Top 11 Dark Web Links Safe to Visit CyberGhost VPN

It also boasts that no personal information is required to use the service, and payment can be made with cryptocurrency. Keybase also offers extremely user-friendly secure chat and file-sharing services through its app. Based in Switzerland, ProtonMail is an encrypted email service that is very popular with cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Prior to Keeper, Darren served as an advisor to JiWire, now called NinthDecimal. NinthDecimal is the leading media and technology service provider for the WiFi industry.

Browse the web more safely

• This is a superb resource where people can anonymously and privately ask questions.
• In some countries, like Russia or China, dark web access itself may be blocked or penalized.
• Otherwise, there’s a good chance of falling victim to a phishing scam like this fake Bitcoin mixer.
• You’ll need a Riseup code to sign up though — and you can only get this from an existing user.
• Instead of “.com” or “.org”, dark web addresses can be distinguished by the top-level domain, “.onion“.

ZeroBin’s onion address ensures your traffic is routed through multiple nodes, so it’s challenging for any third party to trace any message back to your original location. ZeroBin is a minimalist paste-bin tool that allows users to share text securely and privately on the Tor network. Tor Metrics highlights that about 22% of daily Tor users come from Russia, while the USA ranks second at 15%. Tor has around 2 million daily users exploring over 65,000 onion sites. Tor Metrics is a dark web site that keeps track of who’s using the Tor network and where they’re accessing it. It’s an interesting resource that translates Tor internet traffic levels into easy-to-digest stats.

• For cryptocurrency enthusiasts, Wasabi Wallet is considered an indispensable trading tool and one of the safest ways to buy, sell, and manage cryptocurrency on the dark web.
• Just like Facebook, this is no random namesake; it is a legitimate platform from which to reach the CIA anonymously.
• While it’s famous for being a haven of criminality, it also has legitimate uses.
• This includes buying or selling illicit goods, illegal transactions, and downloading copyrighted material.
• Simply put, onion sites are websites that are hosted on the Tor darknet that use the “.onion” top-level domain instead of “.com,” or  “.gov” for example.
• That said, it is one of the most famous and popular Dark Web sites, and it does have legitimate uses.
• So, you took my course on how to get on the dark web and want to explore your newfound superpower?
• With Tor, for example, your connection is routed through at least three random locations around the world (any of which might have very poor internet access), which necessarily slows your connection.

How do I access Tor?

If you want to access this site, do so only for fair purposes and with proper security measures. The site has a simple interface and offers filters to find books. However, not all books on this site are legally available, so they don’t have copyrights. That means you may violate copyright laws while downloading books, so use a VPN to protect yourself from any legal repercussions if you have a dire need to use it.

What are dark websites and deep web links?

The wallet is user-friendly and provides robust security, making it one of the best crypto wallets on the dark web. Finally, Wasabi Wallet is non-custodial, meaning you alone can access the encryption keys. SecureDrop is a secure hub for journalists and whistleblowers to interact and trade vital information. Platforms like SecureDrop allow these carriers of truth to evade tracking. It protects their submissions using high-end encryption and doesn’t log their IP addresses or device information – full anonymity. Hence, even if you hide your IP address, you aren’t completely secure.

Use a secondary non-admin account

Always run the latest version of the Tor Browser to protect against security vulnerabilities. Outdated versions may contain weaknesses that attackers can exploit to compromise your anonymity. I recommend enabling automatic updates and checking for new versions before each session. In short, even with Tor, there’s no perfect anonymity online, but there are efforts to claw back our power online, says Lewis. There’s no such thing as perfectly private or secure on the internet. It’s still possible to track someone’s traffic pinging through the Tor nodes, though it is difficult.

How to access the dark web safely

• The Mail Plus plan adds up to 15 GB of storage, unlimited messages, and 10 email addresses, plus advanced email settings (like automatic forwarding).
• This makes it extremely difficult to find out who you are transacting with.
• Tor Metrics is a set of tools and data provided by the Tor Project that offers insights into the performance, usage, and activity of the Tor ecosystem and its nodes.
• Your safety on the dark web depends more on cautious browsing habits than any single security tool.
• Sci-Hub provides free access to scientific papers, with millions of documents.
• Since these websites are themselves Tor nodes, there’s no need to use an exit node that could be blocked or monitored.

