6 misunderstandings about Dark Web

What do you know about Dark web? Most of what people know about Dark web comes from rumors, police reports or news. Just like any other tech misunderstanding, so does Dark web. Here are the misunderstandings about Dark web and the truth about it.

1. Only bad people use Dark Web

Only use Dark web when looking for nefarious goods and bad content, right? This statement is not correct because there are many ways to use Dark web. Not only people with bad intentions like new criminals use Dark web, those who like privacy, who disagree about politics and many other users also use Dark web.

2. All cybercrime happen on Dark web

Another wrong statement. The majority of cybercrime takes place on clearnet, which is where most of the world community connects to the Internet. Honestly, Dark web is a convenient place for cyber criminals to collect and exchange information. It has such underground, darknet market hack forums and other services. But the reality is that you will see more cybercrime happen on clearnet on Dark web.

3. Dark Web is very large

6 misunderstandings about Dark Web Picture 1

The image above is used to illustrate the Dark web is an iceberg. Common Internet, or clearnet, includes billions of websites. The second layer Deep web is the Internet you cannot search using a regular search engine. It is an academic database, bank gateway, internal company network, webmail account and other data that Google search will not reveal.

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Compared to clearnet, the size of Dark web is incredibly small. Estimate the size of Dark web ranges in about 250,000 to 400,000 websites. On the Tor network, tens of thousands of websites store ransomware and other malware. Many ransomware variants send 'victims' to Dark web to pay them undetectable electronic money ransom, such as Bitcoin or Monero.

4. Dark Web is only for technology professionals

People often wonder how to access Dark web. They think Dark web is a hidden, secret, and locked place that cannot be accessed. In fact, you can access Dark Web using the Tor browser and anyone can download and use it.

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The Tor browser is a modified Mozilla Firefox browser with some important additional privacy and security extensions. It is one of the easiest and safest methods to access Dark web.

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5. Accessing Dark Web is illegal

6 misunderstandings about Dark Web Picture 2

Dark web itself is not illegal. However, Dark web uses strong encryption to keep websites, services and users safe. In some countries, using strong encryption is illegal. Since you cannot access Dark web without using some form of encryption, you will violate the law in those jurisdictions.

For example, in China, the use of strong encryption is illegal. Therefore, using Tor browser and Tor network is considered a criminal activity. The Chinese government also banned the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), another form of encryption used to enhance privacy. Citizens in Russia, Belarus, Turkey, Iraq, North Korea and many other countries also banned the use of strong encryption.

6. You are completely safe on Dark Web

Misunderstanding common about other Dark web related security. Dark web uses encryption and extensions to block scripts to enhance security and privacy. But that doesn't mean you're completely safe.

This confusion stems from the use of Dark web to access the normal website. You can still access the Internet normally with the Tor browser. However, when accessing the normal website, your Internet traffic will go through the last station (Exit node).

The terminal is like a bridge between Dark web and clearnet. Although your traffic is still safe, if you log in to your social network account, your activity will still be displayed.