Every day you surf the web, the public internet as we know it. However, without you knowing you already accessed the deep web. But what is it exactly?
Inaccessible via search engines
The deep web is not accessible via search engines like Google, Bing or DuckDuckGo. Why? Simply because the pages of this unknown part of the internet are not indexed by the engine or stored in their databases. As part of the ‘regular’ internet, it is estimated to be approximately 90 to 95% of the (known) world-wide web.
Gaining access: easier than you think!
This hidden part of the internet might be big, but it is also easily accessible. How? Not that complicated as you think.
To understand what the deep web is, you must know that it is defined as that part of the (regular) internet that is not indexed by search engines. It’s a well-known part of the net you use a lot: everything which requires a password or access code to read, is part of this hidden web. Not that strange if you remember not everything must be shared with the world…
Some examples? Easy! It is home to
- the logged-on part of your banking software,
- your private photos stored on your iCloud or Google Drive,
- the administration interface of your own website,
- your company’s intranet,
- your OneDrive or private DropBox-account
- your “friends-only” Facebook page or private Instagram
- …
All of these require some sort of authorisation to view the stored information. Most of the time you do not need any special browser or software. That are the basic differences between this deep web versus the dark web.
Safely using the deep web
Lots of things you hold dear like your bank transactions and sensitive documents are stored on this part of the internet. When accessing the web use a decent web browser. Also, it is a good idea to protect yourself from malware and viruses. Optionally, when on holiday in countries ‘with a reputation’, you might want to consider using a VPN to access the deep web safely.
A safe browser for the deep web?