Surface web

The surface web is upper most layer of the internet. Everything that is searched by the users on
daily basis is accessed via surface web. The surface web is publicly accessible and is always
crowded by the netizens. The surface web is open portal which is readily available to be used and
accessed by search engines namely Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera etc.
Hence “it is the portion of the Internet that conventional search engines can index and standard
web browsers can access without the need for special software and configurations” 1. The surface
is comparatively pure and safer part of the World Wide Web; it consists of HTTP/HTTPS, TCP
or UDP protocols and SSL, TSL certified websites.
The content of surface web includes various types of website URLs, videos, gifs, and images and
data which are legally indexed in large amounts and verified by Search Engines. It is ironic that a
person cannot surf, learn about everything found on the surface web in his entire life.
The Surface Web is an enormous area of the internet, and is rapidly increasing due to constant
indexing of data. But still the surface web is considered to be tip of an ice berg and contains
about only 4% of total data of the internet! “The searcher has access to a large amount of
information, but it still far from the huge treasury of information beneath the Web, a vast store of
information beyond the reach of conventional search engines this vast and unknown area of the
internet is known as Deep Web or Invisible Web”2

Deep Web
As stated in the Global Commission on Internet Governance, the Deep Web is used as a term to
denote categories of content in the internet which are not indexed by search engines. The content
which is unavailable on surface web is considered to be a part of Deep web. The deep web
comprises of collection of various types of information which is confidential. Several Schools,
Universities, Institutes, Government Offices and Departments, Multi National Companies
(MNC’s), and Private Companies stores their database information and website oriented server
information such as online profile and accounts usernames or ID’s and passwords or login
credentials and companies premium subscription data and monetary transactional records in the
Intra-net which is the part of deep web.
The classified or publically banned government related files, Police files and investigation
reports which are closed are stored in deep web apart from these confidential files the deep web
also stores torrents with pirated entertainment content and software, leaked information of any
company or organization and some of the rarer classified or controversial journals and research
papers which are not allowed for public.

1
Dr. Vincenzo Ciancaglini, Dr. Marco Balduzzi, Robert McArdle, and Martin Rösler, Below the Surface: Exploring the
Deep Web
2
Iffat, Rabia and Sami, Lalitha K., "Understanding the Deep Web" (2010). Library Philosophy and Practice
(ejournal).364. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/364
It is to be noted that it is not illegal to surf the deep web but is the access is forbidden for public
access in order to protect the valuable information which is confidential. However legality of
Deep Web surfing depends upon its usage, it is considered illegal if there’s any kind of malicious
activity or crime is committed. In reality this part of the internet is not allowed for public access.
The access to this part of internet requires credentials and permission possessed only by their
respective owners or delegated to someone by them to gain access to any sensitive information
or database.
The researchers, academicians, journalists’ uses deep web to obtain information various sensitive
and classified issues such as crimes, any closed file history or any document, military news etc,
which are banned by governments of countries such as North Korea and China, deep web
provides a safe medium to access the sensitive information.

Dark Web

The Dark web is the part of deep web and has created confusion among the researchers, experts
and law enforcers to this day. Dark web is the least explored part of the internet which is
considered to be a hub of various bizarre activities and is packed with the content which cannot
be comprehended by the person of normal prudence. According to statistics presented by the
Global Commission on Internet about 96% of the data is deemed inaccessible by the public and
is hidden, out of which 90% comes under Deep Web and the remaining 6% is referred as the
most obscure, anonymous, treacherous and darkest part of the internet known as the Dark Web.
The exact size of the dark web is still unknown and several lacunae have been found while
determining the extremities of Dark Web hence its actual size is yet to be measured inside the
Deep Web.
In order to maintain privacy, Dark Web users rely on specialized anonymity software namely
TOR (the Onion Router) to cloak their Traditionally, when an internet user visits any site that
exists on the World Wide Web, they are tracked via their Internet Protocol (IP) address. In
contrast, surfing the Dark Web is an entirely different matter altogether, with cloaking software
used to render a personal computer anonymous while masking identity, location, IP address.
The dark web serves as a forum for conversation, coordination, and action. Specifically, they
may rely upon the Dark Web to help carry out their activities with reduced risk of detection.
While this section focuses on criminals operating in cyberspace, the issues raised are certainly
applicable to other categories of malicious actors. The various criminal activities take place over
there including Drugs trading, Arms trading, and Illegal PayPal account details to websites
offering child pornography, red-rooms for sadistic pleasures to forum for cyber cannibals. Dark
web is dubbed as hackers’ paradise as hackers are most active on this part of internet.
In order to conduct actual transactions, Dark Web markets also began using a crypto-currency,
bit coin, which is pseudonymous and as difficult to trace as Tor. Bit coin became the standard
currency of the Dark Web. Hence the whole ecosystem is supported by anonymous transaction
carried out through crypto currencies
Hence the internet is the most crucial invention by human kind and has played a significant role
in integration of people of all walks of life and that’s why it is crucial to know about these layers
of the internet and to differentiate among them, which most people are either unaware or
confused about.

The Surface Web and the Deep Web

Discussing about the Deep web without drawing comparison to the surface web is not possible.
The major difference between these two layers of the in internet is that surface can be accessed
by the standard web browsers unlike the deep web which cannot be accessed by these
conventional web browsers.3

The deep web requires certain configuration in order to gain access to the content; no such
configuration is required for the surface web as all the content is indexed by search engines.4
The surface web contains only the fraction of data of the internet with 19 terabytes of
information; on the other hand the deep web houses about 7500 terabytes of information i.e.
about 96 % of entire data in the internet.5 The intranet used by offices and government for
communication and storing valuable information comes under deep web.

The Dark Web versus the Deep Web

Though the Dark web and Deep web have been used interchangeably, this has caused confusion
between these two layers of the internet. The Dark Web is not Deep Web is rather it’s merely a
part of deep web. The Dark web requires special software and tools to gain access “it relies on
dark nets or networks where connections are made between trusted peers”.6

The software required to access Dark Web include TOR (The Onion Router), I2P (The Invisible
Internet Project), these software acts as cloaking mechanism and hides the IP address of user and
ensures their anonymity, the anonymity is important for dark web users due to various illicit
activities taking place in this deepest section of the internet.7

3
Dr. Vincenzo Ciancaglini, Dr. Marco Balduzzi, Robert McArdle, and Martin Rösler, Below the Surface: Exploring the
Deep Web
4
lbid
5
Penny Hoelscher,https://resources.infosecinstitute.com/what-is-the-difference-between-the-surface-web-the-
deep-web-and-the-dark-web
6
Dr. Vincenzo Ciancaglini, Dr. Marco Balduzzi, Robert McArdle, and Martin Rösler, Below the Surface: Exploring the
Deep Web
7
lbid
The major difference being the Dark web comes under the ambit of Deep web and always
requires specific software to gain access.