Do Not Trust Any Dark Web Links – If You Are a Beginner
Dark web links have been around for a long time now and the exact year or date of its emergence is not known. It’s true that the human brain is filled with curiosity hence everyone must have at some point in their life wondered what does the dark web contain and why is it so unsafe to surf through it.
Well, one thing is for sure, if you have let curiosity get the best of you and plan on going on the dark web links then the first rule to remember is to never believe nor trust anyone you come across on the site.
What Are The Dark Web Links?
Before jumping in blinding to the dark web, it’s essential to know what it’s all about. We believe that one of the main reasons why the dark web links were created was to let people have anonymity on the internet. Dark web links cannot be accessed through the normal search engine browsers we have such as google.
Dark web links are sites that cannot be indexed and require special software in order to be accessible. It provides the user with a high level of privacy where they can do whatever they want without being traced. This can be used in a legal manner but due to how it works, it has unfortunately been used and is still used for different degrees of criminal activity.
What Are the Different Layers of The Internet?
If you didn’t know this before, then you’ll be amazed to know that there are different layers to the internet. It’s typically categorized into 3 subheadings; clear web, deep web and dark web. All of these layers have different accessibility, privacy and software requirements.
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Clear Web
The clear web which is also at times known as the surface web is what you’re currently using. It’s easily accessible by using Google, YouTube or any other search engine.
Even all the social media platforms come under this category. Here, whatever you search and do is traceable and there’s a record of it. It may come off surprising to you that this portion of the web is actually only 3-4% statistically, there’s a lot deep down in the internet that’ll you’re unaware of.
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Deep Web
The deep web takes the major portion of the internet and these are sites that consist of those that won’t pop up in the search engines. Every material on the deep web is not indexed and cannot be accessed by anyone else.
Examples of these sites include private medical or company records, your email inbox, google drive folders and banking information. It’s a forum that you can only access if you put in your login details.
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Dark Web
As previously mentioned, dark web links provide a top-notch level of privacy and anonymity. In a way, it’s like a subgroup of the deep web. You can find all kinds of stuff on the dark web that won’t be visible on the surface web.
However, because of that, you need to be incredibly careful while surfing as the dark web links can contain both; legal and illegal materials.
How Dangerous Is the Dark Web?
If the question of dark web links legality comes then it’s not illegal to use; that being said, there’s a lot that goes on in the dark web which contains a great chunk of illegal stuff. Because it protects the user’s anonymity and makes them untraceable, the dark web link cannot be regulated nor controlled so people are free to do whatever they want on it.
The dark web links are at times used in a legal way as well for example; whistleblowers. This term is given to people who want to anonymously report something to a journalist. If any country is facing censorship then people utilize the dark web links to check on the news while some use them to access academic journals for free.
However, the use of dark web links for legal purposes is very limited; the majority of the time people see this as an opportunity to do a crime. This is what makes the dark web a very dangerous place especially if you’re new to it.
There are all types of crimes, some that you can never even imagine going on this part of the internet. Some of these include identity theft, weapon and drug selling, child pornography, human trafficking and other things like that which will leave you scarred.
Why You Shouldn’t Trust Anyone on The Dark web
The people on the dark web links are crime experts who know how to exploit others hence it’s very easy to land into trouble. This is why you shouldn’t be meddling in the deep waters unless you’re a professional and know everything about it.
Trusting anyone of those sites would be a big mistake as you may end up unintentionally breaking the law or find yourself in danger. Some of the dark web links may even cause your device to get any type of malware on it. So, know every inch of detail about what you’re dealing with before venturing into the dark web.
Can You Be Tracked on The Dark Web?
Everyone using the dark web links is generally untraceable which is why it has become the main hub for all the criminal activities. However, some dark web links have an attached tracking script through which if needed, the users’ activity can be found. The government obviously have enough high-technology resources that the reserve to only find high-level crimes.
A very famous dark web link known as the Silk Road which was formed in 2011, and was used as a marketplace to sell illegal drugs was shut down by the FBI. The people responsible for it were put in jail.
How to Access Dark Web Links?
It may seem like accessing the dark web links would be a lot of work but it’s the opposite. It’s fairly simple to get access to the dark web but that being said, maintaining safety on there is more difficult especially if you are new to it.
All you need to do is install Tor which is a web browser designed specifically to enter the closed doors of the internet. It maintains the users’ invisibility and when used with other security applications, it provides a good barrier of protection.
How to Surf the Dark Web Safely?
The best thing to stay safe would be to never go on the dark web links but in case you want to try it then ensure proper safety measures before.
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VPN
The first thing to do is download a known VPN which will provide additional protection to your privacy as it’ll let you use the internet with a different IP address.
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Tor
Next is to download the Tor browser from its original website through which you can access all the layers of the internet. It’s free to download and the best way to use it would be to turn on the VPN along with the normal browser in incognito mode.
The dark web links do not have normal domains like “.com” instead they have “.onion” as their domain. You can change Tors security to the highest level, “Safest” but do know it’ll slow down the internet speed by a great deal.
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URLs
Now that you’re on the Tor browser, you can access any type of link you want but make sure to do it with caution as you may end up stumbling on some dark content if you don’t know what you’re doing.
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Information
This is obvious but do not put out your personal information anywhere when you’re surfing through the dark web links.
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Do Not Purchase
Almost all the things available to purchase on the dark web links are those which are considered illegal. Criminals use cryptocurrency to do purchasing instead of the usual currency. Do not buy anything on there even if it seems harmless as it could be a scam.
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No Downloads
Do not click on random links nor should you download anything from the dark web links as 99% of it is are just malware that’ll infect your device.
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Webcam
It’s fairly easy for someone to open up your webcam without you even knowing which is very dangerous hence always take precautions by putting a piece of paper on the webcam.
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Turn Off Everything
Before you open the Tor browser to hop into the dark web links, ensure that every other app on your phone or laptop is closed. Also, it’s essential to turn off your location from the device.
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Restriction
If you have Tor on your device then make sure no one else uses it as they can end up in trouble if they don’t know what it is.
Dark web links are no doubt something that sparks interest in people and prompts them to use it to see what’s going on there. It’s legal to use it; however, it’s important to remember the consequences as well as no matter how much safety software you update and install, you will never be 100% safe of the dark web links.
