Dark Web Vs. Deep Web

When you think about the deep web, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Phishing? Scam? Illegal activity? Well, you are kind of right and you are kind of wrong. At the most fundamental level, the vastness of the internet is spread across 3 categories - the Surface Web, the Deep Web, and the Dark Web.

The Surface Web is a 2% build-up of easily navigable websites that include blogs, news, e-commerce platforms, and many more. The Deep Web is a significant part of the Internet that is beneath the visible layers and hidden from normal search engines. But it is not the same as the Dark Web, where people emphasize anonymity and carry out illegal activities.

To eliminate some common misconceptions about these 3 layers of the internet, people must understand the difference between them. This blog post will explain the fundamental differences between the Surface Web, the Deep Web, and the Dark Web. Also, it will include a safe way to access the Dark Web, along with the safety precautions you must consider.

What is the Surface Web?

The ‘Surface Web’ is a part of the World Wide Web that you can easily access and surf with the standard search engines. It is also known as the Lightnet, Indexed Web, Visible Web, Indexable Web, or public web. The surface web is the & functions & content of the web, including online services, web applications, and websites.

What is the Deep Web?

The ‘Deep Web’ incorporates everything on the internet that is paywalled, password-restricted, or simply protected from search engine crawling due to the “robots.txt” file. Altogether, it accounts for nearly 96% to 98% of the total content across the internet and you can’t find them using the standard search engine. For example, when you check your bank account’s balance or log in to your preferred streaming website, that is the Deep Web at work.

What is the Dark Web?

On the other hand, the ‘Dark Web’ makes up a tiny fraction of the total internet and requires a privacy-focused web browser and a reliable VPN, Virtual Private Number. Later, this article will dive deeper into the Dark Web. But for now, you must know that if you have landed on a web page and you don’t know how you reached there, you are not on Dark Web. You need to intend to visit it.

Difference Between Deep Web & Dark Web

The majority of the internet is a part of the deep web and for a good reason. Criminal activity may be the initial thing that may come to your mind when you think about the dark web. But as a matter of fact, it’s not the only reason why people use it. People usually use it to carry out the activities they want to keep a secret.

Categories	Dark Web	Deep Web
Scope and Operations	As a division of the deep web, web crawlers cannot index the dark web. However, while the content of the deep web doesn’t show up in the search results, it is safe and you can access it using a standard web browser.	The scope of the deep web is far greater than that of the dark web. Also, all the parts of the dark web that are inaccessible through web search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, or DuckDuckGo are included under this general term.
Size	Being a subsection of the deep web, there’s still no way of gauging the vastness & deepness of the dark web.	It is, comparatively, easier to give an idea of the deep web’s actual size due to its public nature. Presently, there are 200K+ websites registered on the deep web.
Accessibility	You can’t access the dark web accidentally. Even if a cyber attack originated from the dark web, it is unlikely that it will affect a user on the surface web.	There are no filters between a surface web user and the deep web. If a user has an internet-enabled device along with the correct credentials, he/she can access a website on the deep web.
Applications	The Dark Web’s main application is to provide anonymity to the website as well as the visitors. The Dark Web anonymizes websites that wish not to be visible on the surface web.	As discussed above, the Deep Web is accessible to the majority of surface web users. Fundamentally, there are 3 applications of the Deep Web - the intranets, free online services, and subscription-based applications.
Security and Safety	The Dark Web is consistently evolving all the time, with new forums & marketplaces for criminal activities frequently cropping up. Companies are at risk of data theft by threat actors. Usually, stolen data ends up for sale on the Dark Web, providing cybercriminals a bonus to target businesses with sensitized customer information.	The Deep Web is mostly secure & user-friendly. Accessing the websites on the Deep Web is a safe & routine process. However, following the security measures is still crucial even if the websites are genuine & legitimate.

In summary, the deep web contains everyday activity, but the dark web offers a haven for safety, free speech, and privacy in an intricate digital world.

How to Safely Access the Dark Web?

Generally speaking, you will need to take proactive measures toward anonymity in order to surf the Dark Web safely. Specifically, a VPN connection and an encrypted web browser (like the Tor Browser) are required. You might choose to download the safe browser of your choice using your VPN, depending on your needs. Once you download security software, follow the below steps to access the dark web:

Turn On the VPN - Initially, you need to turn on the VPN software and turn off other unnecessary software & extensions.
Update Your Browser to Up-to-Date - You should ensure that your secure browser is up-to-date and don’t adjust its size for maximum security.
Use Navigation to Reach the desired Website - On the dark web, all the websites end with the “.onion” extension instead of standard ones.

To navigate the Dark Web safely, you must take proactive & anonymous measures. Also, you must follow these guidelines carefully to keep your devices safe & secure.

Wrapping It Up

This blog post explains the differences between the Surface Web, Deep Web, and the Dark Web while clarifying some common misconceptions and stressing the significance of the Deep and Dark Web.

In addition, it is also offering some insightful advice for you to safely browse the dark web using some proactive measures. In our opinion, you can reluctantly browse the deep & dark web if you abide by all the security precautions.