The dark web is a cesspool of criminal activity: drug dealers, black hat hackers and hitmen. It's also a meeting deep web onion place for political outcasts and whistleblowers.

To access it, you need to use a special browser that routes your requests through the Tor network. But this can slow your connection speed down significantly.
1. Tor Browser

Tor is a free, open-source software that allows users to connect to the hidden part of the internet. This includes sites that aren’t indexed by Google or other search engines, as well as sites with addresses composed of random letters and numbers that make it difficult to identify dangerous links. It also encrypts data, hiding the user’s identity and location from hackers and cybercriminals.

Although Tor can protect against certain types of traffic analysis, it is not impervious to attack and is vulnerable to end-to-end correlation (the process of using more than one data point from a stream to identify the source). It’s important to understand these limitations before you start browsing.onion sites or using any other services on the dark web.

When you visit a website using Tor Browser, your computer sends data to the onion network. This data is then bounced around a series of middle nodes, each of which decrypts your data a layer at a time. Finally, the decrypted data exits the Tor network through an exit node and reaches its destination on the internet.

Despite these limitations, Tor Browser is still the most popular option for accessing the dark web. However, it’s important to remember that it’s not a substitute for a VPN. Combining Tor with a VPN can provide the ultimate combination of online security and privacy. And remember to use caution when visiting a dark web site, as many of these pages contain illegal content such as drugs, weapons, and disturbing pornography.
2. DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo is a search engine that offers users privacy and an alternative to Google. This privacy-focused search engine doesn’t collect your personal data or sell it to third parties, and it also uses algorithms to ensure that results are accurate and relevant. In addition, the search engine doesn’t use any tracking or behavioral advertising.

The search engine also doesn’t record your search history, which can help prevent search leakage and make it more difficult for cybercriminals to track your activity. DuckDuckGo is free to use, and it doesn’t use any trackers or invasive ads. The company has also developed mobile apps and extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and more.

Unlike viruses, which target specific systems and can cause severe damage, DuckDuckGo doesn’t harm your computer. Its main purpose is to provide users with a more secure browsing experience by eliminating the impact of tracking and malware. However, while it protects users at a search engine level, it does not offer protection from individual websites or social media platforms that may collect data and target you with advertisements. It is therefore important to pair a DuckDuckGo browser with a VPN for complete online protection. DuckDuckGo is working on a privacy-oriented browser for Mac and Windows, which will include built-in security features like a tracker blocker and encryption for searches. It is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2023.
3. Freenet

Freenet is a network that uses decentralized servers to allow people to publish information and communicate anonymously. It is designed to resist censorship, and it is a powerful tool for freedom of expression on the internet. It is similar to Tor, but it differs in how it handles content.

Unlike Tor, it does not depend on a central server to distribute files, and instead allows everyone to host data as part of the network. This helps it to resist censorship, as it makes the network harder to manipulate or shut down. It also allows for much more flexibility in terms of what can be hosted.

Files on Freenet are encrypted and split into pieces. Each piece contains the same data as the original file, but it is impossible to reassemble them without the correct key. This means that even if someone seizes your computer they will not be able to retrieve any private information, unless the files were written to disk in their entirety (eg media files).

Like all P2P software there are security risks. It is important to take standard security precautions, including using a secure operating system, not running old software and ensuring your web browser does not steal your privacy or cache (use a dedicated browser for Freenet if possible). It is also important to use the rabbit icon in privacy mode or with your browser settings set to ‘incognito’.
4. Onion Browser

Tor, or The Onion Router, is a free software network that ensures online privacy. It uses a volunteer overlay network of more than seven thousand relay servers to obscure a user’s location and usage. It is a popular tool with whistleblowers and journalists, but it can also be used for illegal activities.

Tor Browser is a web browser that enables users to browse the internet anonymously and access.onion sites. It is based on Firefox and includes a range of privacy features. Tor is a powerful tool that can protect against cybercriminals and government surveillance, but it has limitations.

While the Tor network is designed for anonymity, it is vulnerable to attack at the entry and exit points. These points of failure can expose a user’s browsing data to surveillance and tracking. Because of these vulnerabilities, it is best to use Tor in conjunction with a VPN.

A reputable VPN uses powerful end-to-end encryption to protect your data from spying nodes on the Tor network. It can even hide your Tor traffic from your internet service provider (ISP), making it impossible for them to trace your Tor activity. In addition to protecting you from malicious content, a good VPN can help you avoid ISPs that block Tor connections. It can also provide access to a greater variety of.onion websites, including many that aren’t indexed by search engines.
5. Ahmia

Ahmia is a search engine that helps navigate the dark web. It offers a categorized directory with indexed links to.onion sites, as well as surface web links. It also scours Tor’s i2p network for onion sites that are no longer online.

It’s important to note that the dark web is an alternative realm of the internet that isn’t governed by traditional privacy rules. That means that while you’ll be able to access many sites on the dark web, there is a risk of running into malware and other issues. That’s why it’s always recommended to use a VPN when browsing the dark web, such as NordVPN.

Like DuckDuckGo, Ahmia is a privacy-friendly option that works on the surface web and on Tor. It’s a great choice for people who want to boost their anonymity while searching the web, and it can be used with most major browsers. It doesn’t track your search history or collect other user data, making it a strong option for those who want to avoid compromising their privacy online.

Ahmia is an open source project that was created by a community of volunteers. It’s designed to be as close as possible to Google in terms of functionality, but it’s a much more secure option. It’s one of the few search engines that can be used on the Tor network, and it provides a wide range of results. Its developer, Juha Nurmi, is constantly working on improving the site’s indexing technology, and it’s worth a try for anyone interested in browsing the dark web.
6. Daniel

Daniel is a free program for Windows, Mac, and Linux that lets you browse the internet in dark mode. It supports a variety of search engines, including Baidu, Google, Bing, and Yandex. It also features six dedicated buttons that take you directly to Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and YouTube.

While navigating the dark web, it’s important to use caution, as many sites on this side of the internet are illegal or may contain malicious software. In fact, researchers found that 57% of dark websites host illicit content. Fortunately, avoiding these risks is fairly easy by using a good dark web browser.

To navigate the dark web, you need a browser that routes your internet traffic through a series of servers to keep your IP address anonymous. Tor is the most popular option. It’s available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and can be downloaded from the Tor Project website. Once you’ve downloaded it, simply follow the on-screen prompts to install it. Tor is not as fast as conventional browsers, but it offers unparalleled security and privacy.