
The biggest differentiator between the deep and dark web is that dark web activity is made anonymous through a variety of encryption and routing techniques. The dark web is a network of unindexed web content. The deep web constitutes over 90% of online content and is inaccessible via search engines. Items you would not be able to simply access by clicking on a link from a search engine. Most internet users access the deep web several times a day to perform common tasks, such as checking email, accessing a bank account or reviewing health or school records. Examples of the deep web include any websites that are behind a paywall or require log-in credentials. The deep web refers to any web content that is not indexed – or pages that can’t be found with a search engine.

While a large volume of traffic visits on the open web every day, it only represents 4% of the content on the internet. Web pages on the open web will show up in search results on sites like Google and Bing. The open web, also called the surface web, includes any public web content that is indexed by search engines. The open web is the public counterpoint to the deep and dark web. While the terms dark web and deep web are often used interchangeably, they are two very distinct concepts. While the dark web is popularly associated with illegal activities, it is also used by the intelligence community, whistleblowers, members of the media and ordinary citizens whose communication may be monitored or restricted by the government. The dark web is the part of the internet where users can access unindexed web content anonymously through special web browsers like TOR.
