What Does Dark Web Mean?
The dark web, also known as the DarkNet, is comprised of websites whose IP addresses are intentionally hidden. Dark web content is accessed over encrypted overlay networks that use the public Internet but require a special kind of software to act as an overlay network gateway.
The dark web is used by criminals and shoppers on the black market, as well as by law enforcement and journalists, so it has both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, the dark web allows government agencies to share classified information. On the negative side, the dark web has become a marketplace where customers can shop for illicit goods and services and even leave reviews, just as on the public-facing internet.
The dark Web is a subset of the deep Web, a term used to describe web content that is not intended to be crawled by traditional search engines. In contrast, website content that is indexed and can be accessed through traditional search engines is known as the ClearWeb content.
Techopedia Explains Dark Web
The dark Web includes a wide range of networks, from small, friend-to-friend/peer-to-peer networks to large, popular networks such as Freenet and Tor, operated by public organizations and individuals. Dark websites are not directly accessible via a normal search made through a search engine.
The industries which operate over the dark Web are known as darknet markets; this includes black market sales of illegal products, to stay hidden from governments and law enforcement agencies.
Some of the categories of Web-based hidden services include:
- Drugs
- Fraud
- Gambling
- Chatting
- Hacking
- Hosting
- Search
- Anonymity
- Whistleblower
The dark Web is also used in other ways, like communication between whistleblowers and protecting users from attacks or surveillance to ensure privacy in communication. But the dark Web is mostly used in black markets as it promises total anonymity.
