You’ve probably heard the terms Tor and dark web in the media. However, using these sites is not as dangerous as they sound. It’s actually surprisingly simple to begin.
The dark web is comprised of pages that aren’t found by search engines like Google. The dark web is the area of the Internet in which data and content could otherwise be kept secret. For example email inboxes and emails online banking logins, online banking inboxes and Google Drive folders live on the deep web. They aren’t accessible to users using a standard browser.
On the dark web, there are many sites that serve legitimate purposes. SecureDrop for instance, is a dark-web site that allows anonymous submission of sensitive data by whistleblowers. There are other websites that assist people in buying and sell stolen credentials like credit card numbers, passwords and social security numbers. These sites are often called “marketplaces,” and the most well-known examples are Silk Road and AlphaBay, but there are lots of others that have come and gone.
The key to surfing the dark web is a network called Tor that routes your connection through a number of servers run by volunteers that are distributed throughout the world. This makes it impossible for anyone to trace your movements. The name Tor comes from its fact that the data it encrypts is layered like the layers of pizza. This helps to protect the privacy of users.