There are three levels of the internet that are the surface web, the deep web, and the dark web. The things which are accessible online to everyone can be found on the surface web. The things you cannot usually find on the regular search engines like Google are found on the deep web.
The content found on the deep web cannot be accessed by normal browsers. The surface web covers less than 1 percent of the internet. While the deep web covers almost 7.5 petabytes of the internet, which makes it the deepest level of the internet.
Misconceptions about Deep web:
The deep web is mistaken for the dark web. They are totally different from each other. The important thing to be noted is that deep web is legal and also the other conceptions about it being mischievous are incorrect. The deep web does not have anything to do with illegal business; rather it is important for the security and protection of our private data over the internet.
Imagine if all your data would be accessible to anyone without any authentication or privacy. Hence deep web contains all the sensitive data and only users who have certain passwords or codes can access it. When you access your Gmail account, bank account, or any Facebook account, it is all done through the deep web.
Do VPNs Matter On The Deep Web?
It is not necessary to use a VPN while using the deep web, but it could be useful in increasing the security of your personal information and actions on the web. To protect your personal information from data thefts, cybercrime, and government spying agencies, it is important to make your data safe.
By using a VPN, your real IP address would not be visible, which would make all your activities on the web anonymous. VPN protected internet surfing maintains your security over the internet thus it becomes hard for your Internet Service Provider to track your actions on the web. Tor (The Onion Router) is the commonly used VPN on deep web and dark web.
How to Browse Deep web Safely?
We often browse the deep web for different purposes. If you have logged in to your personal student portal to check your grades, then it would be better if you make sure that your personal information is safe and secure. And for that, you must have the software installed which ensures protection and security of your data. VPN and Tor are used for protecting and encrypting all the users’ data on the web.
While using Tor and other browsers there are some important things which you should keep in mind.
- Tor focuses on users’ anonymity on the online web therefore it can prove to be safe for sharing confidential data with your family and friends. Reporting anything would also be anonymous.
- While using Tor, it is important to update all the applications of Tor and also your device to get the best results.
- While using Tor, avoid giving your personal or professional email ID on websites as it can reveal your real identity.
What is Tor?
Tor is a publicly accessible browser that is used to make surfing on the deep web anonymous. The software is user-friendly. It hides the users’ IP addresses. Tor is not much effective if used alone, hence it is also necessary to use VPN with it.
Use VPN for More Protection
The IP address provided by the Tor can still be tracked, but by connecting to VPN with tor, it will hide the IP address given by Tor. This makes it almost impossible for any illegal authority to track your actions even if they find out your Tor IP address.
There are a lot of advantages by setting up VPN
- Only the Tor IP address is visible to the VPN provider. Your real IP address stays unrevealed.
- All the data is passed through Tor.
- The data is encrypted before entering and exiting Tor hence, it provides protection from any volunteers of Tor that may destruct the data.
- The VPN can show a fake location and hide your real location.
It is possible to access websites that block Tor exit nodes.
Tor over VPN
The main objective of Tor is to make the user anonymous on the web, while VPN mainly focuses on maintaining the privacy of users’ data. By connecting them together it decreases the chances of leaving behind any traces of the user.
If you install a VPN and then add the Tor browser, then this is known as using Tor over VPN. All the data from the clients’ server passes through the VPN server and then it goes into the Tor network. The tor network passes your data through several nodes and layers by keeping your identity anonymous. At each node, the encrypted data is decrypted and then it reaches its destination. Your Internet Service Provider can only see the encrypted data and it won’t know if you are using Tor.
However, Tor over VPN does not guarantee the protection of your data. Volunteers make the Tor the nodes. So there is no surety that they will strictly follow the rules. The data is decrypted at the exit node before reaching its destination.
Hence there are chances the data can be stolen or there might be destructive changes made to it. Sometimes the exit nodes are blocked by certain sites that are doubtful about Tor. In such cases, nothing can be done by Tor over VPN.
VPN over Tor
There is another method which is called VPN over Tor. The data first passes through the Tor network and then through a VPN. This hides the VPN IP address and also protects your data from the exit nodes in Tor.
The disadvantage is that your Service Provider will know if you are using Tor. This makes it a less used method.
Conclusion
We can conclude that VPN does matter in the deep web. Without VPN your real identity would be exposed and all your actions can be tracked online. This can lead to unfavorable situations for you.
Therefore, it is important to keep your data and online activities safe on the deep web so that your data could not be used against you. Both of the methods VPN over Tor or Tor over VPN can be equally beneficial. It is better than using a VPN alone which is not secure enough.