Everyone has heard of the deep and dark web in their life. But the question is, what is the meaning of these words? Are these things a center of all the criminal and harmful activities? Who is controlling these portals? These questions arose when you heard about them. These two words are not mysterious and synonyms at all. But the main difference between them is that they are inaccessible for a typical internet user and require high encryption to enter them. There is much confusion in understanding these terms. You have also heard of many dark web memes about hacking and criminal activities. It is because a lot of criminal and illegal activities occur on them, especially on the dark web.
Both of them are usually the hidden aspects of the internet. These are inaccessible by a typical user until he/she has a link to one of their sites. The dark web should not be confused with the deep web, which is somehow similar but not the same thing. This article will briefly detail the difference between them and how dangerous these two are?
Deep web:
It is simply the internet area that is usually inaccessible for a typical user because it is encrypted. That’s why it is the part of the internet hidden by the typical search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others. Many subscripted sites that need money to give their content to watch like Netflix and Amazon prime are also included in it. The searchable or less mysterious content on the internet is known as surface internet.
Dark web:
It usually refers to the internet that is intentionally encrypted by expert users, hidden by many masks IP addresses. You can say that it is quite a mysterious place for typical internet users. Another thing is that it is only accessible with a particular browser named onion browser or Tor. You need to have extra security and hide your IP address before entering that world.
Similarity between these two:
The similarity between these two portals is that both are entirely hidden from commercial search engines. It simply means that you can’t access them through everyday search engines like Google or Bing. As I discussed earlier, the deep web doesn’t only contain highly encrypted content. It also includes forums or sites that require registration and users only pages like Gmail.
Illicit activities in the dark web:
It is a platform where you can buy stolen money, hire hackers, buy illegal drugs and weapons, pay to see child pornography, and hire murders. Not only this, but you can purchase credentials and software that help you to break into other people’s computers. Almost every illegal and potentially harmful activity occurs in this part of the internet. Nothing is free on it. So, you have to pay for everything you are using. Its services also include selling dumb credit cards and giving user names and passwords that are generally known as carding.
Reports say that the deep web is about 90 to 95 percent of the entire internet and the dark web only accounts for 1 percent. It means that the search engines and the internet we are using is only 5 to 10 percent of the entire internet. The hidden content is inaccessible unless you use a highly anonymous browser referred to as the Tor browser.
Tor is an onion browser that uses masked IP addresses and passes them through a series of pages to maintain its users’ anonymity and privacy. But still, you need a link to the dark side to get into it. Tor makes its users completely anonymous and untraceable. That is why any illegal or potentially harmful purpose can’t be traced.
Legit side of the dark web:
All the dark internet is not a scam or illegal. There are still some things and content on it that can be helpful for its ordinary users. Similarly, hackers and criminals use it, but some journalists and traders also use it for an array of purposes. For example, journalists use it to public articles and remain anonymous and protect their source’s anonymity. Some people also use it for the sake of commerce and trading.
On the other hand, some people only use it to maintain their privacy. The US Department of Defense developed this Tor onion browser. This project is now run as a profit free platform for its volunteers. American government and the National Science Foundation fund it.
Are these two terms synonyms?
One of the biggest mistakes people make regarding them is that they think that these two terms (Deep and Dark web) are the same and interchangeable. It is simply not true. People think that these two portals are the source of illicit and harmful things and services. Illegal and detrimental services like selling drugs, weapons, and hacking occur on the dark web, which is a part of the deep web. Both of these have encrypted information, but dark web users mask IP addresses to do criminal activities. On the other hand, the deep web mainly includes registration required pages, medical records, agencies’ information, and much more accessible if one has their links.
In the end, both of them are encrypted portals that can’t be searched by typical search engines. But these are not the same. The dark web is a place of illicit services and criminal activities. On the other hand, the deep web includes users’ specific pages and essential information.
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