The dark web is the World
Wide Web content that exists on darknets, overlay networks that use the
Internet but require specific software, configurations, or authorization
to access
The darknets which constitute
the dark web include small, friend-to-friend peer-to-peer networks, as
well as large, popular networks like Tor, Freenet, I2P, and Riffle
operated by public organizations and individuals.
Users of the dark web refer
to the regular web as Clearnet due to its unencrypted nature
Commercial darknet markets,
which mediate transactions for illegal drugs and other goods, attracted
significant media coverage starting with the popularity of Silk Road and
Diabolus Market and its subsequent seizure by legal authorities. Other
markets sell software exploits and weapons