THE DEEP WEB VS THE DARK WEB – WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

There is a common misconception about the difference between the deep web and the dark web. The names are usually used interchangeably, but they are actually vastly different.

When you hop onto your favourite search engine, sure, there are virtually endless sites and results you can check out, some of which are rather questionable. However, just because it appears on Google, for example, doesn't necessarily mean it's always legal content – regardless if Google (or others) try their utmost to clean up suspicious content.

But, if that's true, then what is the deep web? Well, as a matter of fact, the deep web is nothing scary, malicious or even dangerous. The deep web consists of every single network, cloud storage data, Facebook user profile, private data, unlisted YouTube videos, bank credentials, sensitive corporate files, government archives, and the list goes on and on. All this data is not accessible through a search engine of any kind, unless you have the URL and the right permissions to access them. It is estimated that the deep web consists of 99% of all data on the internet, and the surface web – like what's available on a search engine like Google – is around 1%.

However, the dark web is something rather different. Unlike the deep web, sites and data on the dark web are meant to be found and accessed. However, they are specifically designed not to be found by a regular search engine, you need to have specialised software to find and access it. But it's never that simple, you also have to have your activity encrypted and anonymised. These sites and data used on the dark web are usually used for illegal activity.

Take a look at the video below by YouTube channel, Tech Quickie, on the Deep Web & Dark Web As Fast As Possible.