is the same as swapping out your SIM to activate a new phone.
- Along with your encrypted connection, use anonymized usernames, email addresses, and cryptocurrency wallets for all transactions.
In that case, your personal information is probably on the dark web. Having robust cybersecurity tools, including antivirus software and VPN solutions, are helpful, but they can’t keep your data off dark marketplaces. The deep web is a part of the internet that cannot be accessed by a standard web browser. NordVPN will allow you to change your IP address and add an additional layer of security.
Risks of Accessing the Deep Web vs Dark Web
But, despite some of those overlaps, they refer to two different areas of the internet. DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANYTHING TO YOUR COMPUTER. No BitTorrents and no downloads as they may give away your actual IP when storing things to your computer. Think twice before you click any link as you do not know who operates the website and where any of these links lead to.
So write your queries out in a Notes app, then copy and paste them into Tor. Only access sites from trustworthy indexes, like The Hidden Wiki. Adjust the browser’s security level to “Safest” as shown below. So after you read our guide, make sure you stick around for an in-depth dive into the risks of the dark web, and safety steps that you can take. It’s proved really useful for journalists and whistleblowers, for instance. It’s a great place to exchange data without endangering the safety of informants.
Change Tor’s security settings
Both the dark web and deep web are not indexed by regular search engines. The critical difference is that most of the deep web can still be accessed by a regular web browser. A 2016 paper found that of 2,723 dark websites analyzed, 57% were based around illicit content and illegal activities. A common experience is geo-restriction, where news sites and streaming services serve different content to different users based on their geographical location.
That said, there’s more to this lawless digital frontier than its reputation as a hive of grotesque content and organized crime. Of course, that anonymity makes it harder to spot scams and confirm important information, and enables all manner of criminal activity, so it cuts both ways. Most people have heard references to the “dark web” but don’t really know what it is or how it works.
More Dark Web Site Links
Illegal cyber activity cannot necessarily be stumbled upon easily but tends to be much more extreme and threatening if you do seek it out. Before we unpack the dark web’s threats, let’s explore how and why users access these sites. This is the main way that search engines become aware of a certain website or web page, and is generally how sites like Google add web pages to their index. While Tor is perfectly legal to use, it’s common knowledge that a lot of criminal activity does happen on it. Rather than weeding out the genuine web users from the criminals, many website owners find it easier just to block all Tor users.
