5 Things you should know about dark web websites

When most of us hear the words dark web, our minds think of an internet pool where criminal activities happen. While that is partially true, there is a good part of the dark web that often people leave out. The ‘good’ and ‘dark’ phraseology does sound oxymoronic and confusing. Today, we’ll explain to you everything you need to know about the dark web.

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What is the dark web?

Contrary to what the majority of people think, the dark web is not a ‘dark’ collection of sites. Rather, it a part of the web that is not indexed by search engines. The dark web sites like these listed by VPNOverview are purposely hidden and thus inaccessible by the normal browsers.

Though the dark web consists of sites that carry out illegal activities, it also has legitimate and useful sites. On this page, you can find some useful dark web sites.

5 things you should know about Dark Websites

1.      The dark web is different from the deep web

Most people usually confuse the dark web and deep web. The two are even erroneously used interchangeably in some publications and blogs. The dark and deep web, however, have some differences.

The latter refers to all the sites that don’t appear when you run a search on the web. These sites are unreachable via a search engine and make up for a larger part of the internet than the clear (surface) web. These may include your email, drive storage, business intranets, medical records, etc.

The dark web is, however, a part of the deep web since it can’t be accessed using a regular browser.   

2.      Some dark web sites host illegal activity

Popular dark web sites such as the Silk Road, Wall Street Market, and AlphaBay have previously been tied to illegal activity. These sites were involved in the drug trade, firearm sales, and many other unlawful activities.

Although these were shut down, other operational sites involved in criminal activities exist. Some of these activities include the unwarranted sale of passwords for streaming services such as Netflix, contraband, molestation, kidnapping, and sex trafficking. You are not likely to come across these sites or their offensive content unless you are actively looking for them, but it’s  important to be aware of their existence.

3.      Sites emerge almost daily, and some are actually good

The dark web is a collection of very many sites. What’s more, new sites frequently keep popping-up. Most illustrations of the dark web tend to leave out the bright side. You can access and benefit from some of these legit and useful sites.

They include interaction sites like Blackbook, email services such as ProtonMail, and games like The Chess. Besides, there are platforms that support anonymous sharing of information such as Secure Drop, which are useful to whistle-blowers and journalists.

4.      Sites may have misleading and false reviews

Not every review or comment under a product or service in the dark web is true or can be trusted. Some are just posted there to lure innocent internet users. If you intend to make purchases on the dark web, you need to exercise high levels of caution.

5.      Beware of scam sites and fraudsters

Just like the surface web which has a great many scamming and phishing sites, there exist sites in the dark web usually run by fraudsters. The dark web is chaotic, and you might easily stumble across one of them. These sites appear genuine, but the motive behind them is to defraud you. Be watchful of such sites, especially those that ask for your personal information such as payment methods.

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