What is the dark web?
Part of the internet, the deep web is not indexed or shown by search engines and is also considered as the dark web. This exist and is found inside of layered proxy networks which are called the darknets. One of the largest darknets is the well-known Tor and the suffix of their native domains, .onion has become similar and associated with internet freedom.
Get Tor browser, also known as the .onion browser
What kind of sites are hosted in the darknet? What do they do and why it exists?
Take note that you will need a Tor browser to open all links to .onion websites. To get Tor browser, all you have to do is open the link, https://www.torproject.org/download/.
1. ProPublica – Pulitzer winner
ProPublica is the first online publication that has a .onion address that won a Pulitzer. ProPublica comes with a source of funding from Sandler Foundation and several similar organizations. This site does a lot of things differently and it works really well. This site exudes privacy and free speech.
2. DuckDuckGo – http://3g2upl4pq6kufc4m.onion
If you wish to search a content without risking your privacy, DuckDuckGo is an amazing alternative to Google. Through this site, you could be assured that any search activity is not logged and even without learning your browsing behavior nor monitoring your email, DuckDuckGo could still provide you decent results and this raises the question of the actual need of Google’s surveillance.
3. Wasabi Wallet http://wasabiukrxmkdgve5kynjztuovbg43uxcbcxn6y2okcrsg7gb6jdmbad.onion
A bitcoin wallet, Wasabi Wallet claims that it hides all your data in the Tor Network. It allows you to join transactions with others which will increase your anonymity. Hence, through this site, it would be difficult to find out who you are paying. Though the process would cost a fee but you are assured of risk-free scamming activities.
4. Facebook’s .onion site https://www.facebookcorewwwi.onion
Yes, one of the largest organizations who has been in controversies due to privacy also has a .onion address.
Though Facebook collects everything you say and post on its site, it is aware of many attempts of governments to restrict access to a tool that allows strangers across the web to talk freely.
Though Facebook’s .onion address does not make it easier to be anonymous but it makes it more accessible to places where it is censored.
5. Sci-Hub http://scihub2266oqcxt.onion
Founded by Alexandra Elbakyan in 2011, Sci-Hub comes with over 50 million research papers which is accessible for free. It allows underfunded scientific institutions and individuals to access collective and scientific knowledge.
6. Riseup http://vww6ybal4bd7szmgncyruucpgfkqahzddi37ktceo3ah7ngmcopnpyyd.onion
Run by an email provider for activists around the world, Riseup has been founded in 1999 in Seattle. Ever since, it has grown up to six million users worldwide. Riseup comes in multiple languages and runs Onion services not only for their website but also for their email and chat services.
7. The actual CIA http://ciadotgov4sjwlzihbbgxnqg3xiyrg7so2r2o3lt5wz5ypk4sxyjstad.onion
Tor has been first developed by the US Navy to help informants who are in other countries relay information safely. CIA has launched an Onion site to help people all over the world to access resources securely.
8. Keybase http://fncuwbiisyh6ak3i.onion
This site aims to make it easier for you to link your online identities together in a cryptographic way. Through this onion site, you could upload your PGP key and use it cryptographically link your Twitter profile, Bitcoin address and Github account together.
9. Hidden Wiki on .onion http://zqktlwiuavvvqqt4ybvgvi7tyo4hjl5xgfuvpdf6otjiycgwqbym2qad.onion/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
To find content where search engines could not reach, the hidden Wiki is your best bet. It is community edited .onion Wikipedia which contains a lot of links of sources and services on the darkweb.
Great Sites
This list of .onion domains is worth checking out and we could say these sites are not even the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of great content out there but not all of its content are good stuff.
Here are other good .onion sites:
BBC – https://www.bbcnewsv2vjtpsuy.onion
Pirate Bay – http://uj3wazyk5u4hnvtk.onion
New York Times – https://www.nytimes3xbfgragh.onion
