The dark web, also known as the Deep Web, is simply the part of the Internet that cannot be seen by users, but is instead accessible through special browser programs and "keyboard overlays." Basically, the dark web is just the World Wide Web content that is available on dark nets: hidden networks that use the Internet but need special configuration, software, or permission to view. These servers are not accessible through standard search engines or websites. Instead, you can access this part of the net through specific programs such as Tor, which is a protocol that links the server side of the dark web sitesdark web sites with the user end, creating a sort of tunnel through which you can browse the Dark Web.
One of the biggest areas of the dark web that was recently discovered was the FBI's investigation into Silk Road, a popular online black market which had users exchanging cash for illegal items such as drugs and pornography. While the Silk Road website was shut down, the dark web still contains plenty of information about it. Additionally, in June of 2021, it was revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) had found many active accounts on dark web servers from the US, Europe, and Japan, which were used to gain access to private data on computer systems. It is possible that the NSA spied on the dark web because it contains many Internet hidden service websites that do not have proper security certificates, or are older versions of services that have been compromised.
In August of this year, it was reported that another dark web website called FBI case number 11GC3340 was looking to buy five million e-books from a Web site that was offering them. At the time, it was believed that this was the first-ever purchase of this type of information from an unsecured Internet website. Also in August, it was reported that the dark web had been mentioned during an online chat. This comes after FBI agents were caught unaware at a meeting when one of their agents was supposed to meet an online buyer, who he did, only to find out that he had been contacted by an agent. The buyer had purchased a large number of stolen credit cards numbers.