What Is the Dark Web?

A good portion of the internet is not accessible through search engines like Google or Bing. Some of these are obvious: your webmail client, your social media accounts, your online banking accounts, your bank statements, content hidden behind paywalls, and the like. Others are deindexed by search engines intentionally. And still, others are, by design, not indexed. This is the deep web. 

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The dark web is a subset of websites where (often) illegal activities take place. If you don’t know how to remove personal information from Google searches, it’s possible that data broker sites have collected and sold your personal details. The buyer might have posted your name, address, and other personally identifiable data on the dark web. 

 What Is the Dark Web Used for?

The dark web is often hidden behind encryptions and sometimes can only be accessed by particular browsers. Behind this veil of secrecy, drugs, stolen credit card numbers, personal information, and more are bought and sold.

One of the most famous sites on the dark web, Silk Road, caused quite a stir. The founder, Ross Ulbricht, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for running the criminal enterprise, an illegal online drug emporium. Other marketplaces on the dark web have guns for sale and murders for hire. Hackers and hacking groups offer their services via the dark web, as well. Ironically, some of these sites instead infect your computer with trojan horses or backdoors, allowing hackers access to your computer and private data.

 Who Uses the Dark Web?

It is worth noting not all sites in the dark web are used for illegal activity, but many are. It can be used to bypass state censorship, conduct reporting in repressive countries, or blow the whistle on companies or crime syndicates. Anyone with a need for a high degree of anonymity might use the dark web to protect themselves.

Browsers such as Tor are needed to access the encrypted sites, which can slow down browsing. It’s also hard to find much of the dark web, as the point is to stay secret. Some sites require credentials to view at all. Some forums, however, exist solely and simply to express opinions that might otherwise be unpopular.

Should I Be Worried? 

If your data has been part of a leak, then yes, you might have reason to be worried. Your credit card numbers are potentially being bought and sold on the dark web. These can be combined with information legitimately purchased from data broker sites to gain enough personal details to use the credit card with little hassle. If you have not already, you should remove personal information from Google to thwart data broker sites. Data broker sites can be indiscriminate in who they sell data to, which means your personal information could then end up on the dark web. Luckily, lists of credit card numbers can be outdated. If you are still worried, request a new card to update information, and hire a service to remove your private details from data broker sites. 

 About DeleteMe

DeleteMe’s efficient, effective internet privacy strategies have set a high standard in online privacy and information security. Their Boston-based expert privacy team removes your personal details from data broker sites using proprietary technology as well as their and deep knowledge of opt-out and privacy policies. DeleteMe can help with information removal from Whitepages and over 30 other data broker sites—they’ve already successfully completed more than 20 million customer opt-outs to date. A subscription with DeleteMe ensures your personal, private data will stay private year-round.

Learn more about keeping your information private at Joindeleteme.com

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