We have all heard of the deep web! The mysterious part of the internet that isn’t indexed by any search engines, in the depths of the deep web is the dark web! It’s hidden inside layered proxy networks which are known as darknets! The largest of these darknets is definitely Tor, Tor browser is also known as the ‘onion browser’.
You may possibly be wondering what kind of sites are hosted on this darknet. What exactly do they do and what is their purpose?
The Tor browser is actually needed to open all links to onion websites. It’s also needed in order to access the dark web too!
Posted below are just 9 of the most (in) famous!
1. ProPublica
One of the first online publications that won a Pulitzer is now actually also the first big publication with an onion address!
ProPublica isn’t like others, it does things completely differently. The deep wallet of the Sandler Foundation and other organizations that are similar is its source of funding. If you are wanting to browse ProPublica's work then do so through its onion site. It does in fact work very well! The fact that such a site exists is a huge win for free speech and privacy!
2. Facebook
You might be wondering why one of the most popular and largest organizations in the world has an onion address, especially when it is well known for its invasive stance on privacy.
We are all well aware that Facebook collects absolutely everything you do and say on its platform. However, it doesn’t like to share this information with anyone else! Facebook is well aware that numerous government agencies have attempted to restrict access that would allow complete strangers to cross the web to collaborate and talk freely!
Although its onion address won’t make it any easier to maintain a completely anonymous account, it will however make Facebook much more accessible in places where it’s normally censored.
3. DuckDuckGo
It may be the case that you wish to search for certain content but at the same time, you don’t want to give up your privacy rights. If you are not comfortable using Google then DuckDuckGo is a brilliant alternative!
It doesn’t log your search activity and even though it isn’t able to monitor your online activities or learn anything about you. It still provides great results! This would obviously make you question why Google uses extensive surveillance techniques! Is there really any need?
Google is definitely the most frustrating to use. This is due to it subjecting searchers to captchas one order to prove that they are human.
DuckDuckGo has better speed, it’s more reliable and it’s great for privacy!
4. Wasabi Wallet
Not only is Wasabi Wallet a bitcoin wallet, but it also hides all of your data deep in the Tor network. It will however allow you to join your transactions with others in order to increase your anonymity. Obviously, this makes it practically impossible to find out who are you paying!
This process does cost a fee. However, unlike other ‘tumblers’ or mixing services, there is zero risk that Wasabi or its users could scam you out of your coins. It’s just not possible!
5. Riseup
If you haven’t heard of Riseup it’s basically a volunteer-run email provider for activists all around the world. It was founded in 1999 by an activist living in Seattle. Since it was launched it is grown and grown as it now is over 6 million users worldwide.
Not only does it run onion services for its website, but it also does it for all of its email and chat services too. It publishes a newsletter in multiple languages catering to everyone.
6. Archive.Today
Previously known as archive.is, archive.today is a platform that wants to preserve the web's scientific and cultural heritage.
It was founded in 2012 and what it does is store snapshots of any website. By doing this it makes it possible to take a trip back in time and see what websites actually looked like and what kind of information they contained.
It is definitely considered to be an important tool for tracking changes across corporate and government websites, preserving cultural heritage as well as keeping knowledge outside of autocrats' reach!
Basically, you can archive any site you want to. You can even retrieve historical records if they are available of course.
7. The CIA
Did you know that Tor actually has an unlikely history as it was originally developed by the US navy? It was developed to help informants who were posted in foreign countries relay certain information back safely. In order to help people all around the world have secure access to their resources, the CIA launched the onion site.
8. Keybase
Labeled as an exciting identity service, Keybase aims to make it easy for you to link the presence of your online activities together in a cryptographic way. Not only can you upload your PGP key or have the site actually create one for you but you can also use it to cryptographically link your GitHub account, Twitter profile, or bitcoin address together.
It most definitely raises the bar for attackers who may want to or try to impersonate you!
9. The Hidden Wiki
Have you ever wondered how you discover content that search engines simply can not reach? Remember back in the good old days of the internet, the dark web maintains various indexes of sites. For example The Hidden Wiki!
It’s a community-edited onion Wikipedia that contains numerous amounts of links to a large variety of sources and services running on the dark web. It’s important to know that many of these links are now in fact defunct. However, there are a lot of them that link to both scams and potentially illegal activities. So be careful and click with care!
This particular site is the only one mentioned in the list above that already has the longer and more secure version 3 onion URL.
All 9 listed above are definitely worth a visit. However, these are only a few of the Domains worthwhile exploring. There is so much more content out there. It’s important to be cautious as it’s not all rainbows and butterflies on the web!
