You’ve heard about the “dark web” on the news and seen it mentioned in media outlets. If you’re like most people who are unfamiliar with this internet underworld, the first thing that comes to mind is that it’s a haven for hackers and online criminals.
But there’s a way to the “dark” and “deep” web than you think. Search “dark web” on YouTube, and you’ll likely see dozens of videos with a dark web iceberg diagram in the thumbnail. The dark web iceberg analogy is a great way to unpack these sections of the unindexed web.
So, what does an iceberg have to do with classifying the structure of the internet anyway? While you’re on YouTube, check out a video on icebergs. The TL; DR is that icebergs have only a small portion of their structure floating on the surface of the ocean; 90% of it lies in the ocean depths.
With this impression fresh in your mind, it’s easy to transmute the idea into a visualization of the internet. Like icebergs, the internet is massive. Think about how much data is available at your fingertips right now; it’s more than we could ever absorb in a trillion lifetimes (that’s unless Elon Musk comes right with Neuralink, and we’re all plugged into the Matrix).
So, the iceberg analogy is the best way to describe the surface, dark, and deep webs, since the surface web we see is just 10% of the internet’s digital real estate. But we’ll get into that detail more in this post, and a lot more, from the legitimacy of dark web websites to how to access this esoteric online space and explore what lays in wait for you under the waterline.
What Is the Dark Web? – A Journey into the Shadows of the Internet Underbelly
The thing is, you’ll never see the dark web unless you go looking for it. It’s not like you can open Google, Bing, or Safari and start searching the dark or deep web. These browsers only work on the “surface web” (we’ll get to the definition of these dark web deep web terms in a second), and they only give you results based on websites indexed by their crawlers and algorithms.
To access it, you need something different, a tool that gives you access to this hidden submerged area of the dark web iceberg. That’s the “TOR” browser (The Onion Router). The funny thing is that while the media likes to link people who use TOR and the deep dark web as “hackers” or “bad actors,” TOR was actually developed by Paul Syverson and his team at the United States Naval Research Laboratory in the mid-1990s. The TOR browser is free to download and easy to install.
So, the government is essentially responsible for making the dark and deep web possible to access. Oh, the irony. TOR encrypts your data footprint while you surf the dark web, keeping your connection and identity anonymous. Why is that important? Because your data and identity are everything on the deep web and dark internet.
Without the right protection to safeguard your connection to this hidden world, you’re left exposed to online threats from hackers and nefarious individuals looking to take advantage of your ignorance.
What Is the Deep Web? – Staring into the Abyss of the Internet
We can think of the dark web as the structure of the internet iceberg lying just under the surface. How big is the dark web? It’s nowhere near as big as the surface web, accounting for less than 0.01% of the total internet iceberg.
Now, the final section of the iceberg is by far the most expansive and accounts for 90% to 95% (depending on who you talk to) of the total internet iceberg analogy. What’s the difference between the dark internet and the deep web? Well, the dark web definition we’ve already covered, with it being the unindexed section of the internet. So, how do we define deep web concepts? What’s the comparison and definition of deep web and dark internet sections of the iceberg?
Is there a difference between the deep web and the dark web in terms of utility or functionality? The deep web hasn’t got anything to do with illegal marketplaces, hackers, or mysterious websites. The deep dark web is a vast expanse of data like data centers, private cloud storage, secure organizational systems, and paywalled content.
We all know the dark web has a misrepresented and sullied reputation as a criminal haven, but the deep web is nothing of the sort, it’s a data sanctuary. It’s a digital ecosystem to itself, and critical in facilitating many of the online services we use every day on the surface. You might not realize it, but when you’re banking online, you’re accessing the deep web. The reality is the deep web is a vital component of online privacy and security.
Deep Web vs Dark Web: What’s the Difference?
To extrapolate on the difference between deep and dark web and what we’ve covered and recap for a second, we can define dark web related activities as mostly illegal, with some application for beneficial productive activity, but it’s mostly regarded as a place the average internet user doesn’t want to visit online.
However, the dark web does serve some benefits, such as providing a safe space for online communities to discuss topics censored in the surface media. It allows whistleblowers to connect with journalists without the fear of being doxxed by the government.
Internet users who value their privacy can interact online with other like-minded individuals in private chat rooms, away from the eyes of the law and the government. It’s a place where you can distribute and share data totally anonymously. Well, to a certain degree, but more on that in a bit.
While the dark web is a sketchy piece of the iceberg, the deep web is home to data hosted by Fortune 500 companies and small businesses, it’s where hospitals store medical records, financial institutions store data, and cloud-based email platforms store your communications.
The deep web is absolutely essential to the smooth operation of the surface web, and without it, the internet would be nowhere near as useful.
Unpacking the Layers of the Internet Iceberg – How Much of the Internet Is the Dark Web?
Now that we know the difference between the deep web and dark web sections of the iceberg, let’s recap the size and scale of each section. But before we start, it’s important to know that nobody really has 100% accurate data on deep vs dark web size and the overall representation of these areas of the internet in the deep web dark web iceberg diagram.
So, we’re forced to rely on best guess estimations, and we suppose that’s fair considering the sheer size and scale of the internet’s digital universe. As mentioned, the surface web is around 10% of the internet iceberg, but some experts believe it could be as little as 5%.
The size of the dark web pales compared to the overall magnitude of the internet iceberg. But it still receives over 2.5 million daily users, and that’s nothing to shake a stick at.
So, the bulk of the digital iceberg’s mass comes from the deep web and its colossal weighting in the overall structure. Depending on the expert or source, the deep web could be anywhere from 90% to 95% of the total iceberg. Either way, it’s a massive, massive abyss of data.
