Hence, you never know when a popular .onion site is going to vanish, or even die. Though it’s still helpful, a static list isn’t enough (we try to keep our own, the one above, up-to-date, though). The best thing is to actually understand how to find the fresh, new links. You only need to upload your PGP key or let the platform create one.

Illegal Markets

You can find plenty of old articles and media resources archived by the US government. The dark web is estimated to be significantly larger than the surface web, but much of it remains hidden or inaccessible. Recon is used to find information about darknet vendor profiles and monitor their activity. If you’re not using Tor, a VPN, or proper anonymity tools, there is a risk of being tracked. Haystak has a free version but also offers a premium version with advanced features and deeper indexing.
Separate Your Real Life From Your Online Persona
It protects their submissions using high-end encryption and doesn’t log their IP addresses or device information – full anonymity. Because it’s a members-only platform, you’ll need to register first. Thankfully, you don’t need to use your official name or email; just use a fake username (we tested it successfully). The site doesn’t require an email verification, though it offers all the features and security that you want in a dark web marketplace.
The process costs a fee, but unlike other “tumbler” or “mixing” services, there is no risk that Wasabi or any of its users could scam you out of your coins. Archive.today is considered an important tool to track changes across government and corporate websites, preserve cultural heritage, and keep knowledge outside of autocrats’ reach. You can archive any site you want, or retrieve historical records wherever available. Always remember that while the above measures significantly reduce risks, no method guarantees complete security on the dark web. Always exercise extreme caution and verify the legality of any services you access. Always run the latest version of the Tor Browser to protect against security vulnerabilities.
- The platform utilizes end-to-end encryption, ensuring it does not store any activity records.
- It’s also a good idea to set up a VPN for an extra layer of protection.
- The dark web often elicits a mixture of intrigue and apprehension, yet it remains one of the most misunderstood realms of the internet.
- Part of what makes the dark web the dark web is that you can’t access it through your normal web browser, nor can you look something up on it via a Google search.
- Using a reliable antivirus to scan your device is worthwhile if you spot suspicious spikes in system resource usage.
|}
The Hidden Wiki & Co

All content on this site is strictly for educational purposes; we neither endorse nor encourage illegal activities of any kind. Ultimately, your safety on these sites is your responsibility, so please keep your wits about you as you navigate. The Dark Web may have a sordid reputation, but there’s plenty of legitimate websites out there for people who just want to browse anonymously.

How Dark Web Search Engines Differ From Google
This adds extra protection since opening Tor itself encrypts your traffic. A virtual private network (VPN) is a good way to mask Tor activities. It adds an extra encryption layer and passes your traffic through a secondary server of your choice, preventing anyone from seeing that you are accessing the web via Tor.
ProPublica — Investigative Journalism On Tor
- Since you cannot access a library of dark web links using the regular Internet, you can check out platforms dedicated to indexing these sites, like The Hidden Wiki.
- The dark web is often confused with the deep web, but they are not the same.
- This means you can visit the site anonymously using the Onion browser, especially if you live under an oppressive regime.
- With this in mind, finding verified links is crucial for avoiding threats on the dark web.
- These links typically end in .onion instead of the more familiar .com or .org.
Ahmia is one of the search engines designed to be accessed on the Tor browser. It’s widely used by people on that browser, but you can also use it on regular browsers as a privacy-focused search engine alternative to Google. It will give you more results than you’ll find on Google and doesn’t order or filter what you find based on advertising. For most Internet users, the online world begins and ends with Google.com. However, Google isn’t able to find everything on the Web, as there is a deep and invisible web that is not accessible by Google.
OnionName — Buy Readable Onion Domains
The blog contains tons of useful guides about how you can avoid online surveillance. SecureDrop protects your privacy by encrypting your data, which makes it unreadable. Also, it doesn’t log your IP address or any information about your browser or device.
Plus, it’s slower since your data travels through the same four steps – entry node, relay node, exit node, and then the VPN server. As we mentioned above, when you connect to Tor your data first goes through an entry node, which can see your IP address. By connecting to a VPN before using Tor, you mask your real IP address before it reaches this entry node, adding an extra layer of security and anonymity. It’s not illegal per se to access an onion website, but that doesn’t mean your actions while connected to the dark web are immune from law enforcement. It’s still illegal to commit crimes while connected to Tor, regardless of whether or not you think you’ll be caught.
To learn how to safely access the Dark Web sites listed above, read our Dark Web Access Guide here. Dark web links operate on a system of layers (like an onion) where each layer encrypts traffic as it passes through multiple relays. Advocacy groups are also reaping the advantages of the darknet because, here, the term of censorship is as popular as HTTPS. So, it’s only natural to find ways to keep in touch with your darknet buddies and/or customers. There are several email and IM services which you can use, and it’s highly recommended to pick one if you want to step up your dark web game. The major issue with these websites is that a whopping 50 percent are fake, and there’s no way of telling for sure if they’ll deliver or not.
OnionLand Search

It’s also a place for discussion and organization during political unrest. The dark web has an entirely justifiable reputation for being a place where bad things happen. However, the fact that it’s almost impossible to censor the dark web also makes it invaluable for accessing legitimate content that might otherwise be censored.
The great thing about sharing via the Dark Web on SecureDrop is that users can do so without fear of persecution and without the possibility of being tracked down and punished. First, check out our beginner’s guide on how to use Tor, then come back when you’re ready to get started. Following our initial release, TorDex quickly gained traction, achieving over 10,000 searches within just 24 hours and attracting numerous advertisers. This overwhelming response confirmed our vision and motivated us to continue developing and expanding TorDex into the platform it is today. No, it isn’t illegal to browse the dark web, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with visiting a Tor website.