Imagine the internet as a vast ocean. As in the real sea, the bottom is not bright, nor easily accessible. The stuff we see every day (news, social networks, videos, but also email and bank accounts) is only the tip of the iceberg. What you can’t see, which is the biggest piece, is the “underwater” world of the web: the Surface Web, the Deep Web, and within it, the small but noisy subsection we call the Dark Web.

The Surface Web is what we see every day. Websites, that is, that we can easily find from search engines. The Deep Web includes the “invisible” bits: email, banking data, databases, and personal accounts. That is, everything that is accessible to anyone with the right credentials (username and password) or link, not through Google.

The Dark Web is something different
It is a small segment of the Deep Web and is specifically designed to remain hidden. It can only be accessed through special tools, with the goal of anonymity. To be able to enter the Dark Web, one needs something very different from the usual browser. The best-known tool is Tor (The Onion Router). This is a program that routes the user’s computer’s communication with the network it wants to connect to through virtual “tunnels”/nodes around the world, in such a way that its true identity and where it is located is concealed.

Websites on the Dark Web do not have ordinary domains, but addresses ending in “.onion”. They are only accessible via Tor or other similar tools that ensure a certain anonymity, such as the well-known VPN. This “privacy” has two sides. On the one hand, it offers anonymity and protection, which for journalists, activists, or people living in repressive regimes can be vital. On the other hand, the same protective envelope attracts people and activities outside the law: illegal purchases, drug or arms trafficking, stolen data, hacking, child exploitation, malware, and other activities that don’t want to be visible in the “bright world” of the surface, the Surface Web.

Some terms need clarification
When someone, e.g., on TikTok or elsewhere, says “index portion”, they probably mean the part of the web that is viewable via search engines. “Index” refers to the ability of search engines to “scan” it and display it in their results. This is the most recent, visible, and accessible part of it. Beyond that, the “deeper” one goes (Deep Web) is not necessarily illegal or obscure, it is just not visible to common browsers. The Dark Web, however, adds the element of anonymity and special access.

Navigating the Dark Web is dangerous, with one of the serious problems being scams: fake pages, phishing, malware, and data-stealing applications.
The truth is that there is no “map” of all the pages. The majority operate as “hidden services”, often with limited access, and many change frequently or disappear. According to studies on the Tor network, about 50% of the content that is “visible”, which could theoretically be found, is about legitimate activities: blogs, software repositories, activism forums, or personal pages. Others are purchases in exchange for cryptocurrency, sales of illegal goods, disposal of data (addresses, phone numbers, e-mails, credentials) of leaked or even stolen data, scams, and malware.
Some will probably enter just out of curiosity, just to “see what’s under the surface” of the internet: old leaks, forums with rare books, documents not allowed on the surface. Others may require anonymity for secure communication or journalistic research. But no one can guarantee that only innocent things will be encountered. The risk of something unpleasant happening is serious.

This is not a theoretical threat. Even if you don’t intend to engage in illegal activities, surfing the Dark Web is dangerous. Anonymity is never absolute: mistakes in browser configuration, disabling protections, using JavaScript, or downloading files can expose your true identity or “unmask” your path. For many, one of the serious problems is scams: fake pages, phishing, malware,and  applications that steal data or cryptocurrencies. Unlike the “clean” web, there is no guarantee, no support, no “complaint mechanism”. If you fall victim, it is extremely difficult to get any legal or technical protection.

Moreover, beyond the financial risk, there is also the ethical/legal risk: the Dark Web is not just “illegal shopping”. It often hosts illegal material and illegal services. Accessing it, even as a mere observer, can bring you under criminal liability in many countries. On the other hand, not everything is sinister. Guys fighting for democracy and freedom, general or personal, journalists, activists, and whistleblowers have used Tor and the Dark Web to communicate, give testimony, or ensure anonymity when repression and censorship are the law.

The conclusion is simple but important. The Dark Web is not a medium for tech adventure TV shows or somewhere you can go just to see what it’s like. It’s a world where the rules are different, where anonymity gives power, but also great responsibility. Access can lead to dangerous situations, from financial scams to legal problems or – in the worst case – exposure to illegal and dangerous content.