Top 5 Facts about Deep Web

First, let's clear something up. Whenever someone says “deep web,” thoughts immediately jump to beheadings, child pornography, and killers for hire. Sure, all that sketchy stuff is in the deep web, but that is contained in what is known as the “dark web,” a section of the deep web, often encrypted and/or blocked by membership-only passwords. The Deep Web, on the other hand, contains some potentially interesting stuff like secure websites for whistle blowers, but it’s mostly just stuff like personal blogs, religious discussion forums, and illegal radio stations. Yeah, truly riveting stuff.

But, like we said, that's not to say that there aren’t some dark and disturbing factions of the deep web. Things you can find online include illegal firearms and explosives, fake passports, and even hitmen for hire, although debate rages on regarding their authenticity. Oh, and drugs. Lots of drugs. Before it was shut down, Silk Road was the place to score on the internet. Using bitcoins and vacuum sealed packages, you could buy anything under the sun, including prescription painkillers, heroin, ecstasy, and LSD. Founder Ross William Ulbricht, aka Dread Pirate Roberts, has since been arrested and sentenced to life in prison, though other Silk Road-like sites have popped up to fill the void.

So, if you can’t find it through Google, how do you get to this hidden part of the internet? Bing? Nope. Just download Tor, or The Onion Router, a free anonymity software. It effectively masks a user's IP, making tracing virtually impossible, securing total anonymity. Some active sponsors of this router include the National Science Foundation and the U.S. State Department. This is because the original purpose of Tor was to protect online US intelligence communications– an enigma machine for the digital age. So, before you feel too bad about going anti-establishment, just remember that it is the establishment itself funding your access.

Reddit is truly a place where everything and anything is fair game. Unfortunately for those without access to the deep web, this includes potentially stumbling across communication from dark web users. There are various subreddits devoted to the deep web in which buyers and vendors discuss recent news, thoughts, and even post reviews regarding recent drug purchases. It goes even further, with advice threads discussing how to create a safe drop zone for an item and how to shake law enforcement. If you go on Reddit, you may want to stick with the cat pictures and shower thoughts.

No, the deep web isn't just some tiny niche of terrorist videos and whistle blowers. Estimates indicate that only 5-10% of the internet is accessible by search engines, meaning that the deep web contains roughly 90% of the internet. It is impossible to measure due to hidden and locked databases, so numbers aren't exact or updated, but some estimates put the deep web at 500 times larger than the surface web, with about 7.5 petabytes of data… And that estimate is from 2001! It is especially hard to measure due to the different layers of the deep web, each getting more complex and impossible to locate. The internet is an iceberg; what Yahoo give us is only the tip.

So, what do you think? Is Tor a super dodgy tool for criminals, or is anonymity essential to freedom? For more safe drop zone Top 10s and potentially interesting Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to Watchmojo.com.