Dark Web

The dark web (also referred to as the darknet, the hidden web, or the hidden Internet) consists of websites that use anonymity tools, usually Tor or I2P, to hide the IP (Internet Protocol) addresses of their servers so that their physical location cannot be determined. This entry defines the dark web and discusses how it differs from the clear web, how it is used, myths about the dark web, and the future of the dark web.

Websites on the dark or hidden web can only be accessed via anonymity tools such as Tor and I2P and are also not available for standard search engines such as Google to index. Tor hidden services have URLs ending in .onion, referencing the routing technique that—with multiple layers of encryption ...