Now that your connection is active, it’s encrypted and untraceable by your internet provider. Everything you do is protected by NordVPN, which is key to accessing the dark web and enjoying it privately. Before we explain how to venture into this part of the internet, we need to see what you’re setting yourself up for. Unlike the surface web, the dark web is a part of the internet not indexed by conventional search engines.
Roundup – Best VPNs For Speed
Next, disable Javascript in your Tor browser to prevent malicious scripts from attacking your browser sessions. You can disable Javascript by clicking on “Preferences” in the macOS app or “Settings” in the Windows app. That means that when Tor is compromised, or perhaps there’s a new vulnerability exploit in the Tor network, a VPN will still protect your privacy. The compromised Tor exploit might trace back to you, but then again, your VPN will lead it somewhere else – which makes it impossible to be traced back to you. It’s not a secret that ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and the FBI are tracking Tor users.
What Services And Tools Are Available On The Dark Web?
Users can create customizable profiles, have friends, and participate in forum discussions. On the dark web, you’re expected to find illegal and prescription drugs (including Marijuana). Also, some toxic chemicals are peddled on the dark web that may cause severe damage to the targets. For your optimum dark web safety, you should ensure that once you’re done browsing the Darknet, shut all the browser windows as well as any other content that could be connected. However, there are possibilities that someone can still link personal details to a transaction due to issues like connected nodes, address reuse, and blockchain analytics.
- In an onion network, messages are encased in layers of encryption, much like the layers of an onion.
- Though the dark web offers anonymity for journalists and activists in oppressive regimes, it raises many ethical concerns.
- The threat can extend to your entire network of devices connected to the internet.
- It’s a hotbed of crime — both physical and digital — and anyone who dares enter it would be exposing themselves to those dangers.
Can My ISP See That I Am Accessing The Dark Web?
When you open your default browser, Freenet will be ready and running through its web-based interface. Note you should use a separate browser than the one you normally use to help ensure anonymity. For a number of technical reasons, it’s much faster and more reliable than Tor. The peer-to-peer routing structure is more advanced, and it does not rely on a trusted directory to get route information.
Examples Of Legal And Useful Dark Web Content
The BBC news website has a special .onion site, which you need to access via the dark web. Its goal is to offer anonymous access to the content without being censored, no matter where you live. The good news is that the BBC Onion site is an international edition. As a result, it not only focuses on the UK but also provides worldwide news.
ZDNET’s recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. If you want to improve your security further, you could also use a VPN at the same time as Tor. For the most security-conscious, you can even install the Tails operating system on a flash drive and run Tor from that. Darren Guccione is the CEO and co-founder of Keeper Security, the world’s most popular password manager and secure digital vault.
Take Extra Security Precautions
Though you likely won’t remember the addresses of onion websites, you can find these URLs on various websites on the internet. Your traffic is relayed and encrypted three times as it passes over the Tor network. The network is comprised of thousands of volunteer-run servers known as Tor relays.
How Do I Access Tor?
These corners are deliberately concealed from the public eye and require specialized tools and browsers to access, making it more difficult for the average person to explore. The dark web is not meant for the general public since it is harder to access and need technical knowledge. Therefore, if a person accesses the dark web with the intention of engaging in illegal activities or purchasing illegal goods and services, they could be committing a crime. Additionally, some countries may have laws that prohibit accessing the dark web or using certain software or configurations to access it. It is important to note that even browsing the dark web can be risky, as there is a high risk of encountering malicious content, scams, and other dangers. The internet as most people know it represents only a small fraction of what truly exists online.
Others may act in ways that are illegal for the protection and safety of others. Let’s unpack both of these concepts in terms of the “dark web browser” and the websites themselves. When it comes to dark web safety, the deep web dangers are very different from dark web dangers. Illegal cyber activity cannot necessarily be stumbled upon easily but tends to be much more extreme and threatening if you do seek it out. Before we unpack the dark web’s threats, let’s explore how and why users access these sites.
It is important to note that many of these tools and services are illegal, and using them can result in serious legal consequences. In the early 2000s, Tor was released to the public and became popular among users who wanted to protect their privacy online. The dark web, a small part of the larger deep web, began to emerge as a result.
To maximize security, you should avoid logging into personal accounts, such as Facebook and Gmail, via Tor. Although the Tor Browser is designed with strict privacy, logging into personal accounts can expose your real identity. Whenever you visit any website, click the circuit button next to the domain to open a menu displaying the servers through which your traffic passes. As illustrated in the screenshot below, our request was routed through servers in Luxembourg, Germany, and Austria when visiting TechRadar.com.
Should I Use A VPN With Tor?
Tor doesn’t support plugins because they introduce security risks. Malicious actors often target browser plugins to steal website credentials or install malware on unsuspecting devices, so Tor sidesteps these risks altogether. However, the most secure way to use Tor is via .onion sites, which are built exclusively for the Tor network. The entry node knows your IP address but not the intended destination. The middle node knows the previous node but not your IP address or what you’ve requested online. The exit node knows what you’ve requested and connects you to it, but it doesn’t know your device and its IP address.
It will offer you an additional layer of encryption to access the deep parts of the internet. The dark web is a part of the internet that you only step into with a specific tool (Tor, more on this later in the article). Though people usually think of dark websites as the wrong online place, that’s not the complete truth. Although the underground internet world is rife with everything bad, it also hosts positive elements.
Accessing The Dark Web On Various Devices
A phishing website or link is one that appears legitimate but is actually a trick designed to make you hand over your personal information to hackers and other bad actors. Often, these sites are made to look just like real, trusted platforms, such as banks, social media sites, or email providers. However, there are also perfectly legal, safe sites within the dark web, like privacy-focused forums, marketplaces, and more. Even large, trusted organizations, like The New York Times and Wikipedia, have official dark web domains of their own. Hotspot Shield’s free version gives you 500MB of data per day, which resets every 24 hours. During our testing, we ran Tor over Proton VPN on both desktop and mobile.
There will also be risks, but as long as you stay vigilant, you should not encounter issues. Users of the dark web should also realize that although their activity is technically anonymous, associating with people who are conducting illegal activities can have legal implications. To find what you’re looking for, you may need to try multiple search engines or visit directories of trusted .onion links. If you need an idea of where to start, check out our list of the best dark web sites in 2025.
