We use internet for everything. Want to search the meaning of a word? Google it. Want to watch a trailer of a movie? Search it on YouTube. Want to meet people? Browse through Facebook. Internet has become such a huge part of our daily lives that it’s now hard to imagine a day without it. But what if I told you that this isn’t all of the internet?
Whatever we see on the internet in a day-to-day scenario is the surface web which is just comprised of around 10 percent of the total internet! Shocking right? If you are reading this blog then you are exploring the surface part of the web. Same for anything that you can search on the search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. You would think that surface web that you use daily already looks like infinite space, so what does the rest 90 percent of the internet look like?
Apart from the Surface Web, we have two more components of the internet termed as Deep Web and Dark Web. To understand the layers of the internet, consider the example of Earth. The land where we live around the globe is the Surface Web which is accessible for our use. If we go a little deeper into the Earth, we reach the Mantle, which is the Deep Web which cannot be accessed by us directly but can be reached with standard equipment. When we go deeper, we reach the core of the Earth, which is the Dark Web that cannot be accessed through any standard equipment and is dangerous to be in, just like the core of the Earth.
Deep Web is that slice of the internet that can be accessed but cannot be found by using search engines. You can only visit this portion of the internet with the help of a particular address. The content of the Deep Web includes databases, online banking, and pages that are password encrypted.
However, Dark Web is where things get interesting. Dark Web is the part of the internet that you can access with total anonymity. When you visit a website on a web browser you can be tracked with the help of your IP address; but when you visit a website on Dark Web, your request to access the website passes through several computers around the globe, encrypting and decrypting your identity, which hides your real IP address and in this way you cannot be tracked. Even you can use the Dark Web with the help of darknet software like Tor. Though, it is not advised due to the dangerous activities that take place here. Terrorists, criminals, and extremists generally use this part of the internet to communicate. It is also home to black markets where people can buy and sell illegal products like guns and drugs and can even hire assassins.
Notwithstanding the illegal activities, the government cannot shut down the Dark Web because it will adversely affect the people who use it for social benefits like the journalists to uncover truth, government agencies to communicate anonymously, and even the normal people to avoid being tracked by advertisements. Maybe, sometimes it is worth saving the benefits and lives of a few people by risking the side-effects of criminal activities. What do you think?
You really do have some regarding dark web.!!
Some amazing shocking information!
Such enlightening content!!
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I was very surprised to hear that the internet that I am used to accessing each and every day only compromises 10% of the actual internet. I was always aware that the Deep and Dark Web existed but I had no idea the extent of them. I think you do impose a good question if the government should shut down the Dark Web or not. I do not know enough to formulate an opinion on this because I assumed that only illegal activities occurred on the dark web and had no idea that the positive things that do occur. Very interesting post!