How to Access the Dark Web Using Tor: A Guide

You must be wondering how to access the Dark Web. In this article, I have included the best way to access Tor using a computer. As cellular devices are almost as competent as computers nowadays, I have also included a guide on how to access the Dark Web using a mobile phone.

How to access Dark Web using a computer

The easiest and the best way to access the Dark web on a computer is to download the Tor Browser bundle. Tor browser is a modified version of Mozilla Firefox along with other applications that allow you to connect to the Dark Web.

Installing Tor

The next step after downloading Tor is, of course, installing it. Installing Tor on a USB stick on a Windows system is easy as the Tor Browser is nothing but a bundle of EXE on the OS. You can install it like any other Windows program. However, the main difference between other programs and Tor is its default location is your desktop.

The Tor bundle installs itself on the desktop because it is a portable application and does not integrate and communicate with your OS like other software. What this means is that you can use the browser from anywhere you want. Just copy the folder to a USB drive, and you can use it on any computer you want.

While installing the browser, when the ‘Choose Where to Install’ window pops up, just select your desired location and the browser will be installed there. As said earlier you could also choose USB drive. Once you select the location, just click on Install and the program will be installed in no time.

Using the Tor Browser

Once the installation is done, you will see a folder in your desired location called Tor Browser. This is it. Open the folder, and here you will see an .EXE file called ‘Start Tor Browser.' Open this file to open a window. A window will pop up with options of configuring proxies or Direct Access. Unless you want to set up proxies, click on the direct option and then click connect. After a few seconds, a new Firefox window will appear. Congratulations, you are now connected to the Tor net. Now you can browse the Internet with almost total anonymity.

To check whether you are on Tor or not just go to whatismyip.com. This site detects your IP and location and displays it on a webpage. If you are on Tor network, the site will display a place that is not your location. Remember, you are using a browser; hence, only the activities on the browser are anonymous, everything else outside the browser is still unsafe.

It is recommended that you always connect to HTTPS sites instead of HTTP sites. The sites you visit should have TSL or SSL encryption to protect your identity. If the sites are not encrypted, your privacy can be threatened.

Do remember that anonymity does not equal to protection from malware and viruses. If you visit illicit and shady parts of the Internet, it is possible that you may download viruses. This malware can also threaten your security and privacy.

can also threaten your security and privacy.

How to use Deep Web on a phone

Although Deep web and Dark web are often only associated with computers, it is now possible to access these annals of Internet using your smartphones. However, it is necessary to take ample care and precautions while trying to access the Dark Net on any smartphone.

There exist many methods of accessing the Dark web using phones. These methods depend upon the phone model, its OS, the version of the OS, your carrier, your nation, etc. Mostly Android and sometimes iOS are used to access the Dark Web on the phone.

How to Access Deep Web on an Android Phone

The best way to access the Dark web on an Android phone or device is using an app called Orbot. It is an app that allows you to connect to the Tor network. To access content on the Dark web, follow the following steps.

• Download the Orbot app and let it install.

• Once installed, open the app and long press the round switch that is displayed on the screen of your phone.

• Once done, head over to the Play Store and download one of the following apps- Orfox or Orweb. These two are browsers that are to be used to access the Dark web.

You can use these browsers to access the sites on the Tor network.

How to access Tor on an iPhone

Like Orweb the Apple App store too has a browser called the ‘Onion Browser.' It has the same basic features as that of the Orweb browser; however, it is configured according to the iOS.

I2P

I2P is not as popular as Tor however it is available for Android as well as iOS too. You can find I2P on the Play Store.

I2P is not recommended for beginners, as it is hard to configure, as you need to do it manually unlike Tor. You need to configure and manage your proxy as well as VPN settings, to enable your device to connect to the network properly and without any problem. If you are interested in I2P, you can find many good tutorials on how to set it up on YouTube.

Other than the tools mentioned above, there exist various other tools and apps that can be used on cellular devices. You can also use apps like Psiphon, CyberGhost VPN, and TunnelBear for the added benefit of encryption while surfing the dark web.

Remember; always be careful, your identity is sacred.