How it Works1 min ago
What Is The Dark Web And How Do You Access It?
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Not wanting to do anything dodgy, just wondering.
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With normal internet browsing, a site you visit can see your IP address, so that if you did anything naughty (such as organising terror groups via that website), the police or security services could obtain your IP address and then get your ISP to reveal your true identity.
The Tor network though routes a person's internet traffic via multiple servers, with no log files being kept on those servers. So it's impossible for a web user to be traced via their IP address. The Tor network is accessed by a special browser known (with no great originality) as Tor Browser: https:/
Tor Browser can be used to access any 'regular' website (such as The Answerbank or bbc.co.uk) but it can also be used to view websites which have domain names ending in '.onion'. Such sites are wholly contained within the Tor network and thus can't be accessed using 'normal' web browsers, such as Chrome or Edge. It is those sites that make up the so-called 'dark web'.
Because of the way that the Tor network functions, there can't be any true search engines on the dark web, so Google, Bing, et al can never direct you to a '.onion' website. So, unless an existing dark web user has provided them with a link, it can be hard for a new user to find their way around. There are, however, sites which seek to compile lists of all known dark web sites, which can help a bit in finding sites.
The dark web is used by organisations who want whistle blowers to be able to report facts to them, without any fear of being traced by those who'd rather those facts weren't made public. So Wikileaks has a dark web presence, as do several media sites, such as The Guardian. Some other media organisations are aware that it's illegal for people in certain repressive countries to visit their 'regular' websites, so they put mirror sites on the dark web in order that visitors to them can't be traced. (The BBC does that, for example).
There's even a dark web equivalent of The Answerbank. (It's called 'Hidden Answers'). However a lot of what's on the dark web is the sort of material that's either considered 'undesirable' by mainstream hosting sites or is simply downright illegal. So you need to take care there!
If you want to get a feel for the dark web, start by downloading Tor Browser. Then copy and paste this link into it: https:/
The links from there are all safe ones.
[Note: The link I've provided above will open in any browser because it's a 'regular' (= 'clearnet') one. However the links from it will only open using Tor Browser because they're all '.onion' ones].
The Tor network though routes a person's internet traffic via multiple servers, with no log files being kept on those servers. So it's impossible for a web user to be traced via their IP address. The Tor network is accessed by a special browser known (with no great originality) as Tor Browser: https:/
Tor Browser can be used to access any 'regular' website (such as The Answerbank or bbc.co.uk) but it can also be used to view websites which have domain names ending in '.onion'. Such sites are wholly contained within the Tor network and thus can't be accessed using 'normal' web browsers, such as Chrome or Edge. It is those sites that make up the so-called 'dark web'.
Because of the way that the Tor network functions, there can't be any true search engines on the dark web, so Google, Bing, et al can never direct you to a '.onion' website. So, unless an existing dark web user has provided them with a link, it can be hard for a new user to find their way around. There are, however, sites which seek to compile lists of all known dark web sites, which can help a bit in finding sites.
The dark web is used by organisations who want whistle blowers to be able to report facts to them, without any fear of being traced by those who'd rather those facts weren't made public. So Wikileaks has a dark web presence, as do several media sites, such as The Guardian. Some other media organisations are aware that it's illegal for people in certain repressive countries to visit their 'regular' websites, so they put mirror sites on the dark web in order that visitors to them can't be traced. (The BBC does that, for example).
There's even a dark web equivalent of The Answerbank. (It's called 'Hidden Answers'). However a lot of what's on the dark web is the sort of material that's either considered 'undesirable' by mainstream hosting sites or is simply downright illegal. So you need to take care there!
If you want to get a feel for the dark web, start by downloading Tor Browser. Then copy and paste this link into it: https:/
The links from there are all safe ones.
[Note: The link I've provided above will open in any browser because it's a 'regular' (= 'clearnet') one. However the links from it will only open using Tor Browser because they're all '.onion' ones].
1 to 3 of 3
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