Use a VPN to surf the dark web privately with a Tor-Over-VPN connection. If you connect to a VPN first, your ISP won’t know you’re on Tor. We can’t see your IP address or what you’re doing when you connect to our servers.

Protect yourself first: Dark web security tips

The Tor Metrics is a good place to get more information about the Tor project. It collects data from the public Tor network and archives historical data of the Tor ecosystem. In most cases, whistleblowers have sensitive information about the government or a company.

• Please note that all material provided here is aimed at promoting awareness, responsible research, and ethical use of information.
• Like the BBC and ProPublica, this service is a testament to the Dark Web’s ability to facilitate unrestricted information flow.
• And it’s still essential to use strong passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA) to help keep your account secure.
• In terms of functionality, I don’t think there are too many differences between regular IMAP, POP3, and SMT services and the stuff you can use to communicate on the dark web.
• Activists and government critics prefer to remain anonymous, fearing repercussions if their identities are revealed.
• It will make your VPN activities seem like normal traffic, so you can use an uncensored internet.

Dark Web Search Engines vs. Surface Web Search Engines

Dark Lair allows you to post comments, share music, upload photos, message your dark web ‘friends’, and everything in between. In this sequel, I’m going to show you some of the not-so-clear-web’s hidden Easter eggs and how to get there. So, without delay, let’s step into the onion patch aka the best 20 dark web websites. So, you took my course on how to get on the dark web and want to explore your newfound superpower? To access the dark web, you will need the Tor browser, which provides the necessary anonymity and security. Your IP is still being revealed to one of the nodes in the onion, meaning your activity and identity can be unmasked.

News & Media

Hidden Wiki, although comprehensive, contains some very disturbing and very illegal info. As when visiting ordinary websites, stay alert to security risks on onion sites. Don’t click on suspicious links, be skeptical of what you read, and avoid dark web marketplaces if you don’t want to stumble on illegal activity or content. Leaked databases and whistleblower platforms like SecureDrop are also indexed.

Dark Web Chat/Social Networks

For example, Whonix’s virtual workstation machine connects to the internal virtual LAN. It can only interact with the gateway, the most effective method by which the browser protects user applications from learning a device’s IP address. While accessing the dark web using Mozilla Firefox is possible, you must first adjust its settings. To prevent detection, the program runs user data via a tiered stream before allowing access to the dark web. No one is hiding here—they’re just guaranteeing that people in censored countries can read the news without being flagged. There are often copious amounts of how-to articles, software exploits, and hacked credentials for sale.

Malicious software

ZeroBin is another great Tor service that helps maintain anonymity and privacy by offering an encrypted pastebin service. Pastebins are text sharing services, usually for sending and sharing text snippets. ZeroBin encrypts and decrypts text in the browser, so their servers have no way of knowing what’s happening on the browser side. One of the most straightforward ways to access to dark web safely is via Tor, so we’ve kept that in mind when compiling our list.

Deep Search

This makes it even harder for third parties to see your email traffic. You can choose the best darknet (.onion) website that suits you and start surfing. For safer browsing, it is highly recommended to also use a VPN and antivirus software. This article lists some of the best dark web websites you can visit securely. Some of these sites are very helpful (but unseen as Google doesn’t show them), while others are just for fun.

Stay away from questionable sites

The BBC, among others, is blocked in countries like North Korea or China because of the government’s strict censorship policies. This is why the BBC news website has established a unique .onion site, enabling anonymous access, via Tor, to its content without being subject to censorship, regardless of the location. The BBC Tor Mirror is a dark web site that provides uncensored news access. Their website is accessible on the clear web, but it also has a .onion site, allowing visitors to browse it anonymously, especially those living under oppressive regimes. Their dark web presence also creates a secure platform for whistleblowers to submit material without the risk of retaliation. Sci-Hub has nothing to do with science-fiction literature, but with science itself.

What Risks Are Associated With Dark Web Marketplaces?

This is high-level protection; no one can intercept your data or activities. This includes military-grade 256-bit encryption reinforced with a 2048-bit DH key and SHA2-384 authentication to ensure your traffic arrives at its destination safely. This adds extra protection since opening Tor itself encrypts your traffic. All in all, it is not illegal to access the dark web, but it can create issues for you.

Malicious Content

Using a VPN with Tor is controversial among security professionals. Connecting to VPN before Tor (VPN → Tor) hides your Tor usage from your ISP but requires trusting your VPN provider. Security professionals have legitimate reasons to search the dark web. SecureDrop is one of the most reliable file-sharing sites on the deep web. SecureDrop helps whistleblowers anonymously send sensitive material to media outlets via a unique SecureDrop URL. The files are automatically encrypted, and the sender’s IP is not logged.

Secure your system and mental well-being

With the right precautions, anyone who truly needs to access dark websites or we can say dark web browsers, can do so with more control, less risk, and a better understanding of the area. It’s a bit of a contradiction to talk about search engines for dark web sites because, by definition, these are not sites that get indexed by traditional search engines. Many dark web search engines on the darknet suffer from spam, because these spammy sites want to be indexed and found by the search engines as opposed to genuine onion sites. Vorm Web focuses on quality over quantity and splits findable results into three security categories, from secure to risky.

Popular Dark Web Links & Websites

Avoid jailbreaking your device or installing apps from untrusted sources. Tor Browser isn’t available on iPhones due to Apple’s darkweb marketplaces App Store restrictions. Apple requires all iOS web browsers to use its WebKit rendering engine, which Tor Browser does not.

