What is Dark Web and Deep Web? Popular Sites & Difference

When surfing the internet search engine no individual comes across words like Dark Web or Deep Web. These places are under anonymity and cannot be easily accessed or indexed through our daily search engines.

dark web deep web

In this topic, we will discuss Dark Web and Deep Web.

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dark web and deep web

What Is The Dark Web?

The Dark Web is a part of the internet that exists only on overlays networks, darknets that use the internet but require specific configuration, authorization specific software to access and cannot be indexed by search engines.

Read this report by the International Monetary Fund to gain more insight on this topic.

Dark Web: Pros And Cons

The Dark Web helps you to buy any kind of drugs, card numbers, credentials that are stolen, certain hacked Netflix accounts and software that might give you access to other people’s accounts. Basically, it is home to almost all illegal activities.

The dark web has a positive side also like people can join Blackbook, Chess Club, the Facebook of TOR. The pros and cons of using the Dark Web are given below.

Pros Cons
The Dark Web allows overcoming censorship.Paedophiles are allowed to talk to traders. They publish and sell child pornography very easily.
The Dark Web allows anonymity of privacy to servers and websites which are inbound connections and can only be accessed by Tor Browser.Tor easily allows people to send threatening emails without any negative outcome
One can access the news that is free of interpretation.People engage in many criminal monetary transactions with the help of cryptocurrency through onion browsers. 
There is a lot of unpublished research data that can be used by research scholars for their academic purposes. Though that is not advised.Dark Web works slower than the normal browser
Anyone can access the uncensored internetIt lacks many  customisation features

Cryptocurrency And Its Link With DarkWeb

Before we understand the link of Crypto with the Dark Web let us understand what Cryptocurrency is. Cryptocurrency is one of the safest currencies that has come up. It is a very secure way of transaction. The codes that make crypto are almost unbreakable. One can not hack into cryptocurrency yet.

Many countries are doing research on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Monero, Ethereum, Dogecoin, etc.

Monero and Bitcoin

Monero is also known as the most popular cryptocurrency. Monero has become the anonymous factor of Bitcoin. Which has been diminished with the increase in its popularity. People want to make this transaction from the dark web without knowing one another. 

Concerns increased when major money laundering issues happened in bitcoin. It has become very difficult to remain anonymous using bitcoin. 

Monero however provides insurance to protect the identity and has become more popular on the stock market. This can tackle security issues very easily, but there have been multiple attacks in the past years as well. Monroe now has to look up to the technologies and practices in order to have a stable position in the market.

Relationship of Cryptocurrency and DarkWeb

The Dark Web is operating through Cryptocurrency as this currency can not be traced back to its owner. 

This currency has become the only source of transaction in these illegal websites where people exchange drugs like LSD. The Narcotic and Controlled Bureau and Indian Police are trying their best to shut down these Dark Web websites all across the country.

The Difference In Dark Web And Deep Web

Deep Web is a concept that the Dark Web is a part of. There are some differences listed below that can help you in understanding this better.

Deep WebDark Web
The banking contents of the Dark Web which is a part of www cannot be indexed by SEO.The Dark Web contents of www exist on Dark Net markets and other overlaid networks which require specific authorization software configuration to access them.
The Deep Web uses search engines like DeepPeepThe Deep Web uses search engines like DuckDuckGo
It can only be accessed through a username and a password which is valid through search engines.It can only be accessed through specific software for authorization access

Deep Web With TOR

The deep web accounts for around 90% of the websites and rests below the surface accounts. This is just like an iceberg beneath the water which is much larger and wider than the web surface.

It is impossible to find out how many websites are active at one time over here because this hidden web is very large. Database files that are in connection to web areas but are in both publicly and privately protective files collection are included in the Deep Web. Deep Web sites are highly secured with security walls or passwords.

Mainly all these websites are created by professional coders.

What is TOR Browser?

This browser allows any individual to run through the entire internet web anonymously and gives access to illegal sites of the Dark Web.

This is generally used by the US Navy and military officials. Also, many Research Scholars, Journalists, and other individuals need to surf privately.
Some essentials required to use this browser are given below.

  1. Having a VPN that is decent to protect them online
  2. Visit the official project website
  3. The user has to download the Tor browser for their operating system
  4. After that, they have to install the browser
  5. Then click connect

Problems Associated With DarkWeb

As the name suggests this place is dark and the person who accesses it should tread carefully in that space.

There are many threats associated with the dark web such as:

  1. Malicious software: These programs can cause harm to a computer network in the form of Rootkits, Viruses, Trojans, etc. The Dark Web is prone to many malware like Ransomware, Botnet Malware, Keyloggers and Phishing Malware.

The online connection can be increased if the network connection has been exploited and anonymity is a powerful tool of the dark web through tor browser which cannot be destroyed.

  1. Monitoring of government- since third-best websites are taken down and monitored by the government of India it might be difficult that any individual might be prone to simply visiting any dark website.

These inclinations might put any user who is innocent to be charged with illegal drug selling, identity thefts, etc.

Hacking Groups

There are hacker groups like xDedic, dark0de, Trojanforge, hack forum, Mazafaka and the real deal DarkNet market that give the opportunities to hackers to sell their services as parts of a group or individually.

These hacking groups have track records of attracting pedophiles. The Dark Web is the hub of many cybercrimes and hacking services related to financial institutes.

