Deep Web vs Dark Web: Must Know Differences

Details

Before learning about the Dark web and Deep web, let us learn first about the surface web.

What is the Surface Web?

The surface web is also called visible web, or Indexed Web is the web that we use on a day-to-day basis. We are using this web to conduct our regular activities. We are all immersed in the surface web. It is where our daily online activities take place, and what most people consider as the Internet.

What is Deep web?

The Deep Web is worldwide Web content that is not included as a part of the Surface Web. It is hidden from the outside world, so standard search engines do not index it. It is the largest expanding category of new information on the Internet. The total quantity of the deep web is 1000-2000X greater than the quantity of the Surface Web.

It is defined by Dictionary.com as "the portion of the internet which is hidden and not shown from conventional search engines, as by encryption; the aggregate of unindexed websites."

What is the Dark Web?

Dark Web is part or division of the Deep web, that is intentionally hidden from normal search engines. All its data is encrypted. To access it, you need special software, configurations, or authorization. It uses masked IP addresses, which accessible only with a specific web browser. For example, Tor, I2P, Freenet, etc.

KEY DIFFERENCES:

  • Deep web usually used for legit purposes that require anonymity but dark web sometimes used for illegal activities.
  • To access Deep Web you require a password, encryption whereas to access dark web you require Tor Project or a similar browser.
  • Both Deep and Dark Web are hidden and not shown to conventional search engines.
  • Deep Web is larger than the Surface web on the other hand Dark web size is unmeasurable.

In this Dark Web vs Deep Web tutorial, you will learn:

Dark web vs. Deep web

Here are the main Difference between Dark and Deep web:

Deep Web Dark Web
Deep web is the portion of the Internet that is hidden and not shown from conventional search engines. The dark web is a subset of the deep web which is intentionally hidden.
To access this, you require a password, encryption, or specialty software. To access this, you require Tor Project or a similar browser.
It is larger than the Surface web. It is a subset of the Deep Web, but its size is unmeasurable.
They are usually used for legit purposes that require anonymity. Sometimes used for illegal activities.
It includes all unindexed webpages. It only includes a subset of unindexed webpages inside the deep web.
You can access it with a VPN. Need lots of precautions to access this data.

Application of Dark Web

Here are important applications of Dark Web:

Application of Deep Web

Here are important applications of Deep Web:

Why not use Deep Web?

Here are cons/drawback of Deep Web:

Why use Dark Web?

Here are pros/benefits of Dark web

Onion Routing

Onion routing is a technique that is used for anonymous communication over a computer network. In this type of routing, messages are encapsulated in layers of encryption, analogous to layers of an onion.

Onion Routing

Onion is a pseudo-top-level domain name designating an anonymous onion service. It is reachable to you only using the Tor network. It encrypts data through a series of network nodes called onion routers, where each layer "peels" one by one and uncovering the data of the destination.

Here, the sender remains anonymous. It only knowns the location of the immediately preceding and following nodes. This encrypted data is transmitted through a series of network nodes known as an onion router. So when the last layer is decrypted, the message arrives at its destination.

In the entire process, the sender remains unknown and only aware about the location of the immediately preceding following nodes.

What is Tor Project?

Tor is an anonymous browsing network. It uses the Onion routing method. In this method, messages and communication are encapsulated in layers of encryption, like onion layers, so it is hard to detect. It is a special kind of browser that provides individuals the ability to communicate anonymously.

Tor project

The Tor browser can run on your computer, which helps to keep you safe on the Internet. It also protects you by bouncing your communications around a distributed network.

It prevents other people from accessing your Internet connection and also prevents websites from knowing about your physical location.

Tor directs Internet traffic consisting of more than seven thousand relays. This helps you to hide a user's location and also stops anyone from conducting traffic analysis or network surveillance.

Best practices of using Dark web

Here are some important best practices while using Dark web:

 

YOU MIGHT LIKE: