The Difference Between the Dark Web and the Deep Web

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Drugs, death, and depravity are probably what come to mind whenever you hear about the dark web. Or, is it the deep web? Is it both?

You might find yourself conflating the two terms, with the assumption that both the dark web and the deep web are the same place—a spot people flock to for reasons that include illegal and/or generally shady activities. But while the dark web is a part of the deep web, the deep web isn’t really the dark web.

The "regular internet" is the surface web

I need to start this explanation with a different term altogether: The internet as most of us know it is called the “surface web.” (Perhaps you've also heard it called the open web or visible web.) Essentially, it’s a collection of sites that are indexed by search engines. If it pops up in a Google search, it’s a part of the surface web.

This article, for example, is a part of the surface web; CNET's homepage is a part of the surface web; the Facebook login screen is a part of the surface web. Most of the internet you're familiar with is likely covered under this definition.

That’s not the case with the deep web or the dark web. You can’t open Chrome and expect to find any dark web pages via a Google search. For the deep web, you'll need to visit each website individually, and, in the case of the dark web, while using a special browser altogether.

What exactly is the deep web?

Also known as the “hidden” web, the deep web is the collection of sites that aren’t indexed by search engines. Most of these sites are obscured behind login pages, and can range from banking and email pages, to paywalled content like streaming sites. Sure, you’ll find Netflix via a Google search, but you won’t find the player for Love Is Blind, Season 9, Episode 1 unless you log into the site first.

The deep web also consists of protocol pages, responsible for identifying user accounts when you log in to a site, running payments when you make a purchase, and other processes you never need to see. In short, it’s both the backbone of the internet, as well as a part of the internet you regularly interact with yourself. And it's actually what makes up most of the internet: According to CrowdStrike, the deep web accounts for over 90% of all content online. Deep web pages aren’t indexed, but they often have URLs that can be linked to directly, and are accessible from traditional web browsers like Chrome or Firefox.

In your daily life online, you frequently jump between the surface web and the deep web, likely without realizing it. When you open your bank's website, that's the surface web. When you log into your account, your balance and investments are hosted on the deep web. When you open a YouTube video, that's the surface web. If you access your YouTube account's settings page, that's the deep web. You jump through these hoops all the time, but fear not: Your frequent deep web activity never puts you in danger of accessing the dark web.

What exactly is the dark web?

The dark web is a subsection (a small one, at that) of the deep web. But unlike the latter, the dark web is not accessible via a typical web browser like Chrome or Firefox. That's because it's not just hidden by login pages or hidden URLs; the dark web uses both encryption and routing to mask its websites, as well as proxy servers to host requests and traffic without any centralized regulation. This is still the deep web, it's just not a part of it you'd ever stumble upon by accident.

How to access the dark web

If you want to access the dark web, you need special tools to do so. A specific browser, such as Tor, for example, is required to get started. Just as you use Chrome to access public internet sites like Facebook or Lifehacker, you use a dark web browser to access dark web pages. It's also common to know the specific dark web site you want to visit ahead of time; these often end in .onion instead of .com. While the dark web does have its own search engines, like Ahmia, Torch, and even a special version of DuckDuckGo, they are not as robust as the search engines you're used to.

Since you need special protocols to access these sites, that traffic is often private and anonymous. That’s what makes the dark web an attractive option for illegal activities—the site activity isn’t as easily traced back to individual user accounts. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are the common tender on the dark web, since it also protects your privacy during transactions.

The dark web isn't just illegal stuff

When you think of the “dark web,” you probably imagine an underground, secretive network of sites, where illegal activities are aplenty, passing drugs, contraband, and illicit media with reckless abandon. You might also hear about data leaks ending up on the dark web, with bad actors paying for your passwords, hacked accounts, and credit card info. Those sites surely exist, but they’re only one part of what’s known as the dark web, which isn't only a playground for the perverse and malicious.

While many common use-cases for the dark web might be against the law, anyone with a reason to be anonymous online can utilize the networks. Common examples of “good” on the dark web are whistleblowers who need a place to leak their information without having the governments and organizations responsible for that data knowing who they are, as well as legitimate news and information sites for citizens of countries with strict censorship laws. One study from 2020 estimates that 57% of the dark web contains illegal content. If true, that's a lot, but it also means the other 43% isn't breaking the law.

In short, the deep web is not a scary place. The dark web can be, but not always.

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