What's on the Dark Web? These are the top 5 sites in 2021

When most of us think of the Dark Web, our mind goes straight to the worst-case scenarios. We think of assassins, poison, illegal drugs and creepy red room videos. But these hidden corners of the internet aren’t all darkness and depravity. 

You might not know this, but the Dark Web has a lot to offer. You can find educational resources and even professional news organizations. That’s mainly because it focuses on privacy and encryption, attracting groups that want to maintain their internet presence despite censorship crackdowns.

It isn’t very easy, but we’re here to break it all down. First of all, you have to understand precisely what Dark Web means. Thanks to our sponsor ExpressVPN, here’s how the Dark Web can help you — and which websites you’ll find there. 

Dark Web 101

First, the Dark Web is a part of the deep web. That’s the part of the internet you can’t access through regular search engines. You need to do some extra work to find it in the first place.

So, why is it so hard to access? That’s because the Dark Web is invisible to search engine spiders.

(In case you didn’t know, search engines are run by automated tools called spiders, which crawl around the internet, find interesting pages and throw them into your search results. But these spiders only scan the world wide web, a.k.a. the “surface web.”)

The Deep Web is everything that the spiders don’t find. Within that category lies the Dark Web. That’s content that website creators deliberately choose to conceal from search engine spiders.

According to the Journal of Electronic Publishing, you can find anywhere from 400 to 550 times more public information on the deep web than on the surface web.

How to access resources on the Dark Web

To find these sites, you need to install a layered proxy network like Tor Browser. All you need to know is that this browser encrypts your data and runs it through several servers in different locations. It focuses on your privacy; it’s all about making you hard to trace.

This is an appealing option for people who bristle at the thought of Big Tech surveillance. (In fact, we recently ran a survey and found that 86% of respondents are sick of tech companies sticking their noses in our business.)

Continue reading

After years of saying otherwise, now we know Facebook can read your WhatsApp messages

Facebook doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to privacy. Even founder Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that in 2019, saying it doesn’t have “a strong reputation for building privacy-protective services.”

Continue reading

See why insurance denied your claim: This free tool from ProPublica walks you through the steps to see every scrap of info your insurance company legally has to provide.

How many cases in your state? Use this coronavirus tracking map

Staying informed during this coronavirus pandemic can help keep you safe. Just make sure to stick with trusted sources when looking for information. Remember, there is so much misinformation floating around online — especially on social media.

Continue reading