A lot of people often confuse the deep web and the dark web. But what if I told you that you’ve used the deep web more often than you can imagine?
The deep web, service web, and dark web serve different functions. However, the deep web and the dark web operate jointly. In fact, they overlap each other more than you might think.
This write-up aims to demystify the complex nature of the deep web. It also discusses the difference between the deep web and the dark web to help you understand how these two differ from each other.
What is the Deep Web?
Don’t be surprised to learn that you’ve used the deep web at least once or you use it almost daily. The deep web is part of the web that’s undiscoverable when using standard search engines. This may be private messages, emails, and paywalled sites.
Typically, search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing don’t index the contents of such pages. Deep web pages are normally concealed behind security walls or passwords. Others instruct search engines not to crawl them. For instance, to access fee-for-service sites like Netflix, medical records, or the MGA casino database, you need authorization even if these services are available on the open web.
The deep web exists within the first layer below the everyday internet. It works like the normal internet, but most companies use it to obscure their conventions. As such, you’d require permission or additional layers of encryption to access such information.
The dark web is part of this hidden database, which is why it’s part of this conversation. However, we will discuss the dark web later because it’s a whole different discussion regarding the hidden parts of the internet.
Uses of the Deep Web
The main reason for using the deep web is to protect your privacy online. It offers more secure communication than when using the open web. Most users rely on the deep web to:
1. Obscure financial transactions: When banking online, you must hide your details. Otherwise, they may fall into the wrong hands. So, financial transactions made on sites like PayPal are normally secured in the deep web.
2. Storing medical records: According to the codes of ethics of most countries, physicians must ensure the confidentiality of patients’ personal information. These records contain your name, social security number and date of birth, which fraudsters may use to impersonate you.
3. Legal documents: It’s also the responsibility of legal practitioners to safeguard the confidentiality of their clients. As such, they rely on the deep web to ensure your information is not accessible to unauthorized parties.
4. Educational resources: You can only access some academic resources through specialized websites because they are not in the public domain. These platforms include LexisNexis, Project MUSE, PubMed, and Web of Science. These resources are not fully indexed by mainstream search engines.
How the Deep Web Differs from the Dark Web
Standard search engines can only access a fraction of the internet. The largest part of the internet belongs to the deep web and the dark web. However, unlike the deep web, the dark provides more layers of encryption. This part of the internet is only accessible via special browsers like the Tor browser or onion routers like Freenet, I2P, and Subgraph OS.
Tor ensures that your identifying information is encrypted before it connects you to the internet. Both legal and illegal entities use the dark web. However, the dark web is mostly used by criminals to conduct illicit activities such as buying and selling weapons, stolen identities, passwords, and illegal drugs.
On the other hand, anyone can access information on the deep web over the open web. All you need is a password, and you are good to go.
Is Using the Dark Web Illegal?
Well, this depends on the reason you are using the dark web. For starters, the Tor browser was created by the United States Naval Research Laboratory in the mid-1990s to keep private government communication over the internet safe.
Today, Tor is available for anyone looking to avoid censorship. Many individuals and entities have been using Tor to access the dark web to convey information otherwise not intended for the public eye. This includes government whistleblowers, journalists, activists, and government entities sharing sensitive information over the internet. For instance, the website WikiLeaks was part of the dark web used by whistleblowers to publish classified documents.
On the other hand, the infamous Silk Road provided a black market that facilitated the illegal selling of unethical items using Bitcoin as a payment option.
While many criticize the dark web because criminals exploit it to conduct illegal activities such as cyberattacks and trafficking, shutting the dark web completely is very unlikely. Governments have several ways of tracking down illegal activities on the internet.
Besides, many would argue that taking the dark web down is a violation of their rights, which means shutting it down would require coordination from several entities.
Conclusion
While the deep web may offer anonymity, it doesn’t mean your privacy is guaranteed. The dark web, on the other hand, offers a more secure environment to access hidden information safely.
However, there have been concerns that criminals may use the dark web to conduct illicit businesses, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that accessing the dark web is illegal. In fact, many entities use both the deep web and the dark web to offer untraceable services.
In that case, it’s advisable to proceed with caution whenever you access the deep web or dark web. Experts recommend using VPNs and other privacy filters when accessing the deep web or the dark web.