The number of people who visit the Dark Web is usually around two and a half million per day. However, starting in mid-April of 2023, the number of daily users was increasing more and more, averaging roughly 2.7 million.
Dark web sites use encryption software so their visitors and owners can remain anonymous—it's why the dark web is home to so much illegal activity. However, this side of the internet isn't reserved for criminals. Over 2.7 million active users browse the dark web every day, and many do so for legitimate reasons.
The “dark web” is the unseen part of the internet, and makes up approximately 5% of all internet content. It is part of a much larger area known as the deep web, which conversely makes up a huge 90% of the internet.
The dark web is a common gathering place for hackers and other cybercriminals, which can make browsing the dark web a risky activity. Visitors to the dark web should exercise extreme caution when downloading files, as they may infect your devices with viruses, malware, trojans, ransomware or other malicious files.
Can the police track you on the dark web? Yes, the police can still track you on the dark web if they need to, although it's extremely hard to do so. The Tor browser you use to access the dark web can mask your identity and location.
Due to the high level of encryption, websites are not able to track geolocation and IP of their users, and users are not able to get this information about the host. Thus, communication between darknet users is highly encrypted allowing users to talk, blog, and share files confidentially.
The dark web is known to have begun in 2000 with the release of Freenet, the thesis project of University of Edinburgh student Ian Clarke, who set out to create a "Distributed Decentralised Information Storage and Retrieval System." Clarke aimed to create a new way to anonymously communicate and share files online.
Surface Web and Shadow Web
Finally, the last concept you should know about is the shadow web. This is allegedly a layer of internet even deeper than the dark web, the well-known hub for criminal activity. Rumors say that this shadow web is a place where even darker, more serious criminal activity takes place.
Also, the deep web is huge: back in 2001, it was estimated to be 400–550 times larger than the surface web, and it's been growing exponentially since then. By comparison, the dark web is pretty small: dark web sites number only in the thousands.
One of the most common items sold on the dark web includes credit card numbers. Often, they are sold at a discounted bulk rate as seen in the examples below. In the first example, the seller is targeting primarily German cards, and is selling them at a bulk discount.
The Dark Web is associated with a whole host of crimes, and some of the most common crimes are white collar crimes like money laundering, identity theft and fraud. The Dark Web may seem anonymous, but law enforcement is ramping up its presence there.
Approximately what percentage of cyber crime takes place on the dark web? According to the RAND report it's estimated, that over half of the sites on the dark web are linked to criminal activity. The illegal actions include drug trades, crypto currency transactions, weapon purchases, and malware scams.
Tor is legal in the US. You won't likely get in trouble just because you use the Tor browser. However, Tor is not a lawless domain, so you can't use this browser for illegal activities. If you use Tor for buying drugs or weapons, you are held responsible against the law.
The Silk Road was the first modern dark web marketplace, an online place for anonymously buying and selling illegal products and services using Bitcoin. Ross Ulbricht created The Silk Road in 2011 and operated it until 2013 when the FBI shut it down. Its creator was eventually arrested and sentenced to life in prison.
A website set up for search engine spiders rather than humans. Shadow domains are indexed by the search engines just like other sites on the Web, except that the shadow domain is not for human visitors, and its content would look like gibberish.
Is it legal? Using Tor or visiting the Dark Web are not unlawful in themselves. It is of course illegal to carry out illegal acts anonymously, such as accessing child abuse images, promoting terrorism, or selling illegal items such as weapons.
At the dark end of the web, you'll find the more hazardous content and activity. Tor websites are located at this far end of the deep web, which are deemed the “dark web” and are only accessible by an anonymous browser.
It is estimated that the deep web encompasses anywhere between 90% to 95% of the internet. The surface web and dark web make up the remainder of that 5% to 10% with the surface web accounting for the vast majority of that space. It's impossible to estimate the true size of any of the web components with exact data.
The dark web is decentralized network that is not controlled by any single person or organization. Because of this, it is difficult to shut down the entire dark web.
You won't be able to search the dark web with a regular browser (such as Chrome or Firefox). Besides, your online activity on such browsers is visible to your ISP unless you connect to a VPN service.
How Do You Know if Your Information Is on the Dark Web? If your data is available on the dark web, one of the easiest ways to find out is to check the “Have I Been Pwned” (HIBP) website. It's a free service, and all you have to do is conduct a search using your email address or phone number.
The dark web is a part of the internet that can't be accessed from standard browsers. Using the dark web is legal, but it's been used for illegal dealings, like buying stolen personal information, including Social Security numbers (SSNs), bank account information and passwords.
How can you access the dark web? To access the dark web, you can't use Google Search or browsers, such as Chrome or Safari. Instead, you need to use software designed specifically for this purpose, such as Tor or I2P.
Using Tor to access and browse the dark web is not illegal*.