The search engines are the best they’ve ever been, and more people than ever are using privacy-enhancing technology. But thankfully, it’s never been easier to search the dark net. Solutions for navigating the dark net (also known as the dark web) have changed over the years as sites rise and fall. Unless you know where you’re looking, expect to do a lot of searching before you find something worth looking at. Expect to find tons of abandoned websites, dead links, and crap as you sift through your search results.

The second thing you need to know before searching the dark net is most of it is incredibly boring. (Also, if you insist of searching for illegal things, make sure you use a VPN for added browser security.) If you are haphazard in your browsing, you may find yourself accessing incriminating content.

Be aware of the links you click and read search descriptions carefully. Tor allows you to visit sites that aren’t available on the standard internet, encompassing a wide range of content that includes everything from underground drug markets to child porn. The first thing you need to know before searching the dark net is you’re in the Wild West of the web.

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