Surface Web
Anything indexed by search engines and accessible to the layperson is part of the surface web. As of 15th June 2023, the Indexed Web contains at least 3.61 billion pages
Deep Web
If the Internet is an iceberg, the web the average person accesses is just the tip.
Most of the Internet is inaccessible to the layperson. Search engines do not and cannot index all parts of the Internet. So by definition, any of the content we cannot access becomes the “deep web”. The deep web can be ANYTHING, from password protected content, to private data stored on servers, web archives, anything behind a paywall, anything that requires authentication.
The “deep web” makes up MOST of the web. Private Facebook accounts, paywalled articles,
Dark Web
A subset of deep web. Except, this CANNOT be accessed without specialized tools, TOR being the most common one.
a) Dark web is not illegal to browse b) Dark web is not just shady stuff c) A lot of things about the dark web have been sensationalized by the media d) Red Rooms do not exist e) TOR is not bulletproof; there is no complete guarantee of privacy f) Dark web does have many messed up things, but there’s a higher chance that someone looking for hitmen is being scammed than them finding an actual one g) It does however host a lot of questionable content, and even more ethically, morally wrong content. It has content made by and made for absolutely depraved individuals. h) It is also used by people who are escaping censorship, to increase privacy, to send sensitive information, and by whistleblowers.