You’ve probably heard of the terms Tor and dark web in the media. However, accessing these websites isn’t as risky as they sound. In fact, it’s easy to get it up and running.
The dark web is made up of pages that aren’t found by search engines such as Google. It’s the portion of the internet where information and content that is normally private is stored. Email inboxes as well as Google Drive folders are stored on the deep web. They aren’t visible to the general public when browsing with a standard browser.
On the dark web, there are numerous websites that are legitimate functions. For instance, the site SecureDrop is a dark web site that allows whistleblowers to send sensitive information to news agencies anonymously. There are websites where users can purchase and sell stolen credentials, like passwords and credit card numbers. These sites are called’marketplaces. The most well-known examples are Silk Road, AlphaBay and many others.
The key to browsing the dark web is a system called Tor which routes your connection through a number of volunteer servers that are scattered across the globe. This makes it hard for anyone to identify you. Tor is named so because the data it encodes traverses several layers similar to the onion layering on a pizza, which helps secure your privacy.