Fraud Through Financing

Account takeover is a situation where a genuine customer’s account gets accessed by a fraudster like email accounts, bank accounts or even subscription accounts. The fraudsters do not use their money but also blackmail the victim which is completely illegal. 

Doxing is a way of finding out sensitive information about any individual or its organisation and making it publicly available to shame, harass the victim. If any fraudster steals information from individuals and mixes it with false information such as an address, name, place of birth results in Synthetic Identity Fraud and if caught one might receive a huge penalty.

Terrorism

Terrorist organisations take over the internet due to a lack of social interaction, common regulation and easy accessibility. There were several chat platforms that invited the terrorist group to attack together.

The Dark Web became a hub for this terrorist propaganda group that was giving them information and funding them as well. This legal funding became possible through anonymous transaction currency like Bitcoin. Terrorists were able to purchase weapons and fund illegal activities.

Illegality

The Dark Web is one such activity that hides from people’s views. The dark web is used to sell firearms and illegal drugs. This site is famous for criminal behaviour like child pornography. 

The anonymity feature of the dark web provides a hub for criminal activity and thus the dark web has a lowly rated reputation and is filled with black markets. People can retrieve your data from any malware attacks and cause identity theft, sometimes used in transactions for drug selling purposes.

There are many legal transactions as well that take place through the dark web and which are completely safe and secure. The use of the tor web in the dark web makes it hidden purposely from the entire internet which uses the bands of VPNs. Therefore, the dark web is not illegal

Dark Web Sites

The naming structure of dark websites is very different from any normal website. Like instead of .com or.co, The dog website usually ends with .onion. This is an anonymous hidden service through the tor network and uses a special-use top-level domain suffix. The URLs created by dark websites are very difficult to remember.

Famous Dark Websites

  1. MailTor – email isn’t the safest mode of communication because it allows access to email providers and Gmail scans your emails to provide you better results. Mail2Tor is a very good alternative as it allows users to anonymously send or receive emails from an email client through webmail and it doesn’t store your IP address either.
  1. Facebook – Facebook knows a lot about any individual who doesn’t share your data with others since it has been a target of censorship from many repressive countries’ governments. So Facebook has got a .onion URL which doesn’t allow you to access anonymously but allows you to access in restricted countries.
  1. The Hidden Wiki – Hidden Wikipedia allows you to access sites that are illegal like Whistleblowing Tools and some legend sites like domain services through its .onion websites and URLs.

There are different document markets that allow easy transactions between the vendors and sellers. Over here we will learn about a few such darknet markets and their modes of payment methods.

Various Dark Markets! Where is the Dark Market?

So, What are some Dark Markets? Where is the dark market?

his is a place where exchanges of commodities and services take place in the Deep Web. These websites are involved in black marketing, purchasing or selling of drugs, weapons, counterfeit currencies documents, cyber arms, license parasitical, stolen credit card details, steroids along with some legal products.

1. ToRReZ Market

One of the newly formed markets of the Dark Web. Came into existence in the year 2020. This market has become very popular on the DarkNet because of the way it functions. It works on cryptocurrencies. 
You do not need your wallet to shop here. Your identity will be anonymous before, during and after the shopping. This works via the onion browser.

2. Castle Market

It allows users to browse items without any first registration and they can only register when any user wishes to buy your products. It again uses cryptocurrency modes of payment like Bitcoin, Monero, Zcash etc.

3. Royal Market

This market is 1 year old but has impressed the vendors and sellers because it is and eliminates any chances of exit scams. This market is easier to use and is very convenient. This also uses cryptocurrency methods of payments like Bitcoin and Monroe. There are offers over here like minimum-maximum budget, category and product type etc.

4. The famous Silk Road

This was established in 2011 and was a dark web marketplace where people sell illegal drugs from a fake ID, hacking tutorials etc. The payments are mostly made through Bitcoin and people who purchase these items are generally anonymous.

5. AlphaBay

The largest online market shutdown to date is AlphaBay. This website sells illegal drugs like hacking tools, chemicals, firearms, fentanyl, fraudulent identification documents and many more.

FAQs About Dark and Deep Web

Is it illegal to sell or buy items on the Darknet market?

Not all products purchased on darknet markets are illegal, sometimes legal products are being purchased as well such as rare books, gold etc.

What are wallet-less markets?

Wallet-less markets are basically cashless markets where transactions are made via cryptocurrencies.

What is the difference between the Deep Web and the Dark Web?

The dark web can only be accessed with the help of a TOR browser and is purposely hidden, the deep web has everything on the internet which is indexed by any search engine like Google

Is the Dark Web dangerous?

There are many illegal transactions that take place on the Dark Web however most of them are illegal, some legal transactions also take place over there The risk might only be for your personal information to be updated on the Dark Web.

How many darknet markets are there in total?

It was found out in 2019 that there are around 49 different darknet markets that any e-trader or seller can choose to transact their products.

Are dark web monitoring tools safe enough to keep someone safe online?

Yes, dark web monitoring tools are great for cyber security and they help to protect your information from identity thieves and cybercriminals.

Summary: Dark Web and Deep Web

Dark Web is a space that is often not researched by the Open Space surfers. There is a lot one can learn about that space. The overall research suggested that it is mainly used for illegal activities. But one can not say that for sure as the open space is a very small part of the whole internet space.

Having said that, one can safely tread the Dark Web if they know where they are going. Using an onion browser keeps anonymity safe. Crypto is the bloodline of the Dark Web. All this information tops off this article.

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