Re: Surface Deep And Dark Web
Fanny Lococo
If you think that search engines like Google (there are more!) know about everything on the internet, you'd be wrong. Some stats from from Worldwidewebsize.com show at the start of November 2017, search engines have indexed at around 4.57 billion pages .
The main difference is that the Surface Web can be indexed, but the Deep Web cannot. You can still access it though. You yourself spend a lot of time in the Deep Web, but you probably do not know it. Deep web site examples are:
At the moment, the Dark Web is defined as a layer of information and pages that you can only get access to through so-called "overlay networks", which run on top of the normal internet and obscure access. You need special software to access the Dark Web because a lot of it is encrypted, and most of the dark web pages are hosted anonymously.
There are several tools used for reaching these parts of the internet. The TOR (The Onion Router) maintains the most popular tool for Dark Web access. Their primary product is the Tor browser. If you think you are completely anonymous though, think again. Law enforcement routinely shuts down and prosecutes sites and people doing illegal things on the Dark Web.
On the Tor network, internet traffic is directed through the network of random relays. The browser builds a route of encrypted connections, one-by-one. Each relay knows only the previous and the next relays, but full connection route stays almost untraceable. The Multiple layers of encryption resemble the structure of an onion.
The Dark Web is a very convenient venue for cybercrime's underground economy, but you see their social engineering attacks as spear phishing emails in your inbox, and on compromised websites in the Surface Web.
Many of the email addresses and identities of your organization are exposed on the internet and easy to find for cybercriminals. With that email attack surface, they can launch social engineering, spear phishing and ransomware attacks on your organization. KnowBe4's Email Exposure Check Pro (EEC) identifies the at-risk users in your organization by crawling business social media information and now thousands of breach databases.
There are millions of pages on the internet however about 90% of the pages are not indexed by search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing ..etc. Which means only a tiny portion of the internet is accessible through search engines or standard means. Deep Web is the internet that cannot be accessed through standard search engines or the pages that are not indexed in any way.
If we imagine web as an ocean, the surface web is the top of the ocean which appears to spread for miles around, and which can be seen easily or "accessible"; the deep web is the deeper part of the ocean beneath the surface; the dark web is the bottom of the ocean, a place accessible only by using special technologies.
The dark web is a hiddenpart of the internet not indexed by regular search engines, accessed throughspecialized browsers like Tor. It hosts both legal and illegal activities,offering anonymity but also posing risks like scams and illicit content.
The deep web rests below the surface and accounts for approximately 90% of all websites. This would be the part of an iceberg beneath the water, much larger than the surface web. In fact, this hidden web is so large that it's impossible to discover exactly how many pages or websites are active at any one time.
Carrying on with the analogy, big search engines could be considered like fishing boats that can only "catch" websites close to the surface. Everything else, from academic journals to private databases and more illicit content, is out of reach. This deep web also includes the portion that we know as the dark web.
Venturing further into the deep web does bring a bit more danger to the light. For some users, portions of the deep web offer the opportunity to bypass local restrictions and access TV or movie services that may not be available in their local areas. Others go somewhat deeper to download pirated music or steal movies that aren't yet in theaters.
Deep web safety is more relevant to the average internet user than dark web safety, as you could end up in dangerous areas by accident: many portions of the deep web can still be accessed in normal internet browsers. This is how users can travel through enough tangential pathways and end up on a piracy site, a politically radical forum, or viewing disturbingly violent content.
The dark web refers to sites that are not indexed and only accessible via specialized web browsers. Significantly smaller than the tiny surface web, the dark web is considered a part of the deep web. Using our ocean and iceberg visual, the dark web would be the bottom tip of the submerged iceberg.
The dark web, however, is a very concealed portion of the deep web that few will ever interact with or even see. In other words, the deep web covers everything under the surface that's still accessible with the right software, including the dark web.
The reputation of the dark web has often been linked to criminal intent or illegal content, and "trading" sites where users can purchase illicit goods or services. However, legal parties have made use of this framework as well.
The dark web was once the province of hackers, law enforcement officers, and cybercriminals. However, new technology like encryption and the anonymization browser software, Tor, now makes it possible for anyone to dive dark if they're interested.
Understanding that the nature of the internet meant a lack of privacy, an early version of Tor was created to hide spy communications. Eventually, the framework was repurposed and has since been made public in the form of the browser we know today. Anyone can download it free of charge.
Think of Tor as a web browser like Google Chrome or Firefox. Notably, instead of taking the most direct route between your computer and the deep parts of the web, the Tor browser uses a random path of encrypted servers known as "nodes." This allows users to connect to the deep web without fear of their actions being tracked or their browser history being exposed.
As such, the dark web has attracted many parties who would otherwise be endangered by revealing their identities online. Abuse and persecution victims, whistleblowers, and political dissidents have been frequent users of these hidden sites. But of course, these benefits can be easily extended to those that want to act outside of the constraints of laws in other explicitly illegal ways.
The privacy offered by the Tor browser is important in the current digital age. Corporations and governing bodies alike currently participate in unauthorized surveillance of online activity. Some simply don't want government agencies or even Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to know what they're looking at online, while others have little choice. Users in countries with strict access and user laws are often prevented from accessing even public sites unless they use Tor clients and virtual private networks (VPNs).
On the network end, the dark web is a bit more of a grey area. The use of the dark web usually means that you are attempting to engage in activity that you could not otherwise carry out in the public eye.
For government critics and other outspoken advocates, they may fear backlash if their real identities were discovered. For those who have endured harm at the hands of others, they may not want their attackers to discover their conversations about the event. If an activity is deemed illegal by the governing bodies you fall under, then it would be illegal.
That said, anonymity comes with a dark side since criminals and malicious hackers also prefer to operate in the shadows. For example, cyberattacks and trafficking are activities that the participants know will be incriminating. They take these actions to the dark web to hide for this reason.
If you choose to pursue exploring any sites on the dark web, you put yourself at risk of being singled out and targeted for hacks and more. Most malware infections can be caught by your endpoint security programs.
The threats of online browsing can extend into the unplugged world if your computer or network connection can be exploited. Anonymity is powerful with Tor and the framework of the dark web, but it is not infallible. Any online activity can carry breadcrumbs to your identity if someone digs far enough.
Illegal drug marketplaces like the Silk Road have been hijacked for police surveillance in the past. By utilizing custom software to infiltrate and analyze activity, this has allowed law officials to discover user identities of patrons and bystanders alike. Even if you never make a purchase, you could be watched and incriminate yourself for other activities later in life.
Identity theft monitoring is critical if you want to keep your private information from being misused. All types of personal data can be distributed online for a profit. Passwords, physical addresses, bank account numbers, and social security numbers circulate in the dark web all the time. You may already be aware that malicious actors can use these to harm your credit, engage in financial theft, and breach of your other online accounts. Leaks of personal data can also lead to damage to your reputation via social fraud.
Antimalware and antivirus protections are equally crucial to prevent malicious actors from exploiting you. The dark web is filled with information theft from malware-infected users. Attackers can use tools like keyloggers to gather your data, and they can infiltrate your system on any part of the web. Endpoint security programs like Kaspersky Security Cloud are comprehensive to cover both identity monitoring and antivirus defenses.
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