It works by sending internet traffic through volunteer-operated nodes all over the world. This network of over 6,000 relays hides your location, thus protecting you from online surveillance and third-party tracking by your websites. Just like Google, the dark web has some search engines present on it. Though they have their limitations, most of the time you’ll see irrelevant or spammy links for your search results. If you choose to visit the dark web, you must take the necessary measures to protect your privacy and security. The dark web is a part of the internet that you only step into with a specific tool (Tor, more on this later in the article).
Security professionals monitor the dark web forums not only for real-time threat updates and signals, but also as a direct contact with how the cybercriminals operate and think. Information spreads like wildfire on the dark web, and hence, one data breach from a single organization can suddenly appear on various forums at the same time. Given that these are online transactions, the parties involved want a channel that they’re sure of getting the services or goods they purchase. Therefore, most forums have escrow services that help to complete transactions safely. Escrow services act as the middlemen, whereby they hold funds until both parties involved fulfill their ends of the deal. Initially, it was not easy to join the forum as it even included interviews.
BBC News /serbian/lat Na Srpskom
The dark web remains a largely unregulated and unmonitored part of our digital world. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a thriving community there though. But finding reputable onion links and dark web websites can be a challenge.
The New York Times — Globally Recognized News Coverage

You can also run a dark web scan to see if your information has been leaked on the dark web. This dark web monitoring will help you track illicit activities and minimize the risks of cyber-attacks. Many reputable websites and news outlets like ProPublica and SecureDrop often share official domain addresses of onion sites on their pages. Some users also share links on encrypted apps like Telegram or Keybase that you can check. Because of its anonymity, the dark web is filled with illegal services and is used by numerous criminal groups, including ransomware gangs. It is also used by whistle-blowers, journalists, and other individuals who are not involved in illegal activity but need to protect their communications and identities.
The Washington Post
The email service is available both on the surface and on the dark web. The social media giant is also aware of the many attempts by repressive regimes to restrict its access. After all, it enables users to connect and communicate with each other from around the world.

BBC News /portuguese Brasil
- To reinforce your privacy while on the dark web, consider adding on a VPN like Windscribe as an extra layer of protection.
- Hence, even if you hide your IP address, you aren’t completely secure.
- If you want to be untraceable and undetectable, connecting to the dark web via the Tor browser is a major step towards that, but not the only step you’ll need.
- It serves the same purpose as ProPublica – facilitating access in countries where it may otherwise be restricted.
- Unlike the surface web, where pages are easily searchable, dark web sites use encryption to hide their IP (Internet Protocol) addresses.
- It relies on P2P connections and requires specialized tools and software.
Most likely, the native account on your device has full admin permissions by default. Many malware take advantage of this vulnerability to launch an attack. Therefore, you can prevent this exploitation by setting up a non-admin account. Many services that are allegedly offered on the dark web are scams. Some services are genuine; you can get what you want at an agreed fee.
- While not an onion site, Tor Metrics can provide a fascinating peek “under the hood” of the dark web.
- Therefore, use NordVPN to view search results and browse anonymously.
- It is an archive stored on the Dark Web that keeps a snapshot of websites on the surface internet.
- This .onion link makes it impossible for hackers to impersonate your profile.
Where Should I Explore The Dark Web? And How Can I Know If Websites Are Safe Or Not?
Your data is encrypted in the Tor browser before reaching the ZeroBin servers. ZeroBin is a wonderful way to share the content you get from dark web resources. It is a reliable messaging tool where you copy/paste a text or image and send it to your addressee. This service is a good source of statistics if you have a school project requiring research on Tor and the dark web. However, note that the site only uses non-sensitive and public data for the metrics. The Tor Metrics is a good place to get more information about the Tor project.
Best Dark Web Sites: Unseen Onion And Tor Links
This means you have to know someone who is already using the platform. Even without the code, you can visit the security section to get tips on improving your daily life privacy. Using the ProtonMail .onion site offers security and privacy advantages.
BBC News /thai ไทย

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. The dark web is part of the internet that is not indexed by standard search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. It means you cannot access websites on the dark web with regular browsers like Firefox or Chrome.
Tor Metrics
In some countries, like Russia or China, dark web access itself may be blocked or penalized. But while anonymous email services can help protect your identity, they don’t make you immune to threats like email spoofing or social engineering. And it’s still essential to use strong passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA) to help keep your account secure. Below, we list some onion sites you can explore relatively safely. To access them, copy and paste the hyperlinks provided into the Tor browser.

It’s so well managed that the platform is multilingual as it features up to 12 language-specific sections, with the French sub-forum being the most active. It is a forum on the darknet that’s designed like X (formerly Twitter). Ahmia is a dark web search engine designed to index and search tor websites. This traditional search engine is also compatible with the dark web and can help you find dark web websites. ProPublica was the first online publication to win a Pulitzer prize. They were also the first to host a .onion site to make their content accessible to everyone everywhere, regardless of censorship or anti-journalist laws in certain countries.
How To Find Links
Some countries and ISPs may try to prevent access to DuckDuckGo’s direct link. Hence, it’s quite useful to be able to connect to its onion link. A VPN protects your connection against everyone, not just your ISP and the authorities. This process also prevents your ISP from seeing your data or where it’s going.
The dark web is shrouded in mystery, but not every onion website is dangerous. But before we start, install Norton VPN to help protect your digital identity and stay safer online. Viruses, ransomware, and other types of malware are more common on onion sites than on the normal internet. Many pages have poor encryption standards and no other protections, so simply visiting a Tor site can infect your device.