Surface Web vs Deep Web vs Dark Web

The Surface Web includes publicly accessible websites indexed by search engines. The Deep Web contains hidden content like databases and academic records, while the Dark Web is a small encrypted portion used for anonymity and often linked to illicit activities.

Have you ever experienced a journey into a vast ocean, were you able to go to its most interior and hidden parts or you were just navigating onto the surface or a little deeper. Maybe very few have a chance to deep dive into the ocean but here we are not talking about the ocean created by nature but ocean created by humans. You have rightly understood we are talking about here ‘Internet’ or ‘World Wide Web’ which is usually referred to as a vast ocean with millions and billions of computers connected to each other. But how far have you navigated through this digital ocean world? 

Today we look more in detail and understand about how this digital ocean called ‘Internet’ or ‘World wide web’ is classified into layers, what each of these layers comprise of, how to navigate deepest part of this, what are the inherent risks or dangers lurking in the hidden aspect of this vast digital ocean and so on. 

What is Surface Web

The three layers of the World wide web or Internet are just similar to a big glacier in the arctic floating over but only 10% of it is visible to human eyes. 90% of its area is hidden under the belly of the vast ocean.

• As a common user we navigate using commonly used search engines like Yahoo, Google, Chrome or any other standard browser is the surface of this.
• Only 4% of the web content is made available on the surface web.
• Some of the common websites which are predominately part of the surface web are Google, Yahoo, Bing, Firefox, Wikipedia and news sources. 

What is Deep Web

As we go slightly deeper the deep web is encountered. Its contents are not indexed by standard web search engines and content is hidden behind HTTP forms and it can be accessed directly via a URL. The sites are not open for public viewing such as email, banking accounts, private social media pages, electronic health records etc.

• The access to deep web is restricted via access control mechanisms, passwords or links given to access a private website.
• Streaming platforms are one of the most common examples of deep web.
• Some of the websites which constitute the deep web are academic information, medical records, legal documents, government reports, private databases, and subscription platforms. 

What is Dark Web

Dark web is a sinister part of the world wide web. This is the most guarded place with encrypted websites for its users. These sites are accessible only via special web browsers such as Tor.

• All shady dealings happen under the belly of the dark web.
• People can surf dark web and communicate with others without having their IP address or identity known to others, since dark web is a space meant to hide identity and online privacy it is often used by bad actors to carry out illegal activities such as arms trafficking, drug trafficking, human trafficking, cryptocurrency scams, NFT scams, phishing scams, Espionage, sale of stolen data and credentials etc.
• The Tor browser or onion routing keeps online activity anonymous and lets you visit websites on the dark web. 

Comparison: Surface Web vs Deep Web vs Dark Web

Download the comparison table: Surface Web vs Deep Web vs Dark Web