There are currently more than 555 million unique domains for surface level websites that the average internet user can access. But there are 500 times that number of hidden sites that aren’t obvious to most. These sites are referred to as the Deep Web, which often gets a negative connotation in our modern media. The real illegal activities happen on the Dark Web, which is a region of the internet only accessible through anonymized browsers such as Tor. This presentation will explain the differences between the surface, deep, and dark webs and explain what each contains.

1. The Hidden Web
A case study on the web we don’t see
By Jon Kane

2. Surface Web or Deep Web?
Exercise:
1. Go to CNN.com and click through links to get to different articles
- This is how a search engine works
2. Go to Hotwire.com and find a flight to NYC from May 4-8 by only clicking links
- Were you able to accomplish the task?
BrightPlanet 2015.

3. What is included in the Deep Web?
Surface Web → Web Interfaces → Specific Web Sites → Web Databases
^These are usually
servers that access
information stored
in databases on the
backend of a
surface site
^These are places
where information
is stored to be
retrieved and sent
back out to the
surface site
Forms coded in HTML^
and included on web-
pages that we type in.
They are called Queries,
and are the user’s way of
connecting to the hidden
database.
Any Site^
Bin He, Mitesh Patel, Zhen Zhang, Kevin Chen-Chuan
Chang, 2013, pg 2.

4. Surface Web or Deep Web or Dark Web?
Deep Web is 500x larger than the surface web
- Surface web has an estimated 555 million unique domains today
Deep Web ≠ Dark Web
- Dark Web can only be accessed through special browsers that hide users’
identity
BrightPlanet. 2013.

5. Screenshot by
Jon Kane, 2015.

6. The Tor Browser
“The Onion Router” → Created specifically to
access Dark Web sites
- .onion = .com
- Strange site names such as: http:
//dirnxxdraygbifgc.onion/ = Wiki linking to
other difficult to type sites
- Variable Privacy Settings → → → → →
Screenshot by Jon
Kane, 2015.

7. The illegal side of The Dark Web
The Tor network’s goal is freedom through anonymity, but this can use be used for
good and evil.
Some illicit activities:
- Controlled substance marketplaces Armories selling all kinds of weapons
- Child pornography
- Unauthorized leaks of sensitive information Money laundering
- Copyright infringement
- Credit Card fraud and identity theft
BrightPlanet. 2013, pg 3.

8. Screenshots by Jon
Kane, 2015.

9. Social Media on the Dark Web
- The Dark Web has many
platforms for communication:
- chatrooms
- message boards
- blogs
- content hosting
- social networks
- Some popular social networks on
surface web are also on Dark
Web
- Facebook
- Twitter Clone → → → →
Screenshot by Jon
Kane, 2015.
The Hidden Wiki, 2015.

10. Questions?
Ask Away!

11. Sources
1. Clearing Up Confusion: Deep Web vs. Dark Web. BrightPlanet. http://www.brightplanet.
com/2014/03/clearing-confusion-deep-web-vs-dark-web/#more-3106
2. Facebook sets up 'dark web' link to access network via Tor. Dave Lee. http://www.bbc.
com/news/technology-29879851
3. Accessing The Deep Web. Bin He, Mitesh Patel, Zhen Zhang, Kevin Chen-Chuan Chang. http:
//citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.94.9091&rep=rep1&type=pdf
4. Understanding the Deep Web in 10 minutes. BrightPlanet. http://bigdata.brightplanet.
com/whitepaper-understanding-the-deep-web-in-10-minutes/
5. White Paper: The Deep Web: Surfacing Hidden Value. BrightPlanet. http://quod.lib.umich.
edu/cgi/t/text/idx/j/jep/3336451.0007.104/%E2%80%93white-paper-the-deep-web-surfacing-hidden-
value?rgn=main;view=fulltext
6. The Hidden Wiki. Web links to dark web site urls. http://thehiddenwiki.org/