In Part 1, we cleared up the biggest myths about the dark and deep web, showing that the internet’s hidden layers are far more complex and far less sinister than most people think.
Now, let’s dig a little deeper Technically.
The surface web (the part indexed by Google and accessible through any browser) and the deep web (content that’s behind logins or paywalls) both operate on the regular internet infrastructure.
The dark web, however, is built on overlay networks ,special systems that run on top of the normal internet to provide anonymity and encryption.
Tor: The Main Gateway to the Dark Web
The most common way to access the dark web is through Tor (short for The Onion Router), a free and open-source project.
Your connection is encrypted and bounced through at least three volunteer-run relays around the world.
Each relay only knows the previous and next node not who you are or where you’re going.
When you visit a normal website (like google.com), your traffic exits the Tor network through what’s called an exit node.
When you visit a .onion site, though, your traffic never leaves the Tor network at all it stays fully internal, which keeps both you and the site operator anonymous.
Note: .onion sites aren’t indexed by Google, can’t be opened in Chrome or Firefox without Tor, and often change addresses for security reasons.
I2P: Focused on encrypted internal communications, often used for messaging and file sharing.
Freenet: A decentralized, censorship-resistant publishing platform.
ZeroNet: Combines Bitcoin cryptography with BitTorrent technology to host decentralized websites.
but still, tor remains by far the most widely used and best-known entry point into the dark web.
SecureDrop: Used by The New York Times, ProPublica, The Guardian, and more than 70 other newsrooms worldwide. It lets sources upload files anonymously through Tor.
WikiLeaks: Maintains a Tor mirror for secure document submission.
In countries like Iran, Russia, and China, ordinary citizens use Tor to access blocked news outlets, contact activists, or share evidence of human-rights abuses.
Services like BBC Persian and Radio Free Europe host their own .onion versions to reach users under censorship.
Proton Mail offers a .onion site to protect users from network surveillance.
DuckDuckGo runs a Tor mirror to prevent any kind of search tracking.
Even the CIA operates an official Tor site for confidential tips.
Facebook also has a .onion version to serve users in countries where it’s blocked.
According to the Tor Project 2024, over 2 million people use Tor daily most of them journalists, researchers, or citizens simply seeking privacy, not criminals.
Accessing the dark web itself isn’t illegal in most countries — but illegal activity on it still is. The following steps assume ethical, legal use only.
A VPN isn’t required with Tor and can sometimes make you more identifiable. Use it only if Tor itself is blocked in your region.
