— what is the dark web? —

The dark web is a series of information and pages that you can only get to using “overlay networks”. These networks basically use the “regular” internet’s infrastructure to host and support the content on the dark web. Even though this content is online, you can’t access it using normal browsers or search engines.

The dark web is mainly used for anonymous communication and web browsing. Some of the biggest reasons people use Tor and the dark web are to read about and to discuss topics that may otherwise get them into trouble. While this can be things like political dissent or whistleblowing, this can also stray into darker territory like drugs and other illegal activity.

— what is the deep web? —

The deep web is anything on the internet that you can’t find from a search engine. This includes the contents of your personal email or online banking accounts and tons of other information. For example, your Facebook profile may be on the “surface” web, but the contents of your Dropbox account are stored on the deep web.

— what is the surface web? —

The surface web is the internet that you know and use regularly. This is any information that search engines can index and find. This part of the internet runs on the Domain Name System (DNS) and can be accessed with a regular browser and search engine.