It’s been 30 years since the birth of the World Wide Web and it’s already changed the world as we know of. The web has revolutionized some of the key industries shaping our lives today and irrevocably transformed everything around us. Today, more than half of the world population is online. People turn to the web every single second as the starting point for every single activity online. However, the web is not everything what it looks on the surface. And while the web has made our lives easier in every way possible, it is also being misused in ways you cannot even think of.

Most of you probably don’t know, but the web is divided into three areas: the Surface Web, the Deep Web, and the Dark Web. The Surface Web, as the name suggests, is everything that you see, the internet you’re all aware of and like to surf. It’s the portion of the web that is being indexed by search engines and is visible to the general public. However, the Deep Web and the Dark Web are the two well-hidden sides of the web that are not accessible through search engines or web browsers. The Deep Web is basically anything that’s a search engine cannot find. Think of them as a dark side of the web. Both the terms are often used interchangeably but they are not one and the same thing.

What is Deep Web?

Deep Web is the web’s dark underbelly and an enormous collection of invisible websites whose contents are not part of the Surface Web. In other words, it refers to all the websites, the contents of which are not being indexed by search engines and which cannot be accessed through regular web browsers. The Deep Web goes by many names – the Hidden Web, the Invisible Web, etc. You probably have heard about them in movies, but it’s true. It’s an illegal area on the Internet which hides the murkiest secrets of the web’s dark underbelly, a place where you can find drug dealers, sex traffickers, weapon dealers, hitman for hire, and just anything you’re willing to pay for. The content of the Deep Web is well hidden and cannot be searched through conventional search engines.

What is Dark Web?

Dark Web is a part of the Deep Web which is only accessible by means of special software, configurations or access authorization. The content of the Dark Web is only available on personal encrypted networks or peer-to-peer configurations, and it is not indexed by your regular search engines. Unlike the Surface Web, the Dark Web exists on the Dark Net, or rather multiple darknets. However, the terms Dark Web and Dark Net are not the same thing. Dark Net is more like the infrastructure behind the Dark Web, which is a collection of content and websites that can only be accessed with specialized software. By using the Dark Web, people keep their legal online activities anonymous without worrying about websites tracking your location or online activities.

Difference between Deep Web and Dark Web

Definition

– The Deep Web and the Dark Web are the two extremely hidden areas of the World Wide Web that are not accessible through conventional search engines or web browsers. These are the darkest, invisible sides of the web which consist of websites, forums, blogs, social networking sites, marketplaces, video sites, and just anything, allowing users to remain anonymous or untraceable. Dark Web is a part of the Deep Web which is only accessible by means of special software, configurations or access authorization.

Anonymity

– The Deep Web is that part of the Internet that is not visible to the naked eye, as opposed to the Surface Web. The Deep Web is an enormous collection of benign websites that can only be accessed through regular search engines or web browsers. Deep Web refers to the entire web, whereas Dark Web is a part of the Deep Web that isn’t regulated and whose IP addresses are intentionally hidden. The Dark Web is a network of one of the largest online criminal and terrorist activities in the world.

Access

– The contents of the Deep Web are not indexed by the regular search engines meaning you cannot find them unless you know exactly where to look. The websites can only be accessed by specific URLs and authorization access to go deeper. Whether or not the sources are indexed, if you have valid credentials to verify your identity, you can access the Deep Web. However, accessing the Dark Web is a bit more complex. The content of the Dark Web is only available on personal encrypted networks or peer-to-peer configurations. So they are only accessible with specialized software or configurations or where their IP addresses are not globally routable.

Comparison Chart: Deep Web VS.  Dark Web

Summary of Deep Web vs. Dark Web:

In a nutshell, the Deep Web and the Dark Web are the two well-hidden dark sides of the web that are not accessible through search engines or web browsers. The Deep Web is basically anything that’s a search engine cannot find. The Deep Web is accessible using any standard web browser but is not indexed by search engines, so you need a valid username and a password to access the content. The Dark Web is a different story altogether. The Dark Web, unlike the Surface Web, only exists on the Dark Net and the content of which are accessible with special browsers or software configurations.

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