Also, these sites are often linked to publicly accessible pages, making them findable and accessible by users with the right login credentials and willingness to pay.

Unlike the dark web, sites on the deep web can be accessed using normal web browsers like Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari. These deep web sites are not indexed by search engines, making them impossible to find via Google, Bing, etc. Some web pages are designed for restricted use and are protected by registration portals, paywalls, etc. Not all of the Internet is intended for public consumption. Expanding their reach – through the use of Dark Web monitoring tools – can be invaluable to a corporate cybersecurity and risk management program. The Surface Web, Deep Web, and Dark Web are all valuable sources of threat intelligence, but many organizations limit their information-gathering efforts to the Surface Web. The Dark Web, which is only accessible via special web browsers, uses the same network infrastructure as the Surface and Deep Web but is completely distinct from it.

The Deep Web, which includes sites accessible via normal browsers but not visible to search engines, makes up a much larger portion of the Internet. However, the Surface Web represents only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the internet – the majority of it is actually hidden. This is the part of the Internet that is visible to search engines like Google and accessible via normal web browsers.

What most people think of as the “Internet” or the world wide web is actually what is known as the Surface Web. While many of us have heard about the Deep Web and Dark Web, it is essential to distinguish between the two terms as they are not interchangeable, even though they do overlap significantly.

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