Pro Tip: Use a VPN to Stay Safe When Using the Dark Web Search Engines

Another frequently overlooked aspect when accessing darknet links is the importance of system security. Many users focus solely on their browsing tools while neglecting their device’s overall security posture. Maintaining updated security software, using encrypted drives, and regularly checking for malware are essential practices that should become second nature. Remember that a single security oversight can potentially compromise your entire browsing session and expose your activities to unwanted attention. Combining these tools effectively requires careful consideration of their compatibility and your specific security needs.

You can now safely browse dark web websites and hidden wikis, but if you plan to do anything more than that, you’ll need to take several precautions. If you plan to purchase on a dark net marketplace or dark web commerce sites, you’ll need to create a fake identity. Remember only to make purchases using digital currencies and never provide any online banking login details. Archive Today’s .onion link allows users to access its web page archiving service anonymously, preserving snapshots of websites for future reference.

However, in the event of a dispute don’t expect service with a smile. Every communication is encrypted, so even the simplest transaction requires a PGP key. Dark web commerce sites have the same features as any e-retail operation, including ratings/reviews, shopping carts and forums, but there are important differences. When both buyers and sellers are anonymous, the credibility of any ratings system is dubious.

• I’m not saying you’re going to be 100% safe by using this method to get on the dark web.
• What should you do if your information is found in a data breach or you think it’s been leaked somewhere?
• It’s also a playground for cybercriminals, illegal activities, and shady stuff.
• The dark web is a part of the internet that isn’t indexed by search engines.
• The search engine doesn’t impose censorship, meaning you can find a broad spectrum of sites, including those that may be illegal or disturbing.
• When you’re done surfing or shopping on the dark web, don’t forget to shut down Tails.

BBC News (and other leading news sites)

With rising online privacy concerns in the current digital age, the Tor network’s anonymity is becoming essential. It is a good way to prevent third parties from tracking online activities. People in countries with heavy internet censorship must get a VPN or Tor browser to access the surface web. Lastly, the dark web is the portion of the deep web that is generally inaccessible and is much larger than the surface web.

Pro Publica

You will find all the necessary .onion links to access any content or service on the dark web. The dark web hosts a number of marketplaces that house illegal activity, such as drug and firearms sales, terrorism, hacking services, identity theft, illegal pornography, and even human trafficking. It’s estimated that 60% of sites on the dark web are involved in some form of illegal activity. However, it can still be a dangerous place if you’re not careful. Sites on the dark web tend to appear and disappear quickly so the links don’t always work—and they can be unsafe.

Accessing the dark web may not be illegal in most areas, but you should be prepared for the chance of encountering illegal/harmful content. If you follow these steps, you will have an excellent chance of being able to explore “safe” dark web content that poses minimal risk to yourself. In this article, we share our list of the 28 best dark web sites today, which include verified, trusted, and safe options to use when exploring the Dark Web. It could initially look abandoned, but the community members answered questions in the end. It served as a great place to learn more about it for people new to the dark web.

Your ISP only sees the encrypted VPN traffic and won’t know you’re on Tor. A logless VPN, which doesn’t store any traffic logs nor session logs is highly preferable. Traffic logs are a bigger concern than session logs, but neither are good. The dark web hosts critical threat intelligence that traditional search tools can’t access. Cybercriminals plan attacks, sell credentials, and share exploits in hidden forums and marketplaces that require specialized search engines to monitor. The Hidden Wiki is a longstanding directory of dark web sites that offers a way to browse onion services.

Only a tiny portion of the internet is accessible through a standard web browser—generally known as the “clear web”. Riseup is a malware-protected email and chat service that doesn’t keep records of your activity. It supports the cause of “human liberation” and doesn’t cooperate with governments. You can’t say the same thing for Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. This makes it a great place for activists to convene and share ideas.

But as a result, Tor Browser will feel much slower than a normal web browser. The Tor network combined with a VPN is one of the safest ways to get on the dark web. Many internet service providers (ISPs) and governments are suspicious of Tor use, but a VPN will hide your internet activity and help prevent anyone from knowing that you’re using Tor. As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, organizations are keeping a close watch on the dark web. Companies use dark web monitoring to scan for leaked data, stolen credentials and breach indicators, helping them track and identify perpetrators.

SmbCrawler is a credentialed SMB share crawler for red teams that discovers misconfigured shares and hunts secrets across Windows networks. Its Dark Web mirror ensures that even when governments force ISPs to block its services, anybody who relies on its services can leverage Tor to continue communicating with friends and family. DarkNetLive is an onion news site that provides up-to-date information related to the dark web and its use. Visit it to find out about Dark website closures, arrests, drug seizures, and other news topics related to the dark web and its use. The popularity of SecureDrop as a resource for whistleblowers has actually led to leading publications hosting their own SecureDrop URL. This allows whistleblowers to pass their information directly to those important news outlets.

Sites on the surface web (or open web) are those visible to average users without the use of Tor or any other special browsers or software. Sites on the surface web are also indexable and can be easily found using search engines. In a classic example, the surface web can be imagined as the tip of a large iceberg whose bulk remains hidden just under the surface. Tor66 blends a traditional search engine with a categorized directory of onion sites.

Still, one shouldn’t forget that a popular forum like Tenebris is often a gathering point for cybercriminals, facilitating data breaches, illegal trade, and fraud. You can also use it within the dark web, as it has .onion links. It will offer you an additional layer of encryption to access the deep parts of the internet. If you choose to visit the dark web, you must take the necessary measures to protect your privacy and security. Check out these best onion sites to access the dark web securely and anonymously. The two main risks of accessing the dark web are engaging with illegal material and being exposed to malware.