Surface Web vs Deep Web vs Dark Web – A Quick Comparison
We get it, you might be having a hard time understanding the exact differences between the layers of the internet, so let’s stack them up against each other in a surface web vs deep web vs dark web comparison real quick.
The Surface Web
- 5% to 10% of the total internet iceberg.
- It’s the part of the web most of us interact with every day.
- Comprised of indexed sites. Instagram, Think TikTok, Amazon, YouTube, Netflix, Reddit – It’s social media, news sites, blogs, and e-commerce stores.
The Deep Web
- 90% to 95% of the entire internet iceberg.
- Most of us are unaware that we’re accessing it, but we use it for everyday tasks like accessing our Gmail account.
- It’s a totally legal online landscape.
The Dark Web
- 0.01% of the total internet iceberg.
- The portion of the web where users are anonymous, hackers lurk around every corner, and illegal content is posted and distributed.
- You get deep dark web access via the free encrypted TOR browser.
- The deep web, dark web, or shadow web are terms used to describe the darker aspects of this hidden area.
Understanding the difference between deep web and dark web sections of the iceberg helps you grasp the complexities behind the internet’s structure. Think of it like a map, and the deeper you go into the murky waters below the surface, the less visible and more mysterious the data becomes.
Where Is the Dark Web? – Unveiling the Shadows of the Internet’s Hidden Secret Spaces
The dark web, what is it, and where is it? Well, like the internet, the dark web isn’t a physical thing; it’s just data hosted on servers. The unindexed web contains millions of dark web websites, some of them work, some don’t. Some are dangerous; others are harmless.
The deep web and dark internet have no centralized location, and this makes it an elusive, intriguing online ecosystem. The anonymity users get on the dark web is both its appeal and its risk. The difference between deep web and dark web applications is clear, one is totally legal, while the other is a bit shady.
TOR is the only way to access the dark web. Even if you get a URL for a dark website and type it into the Google browser, you won’t get any results. Google “indexes” sites by scraping them using its web crawlers. The crawlers feed the data to the Google algorithm, which categorizes the site – it’s as simple as that
SEO, the practice of optimizing websites on the surface web to improve ranking in search results, doesn’t apply on the dark or deep web. Dark websites aren’t indexed, so there’s no point to optimizing the site beyond the basic user experience.
Understanding the Dark Web Iceberg: FAQ
What Is the Dark Web Mean?
When we think of the dark web definition, we start with sites that are not indexed by conventional search engines like Google. You’ll need to download the encrypted browser, TOR, to access the dark web and other websites. The deep web and dark web are separate from the surface web, but the deep web interacts with other sites on the surface internet. The dark web iceberg is just a sliver of the overall structure.
What Percent of the Internet Is the Dark Web?
The deep web dark web iceberg section accounts for 95% of the total internet universe, but the dark web is only 0.01% of the total. Deep web and dark web applications can both be legal, but criminals will use the dark web for illicit activities, while everyday users of the internet will engage daily with the deep web.
What Is the Difference Between Deep Web and Dark Web?
The dark deep web is the section of the internet iceberg lying under the surface internet that average internet users will never even realize is there. The primary difference between the deep and dark web is that most of us use the deep web every day when accessing online services, but hardly anyone uses the dark web.
While you’ll find nothing but legal content and data on the deep web, things can get a bit more sticky on the dark web, and you never know what you’ll find when you open a webpage. From “Red Rooms” to scammer forums, there’s a lot of illicit stuff going on in the internet’s shadow realm.
That’s not to say that all the content on the dark web is illegal, but it is the preferred venue for criminals to hang out and do business. So, think twice before you decide to download TOR and access the dark web; it might be a journey to the dark side that you deeply regret in the future.
What Is Another Name for the Deep Web?
Have you ever heard a talking head on the news mention the “invisible web” or “hidden web?” They’re talking about the deep web or dark web that is inaccessible to the average internet user, and most journalists use the terms interchangeably.
The definition of deep web sections of the iceberg is an expanse of data held through private systems, such as data centers, and most of the data is password-protected, encrypted, or otherwise restricted. But it’s out there, and unlike the nature of the data you find on dark web websites, the deep web consists of legal, above-board data and content.
What Is Considered the Dark Web?
Dark web and deep web applications and sites are easy to access, and there’s nothing illegal about visiting most of the sites, unless you’re involving yourself in illegal activities. What kind of illegal activities happen on the dark web?
Well, there’s everything from drug dealing and gun running to human trafficking and CP – that’s stuff you don’t want to involve yourself in if you want to stay on the right side of the law. Don’t think you’re free to do as you like with no fear of consequence; the cybercrime units in the NSA and FBI are always lurking around.
There was a famous case where the FBI arrested a woman for attempting to hire a hitman on the dark web to take care of her husband. So, even though you’re using TOR, you’ll probably still leave digital footprints that forensic departments can trace.
Wrapping Up: Navigating the Iceberg
By now, you should have a pretty good understanding of the dark web iceberg analogy. It’s a simple way to visualize the grand scale of the internet and the size of each section of the deep web dark web iceberg. We’ve unpacked the definition of dark web websites, what they are, and the kind of content you can expect when accessing them through the TOR browser.
You’re also privy to information on the government’s creation of the TOR browser. If you want to blow your mind, check out a few conspiracy videos on YouTube discussing how TOR is nothing more than a CIA tool. While there’s no concrete proof, the connections some people make are crazy.
Understanding the dark web iceberg picture demystifies the hidden layers of the internet, but – for heavens sake, be careful when accessing it. You don’t want to end up the victim of cybercrime, or worse yet – implicated in illegal activities.
Whether you’re intrigued by the potential of the vast expanse of data that is the abyss of the deep web or fascinated by the mystery of the dark web, now you know there are layers to the iceberg, and each one tells a unique story.