Alt Address provides disposable email addresses specifically designed for dark web use. This service helps protect your primary email when signing up for .onion services. I found it especially useful for testing new services without risking my main email address, though messages expire after 24 hours. TorLinks maintains one of the most reliable directories of verified .onion sites.

More Dark Web Sites featuring News

You can download, install, and use Tor like any regular browser. Here’s a screenshot so you can see the domain address and know you’re on the right page. You might already know the dark web hosts some truly unspeakable things. Dark web hacking forums are bad, but it gets so much worse than what you’ve heard. If you’re sensitive (or just a normal person, really), you might want to completely avoid the dark web. CyberGhost VPN’s automatic Kill Switch keeps you safe even when your VPN connection drops temporarily.

How do users protect themselves on the dark web?

The standard dark web browser is Tor Browser, which directs your browser traffic through the Tor network so you can reach the darknet. As your traffic passes through Tor, it’s encrypted and bounced between at least three relay points, known as nodes. This helps obscure the origin of the data (and makes it hard for anyone to find your IP address). But as a result, Tor Browser will feel much slower than a normal web browser. Researchers from Recorded Future estimated that while there are more than 55,000 existing onion domains, only 8,400 (or roughly 15%) of these sites were active. So, when measuring the total network of live dark web sites alongside the surface web, only about 0.005% of the internet is the dark web.

The Hidden Wiki & Co.

• Install Avast SecureLine VPN to encrypt your internet connection and protect your privacy wherever you go online.
• If you must explore sites like The Hidden Wiki, do so with extreme skepticism, never download files, never enter personal info, and never send cryptocurrency to unknown sites.
• The exit node decrypts your traffic and thus can steal your personal information or inject malicious code.
• It’s illegal to use the dark web for any form of criminal activity, like buying stolen goods, drugs, user accounts, and so on.
• And that starts with understanding them beyond sensational headlines.
• The dark web didn’t start as a haven for cybercriminals – it was actually developed for a very different purpose.

The Tor browser conceals IP addresses and browsing activity by redirecting web traffic through a series of proxy servers operated by thousands of volunteers across the globe. This process, called onion routing, protects users from surveillance and tracking. Dark web browsing is not as simple as regular web surfing, but there are some tools you can use to chart your journey. Dark web search engines and forums like Reddit can help you find reliable dark websites, and you’ll need to use a dark web browser to visit them. The difference between the dark web and the deep web is that the deep web refers to websites and web pages that aren’t indexed by search engines, like login pages and payment portals.

Related articles from the Safe Browsing section

Several sites hosting illegal material have been discovered by government agencies and shut down in recent years, including Silk Road, AlphaBay, and Hansa. The dark web’s anonymity has also led to cybersecurity threats and various data breaches over the last few decades. This part of the internet is notorious for illegal activities, facilitated by the anonymity it offers. Crimes darknet markets links range from data theft and selling illegal goods for cryptocurrencies to human trafficking and more severe offenses. Excavator is perhaps as controversial as it gets, among the most comprehensive search engines on the dark network. Built in 2019 by anonymous activists, Excavator would be an extremely deep digger into the onion content, trying to be open for everything.

Bitcoin services

Unlike traditional browsers, this will route your internet traffic through an anonymising network and mask your IP address. Over the years, the dark web has evolved to become more than just a hidden part of the internet. Governments, corporations, and individuals all have an interest in it for different reasons. Some use it for secure communication, while others use Tor websites it for market research or investigative journalism.

Its .onion site is the quintessential example of use of the Tor Network by an authentic organization and how to properly leverage the Dark Web for access to important stories and information. Using this method protects your anonymity while you browse the top dark net sites by masking your identity with two layers of privacy between you and the websites. Accessing the dark web may not be illegal in most areas, but you should be prepared for the chance of encountering illegal/harmful content.

Facebook Onion site

We highly recommend using a strong VPN like NordVPN to stay safe and private. It’s because the US Navy created Tor for anonymous communication. Later, the CIA released its onion website to provide worldwide access. Google records every move you make online when you use its search engine, collecting mass amounts of personal data.

