Before I tell you how to access the deep web – and how to navigate it safely – there’s one thing you need to know:
It’s not for the untrained or the faint-hearted.
One wrong click, and you might be lured to an area where child porn, animal abuse, hackers, and killers lurk. Therefore, before we move on, I need to be absolutely sure that you are cognizant of the dangers inherent in this part of the Internet where no search engine could go.
Still with me?
Let’s look at the tools with we could safely access the deep web.
How to Access the Deep Web Safely – Using Tails OS
Tails is a bootable operating system which has every tool you might need to get down to those obscure parts of the internet. Easy to install, this OS would effortlessly take you to the depths of deep web.
Step 1: Download and Install Tails
Luckily, once you download Tails, it has a brilliant user-intuitive installation wizard to guide you through. This installation wizard is a step-by-step guide following which you could easily set up the software.
However, if you want to generate its bootable USB copy, you’d need a Windows OS and two USB sticks, each having 4GB+ storage.
Step 2: Download and Install Firefox, Tor Browser, and BitTorrent Client
In addition, Trails would require you to have Firefox, a BitTorrent client, and the Tor Browser to confirm the initial download, and confirm that the OS is what it says it is. Finally, it would also require you to have a Universal USB Installer utility.
Step 3: Booting the two USBs
To complete the installation procedure, the installation wizard would direct you to this USB utility, and it would also make the first USB stick bootable thanks to the Tails OS which we downloaded at the start.
Once you have made the first USB bootable, use it to boot the second USB stick as well. Afterwards, click on the *Install by cloning* option inside the Tails Installer to generate the second USB stick, which would contain some extras and security enhancements not existing in the first one.
Step 4: Install
Lastly, once the *Install by Cloning* option is complete, eject the first USB stick from your system. Make sure the second remains connected and boot from it.
Now, you’re ready to access the deep web. At first, it is likely that you may get into trouble, and if/when you do, a general Google search about the query should resolve the issue. If that proves to be inadequate, contact the official Tails support portal, and your query would be resolved.
How to Browse Safely on the Deep Web
Again, deep web is something which is not a child’s play, and this article is only limited for educational purposes. That means we are NOT condoning any of the illicit activity you might make over there.
As mentioned above, you’d get extra security features like built-in encryption from the Tails OS as well as the Tor browser. And since you’d be running the deep web on your USB stick, you’d be leaving no trace for any hacker to get into your system and steal your details.
Still, you need to take some extra precautions while on the deep web to ensure your safety. You could do so by NOT giving any sort of personal detail over there. Be it your email address or things as benign as your school name, you should NEVER give any personal detail on the deep web.
Next up, NEVER download anything from the deep web. You could rely on the Tails OS to ensure your safety, but if you are on to something illegal, nobody would be able to protect you.
Finally, if you want to be doubly careful, there’s the option of taping the front cam of your laptop. That said, nothing is 100% impregnable, as FBI only recently discovered and exploited the weaknesses that exist in the TOR network.
Therefore, once again, we insist and recommend that you use the Deep web ONLY for educational purposes.