Our friend Google indexes billions of websites spread all over the planet. However, some information cannot be accessed from Google or popular search engines because it is found on the deep web. Databases containing often confidential information should be searched directly on specific sites. Some people do not want to be identified when sharing information with everyone, or they do not want certain authorities to have access to this information. It only takes a little curiosity to learn to browse the deep web (or the "invisible" web).
Steps
Part 1 of 2: search for hidden information
Step 1. Search for databases
You can search for "hidden" databases or "hip-hop" databases with traditional search engines. However, it will be practically impossible for you to find the information you are looking for, because it is not indexed by the search engines (there are no links and the "bots" of the search engines have not indexed it).. So you usually have to write the direct URL, but sometimes the search engines will direct you to the home page of the site which you can crawl using the internal search bar.
Some free deep web sites are particularly interesting, for example the National Library of France or the libraries of the University of Pau
Step 2. Do a specific search
If you don't have a specific address, you can use some search engines to search the deep web. The majority of these search engines are in English like Infomine or the superb WolframAlpha, but there are some search engines accessible in French of excellent quality like BASE, WorldWideScience, Secouchermoinsbête or DADI.
Step 3. Go to the libraries
Libraries, more particularly those attached to universities or grandes écoles, pay to have access to databases with specific information that are not accessible from common search engines. Some university search engines are accessible online, such as that of the University of Paris Sud, but you can access the search engines by connecting to the Internet from a computer in a bookstore. The site Many offers a search engine by categories.
Step 4. Browse the archives
Some information and sometimes videos or digital files have gone missing because the site that hosted them is closed or the information has been deleted. You can find some of this information, videos or music files (and even copies of early video games) on The Internet Archive Project, which collects and aggregates a wide variety of digital files for safekeeping. for posterity.
Part 2 of 2: Use TOR
Step 1. Use TOR
TOR (The onion router) allows you to browse in peace with an alternative IP address that you can choose in a country other than your own. To do this, you need to download the TOR software that allows you to browse the Web (the Web) from their domain, "the onion". Using this network is bordering on legality (it actually depends on how you use it), but TOR is used by many journalists to preserve the anonymity of their sources as well as individuals. wishing to browse the web in a confidential manner.
Access to the Deep Web or the Invisible Web is perfectly legal. The activities to which you devote yourself may, on the other hand, be less so
Step 2. Download TOR
It is a completely free application that allows you to browse the web anonymously. With certain precautions, it is virtually impossible to track your activities and locate you while browsing with TOR. You can access many communities and websites only using TOR, as they wish to remain anonymous and not reveal their activities to the world. You can download TOR software from this link.
- Access to websites and pages as well as downloads can sometimes be very slow when using the TOR network. This is because to connect to the web using TOR, you pass through other computers, which allows you to maintain your anonymity. You may sometimes have to wait hours or days before you can connect to certain websites.
- You can use TOR with an Android system or from an iPad or iPhone. This is not recommended, however, as there are compatibility issues, especially with applications. The TOR browser offered on the Apple App Store would also be a malicious program.
Step 3. Protect Your Identity
Browsing the deep web is perfectly legal, but some bad guys use TOR to engage in illegal activities with impunity. You must therefore take some precautions to avoid cyber attacks and not to be monitored by intelligence or spy services.
- First click on the logo S located to the left of the TOR browser address bar, then select the option ban all scripts.
- Activate your Firewall on your PC or Mac computer.
- Do not download any files when browsing with TOR, even the files .doc Where .pdf, it is especially dangerous to use torrent software like μTorrent while connected to the web with TOR.
Step 4. Connect to the internet
You can find all connection information (in English) on the Torproject website. To connect to the network securely, also see this link. You can also search for forums on the internet (with Google) where you can get valuable information on how to use TOR when communicating with users.
Some links are only accessible using TOR. This is the case with these interesting links: Wiki Onion, Deepweb, Reddit and Access to TOR
Step 5. Use a specific search engine
The deep web is particularly difficult to access, this is of course intended and some search engines are suitable for searching the deep web. To get consistent results, it is best to use multiple search engines using TOR. You can for example use Torch, TorSearch and Ahmia.
If you want to go to very popular websites, you can use a search engine like Google to access them
Step 6. Use legitimate services
Although there are many people who are browsing the deep web to engage in illegal activities, there are many sites and apps that are completely legal. Some applications will also seem familiar to you, such as image sharing. Some sites are more specifically dedicated to the underground world of the Web, this is the case with this website and this collection of digital books.
Step 7. Communicate with users
The deep world of the Web is in constant motion. This is due on the one hand to the lack of budget of the people building the sites and having to ensure their maintenance and monitoring, it is also because of the many illegal activities that take place there. Some sites are closing and there are constant changes in the corridors of the Invisible Web. You can keep up to date with the movements of the Deep Web by talking with other users on OnionChat.
Advice
- There are vertical search engines that allow you to search based on specific files and not on websites. This is for example the case with this website.
- Cover your camera with a piece of tape or turn it off.
- The anonymity of the TOR network was questioned by French researchers in 2011. For more information, see this link.
- Some links in this article are only accessible with TOR.