With Proton VPN, you can route your connection through our VPN servers to the Tor network(new window). To do this, simply connect to one of our special Tor servers that can be identified by their onion icon. This is a Live Linux distribution that you boot directly from a USB stick so that it leaves no trace on the host computer. TAILS routes all connections (not just those from the browser) through the Tor network. Another important difference is that connections aren’t unidirectional. So (unlike Tor), outgoing and incoming traffic use different paths, making it much harder to trace a connection back to a user.

• These include the buying and selling of illegal drugs, weapons, passwords, and stolen identities, as well as the trading of illegal pornography and other potentially harmful materials.
• The dark web often gets a bad rep due to the sheer number of illegitimate and potentially harmful websites it hosts.
• These typically come with “.onion” after them, rather than something like “.com” as on the standard web.
• The platform supports various hosting plans, including shared and VPS hosting, and has served thousands of clients looking for private hosting options.
• Because it’s easier to contain malware in a virtual environment, which can be fully controlled.
• Thankfully, there are effective measures that keep you secure on the dark web and ensure you remain protected and anonymous while accessing .onion sites.
• However, if you’re communicating with state intelligence agencies, you should use Tor alongside a VPN for maximum privacy.

Install Avast SecureLine VPN for iOS to protect your privacy and keep your data from falling into the wrong hands. Install Avast SecureLine VPN for Android to protect your privacy and keep your data from falling into the wrong hands. The dark net is not quite as lucrative as it used to be and the prices for most of these items or services have gone down in recent years. For obvious reasons—I don’t want to get you or me into trouble, after all—I’m not going to get too specific when it comes to what you can find for sale on the dark web. A lot of transactions are handled via cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which is relatively (but not completely) private and anonymous. Another private cryptocurrency you’ll find being used is Monero, which prides itself on being untraceable.

Most internet users browse content online using the surface web, a segment of the internet where sites are indexed by popular search engines and can be easily viewed using traditional web browsers. While the surface web may represent most of what the average user sees, there are many more layers of hidden content to be found on the dark web. Using a special browser known as The Onion Router (Tor), users can explore these hidden sites and engage in both legal and illicit activities under the cover of an anonymous IP address. Here’s a look at how the dark web works and the many ways in which people use it, both legally and illegally. Torch is one of the more established dark web search engines, designed to help users navigate the Tor network and discover onion sites.

Protonmail offers one of the highest levels of security and privacy for email services, utilizing End-to-End Encryption (E2EE), and operates under Swiss Privacy law. While this straightforward directory claims not to collect user data and says it reviews the links it lists, additions and removals are made at the administrators’ discretion, often without notice. As a result, the directory can contain a mix of legitimate resources alongside risky or illegal websites, making it essential to verify the links carefully before clicking them. Haystak allows users to fine-tune their search parameters by providing customizable retrieval options for each user.

Agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Europol monitor marketplaces over long periods rather than acting immediately. This allows them to map infrastructure, track financial flows, and identify administrators and vendors. Torzon Market promotes stability and uptime, making it appealing during periods when other markets face outages or takedowns. It markets itself as a reliable platform with strong operational security.

These sites provide a level of privacy and anonymity unavailable on the surface web, offering content and goods that cannot be easily found through traditional online platforms. The dark web may be the Wild West of the internet — a place without rules, gatekeepers, or censorship — but there are still reasons to visit. Check out our list of the best dark web links and how to navigate onion and Tor sites safely. Then get a VPN to help protect your privacy on dark web websites or wherever you browse online. However, there’s a chance you may run into illegal activity on all but the best onion sites.

To access the dark web safely, it’s necessary to use a dark web browser like Tor in combination with trusted dark web directories and search engines to help you find reliable sites. You should also make sure your device is protected by strong antivirus software, and consider using a VPN to mask your activity on the dark web. Archive Today’s .onion link allows users to access its web page archiving service anonymously, preserving snapshots of websites for future reference.

Wherever you go online, but especially if you’re on dark web websites, using a VPN helps you secure your communication data and protect personal information you send or receive. Avast SecureLine VPN encrypts all of your internet traffic to help block hackers and keep snoops out. Install Avast SecureLine VPN today to browse safely and securely, wherever your online travels take you. However, many are used for illegal activity and onion websites are often popular hangouts for cybercriminals and scammers. Using common sense like avoiding clicking on shady links or download buttons, sticking to known sites and adding a VPN for an extra layer of protection, you should be fine. It doesn’t track browsing habits or personal data and won’t expose a user’s identity or location.