The internet is a vast and multifaceted world having different strata. You can liken it to different planes of consciousness that you can explore via different portals.

The net is divided into three. First is the surface net or clear net, second is the deep net while the third is called the dark net.

Surface net is our known internet that is made up of Google, Facebook, Whatsapp and our darling Nairaland and others such as them. On this side of the net, you can be monitored and have yourbpersonal data stolen by tech firms ,aswell, you can be censored or banned by government et all (Nairaland mods I'm looking at you).

The deep net is similar to the surface one except that the web pages and services in it are not indexed by search engines and, so, you can't find them using Google or any engine at all.

The third is called the darknet or darkweb. It is a place where you have true freedom and your personal data is free from corporate and state prying eyes. You can find all information not readily available on surface and deep nets here. Imagine getting movies, games and books before they are released....You can find and buy everything you can't find on amazon or any regular e-commerce platform for that matter here to buy. And, I mean such things as the government think you should not have.

The world recently caught a fever called cryptocurrency. Breaking news: cryptocurrency(Bitcoin and co) was in use on the darknet some good number of years before the normal world got wind of it. It was(and still is) the official payment method there. Infact, cryptocurrency was literally invented on the darknet.

Some of the smartest people in the world are not on the surface net. Guess where they are? Deepnet! You Know who a man called Satoshi Nakamoto is? I won't say, take this for assignment. And, hey, don't ask the other question on your mind yet, the answer is in next paragraph.

Isn't your question, "How come I haven't stumbled on the darknet(even for once!) and I'm more than forty years now?. Duh! You won't and can't stumble on it for forty years more using your Chrome, PHX, Safari and regular browsers. Darknet is only accessible using special browsers and tools. The most prominent of these tools is The onion router, Tor.

Note that the web addresses of sites on the darknet don't use short and memorable names as the surface ones. It makes them hard to remember and locate. Also, web pages on Darknet are not indexed like the ones on the surface net. And because you can't find your way around using browsers and search engines, you must consult directories to find your way around.

The Hidden Wiki helps you workaround these challenges.

Here is the current link: http://zqktlwiuavvvqqt4ybvgvi7tyo4hjl5xgfuvpdf6otjiycgwqbym2qad.onion/

The Hidden Wiki is a directory board that is similar to Wikipedia. It contains links with short descriptive information about sites they lead to. This could be invaluable as Tor pages take long to load and as such would cost time and data to find what you're looking on your own(and trust me you won't). Moreover, the links on this directory are up-to-date and actually work unlike links on other directories. Reason is that addresses to Darknet sites change quite often as such directories must constantly update them. Hidden Wiki does this. Follow instructions below to get started.

Download Tor browser and any good VPN you like.
Copy the link into Tor's search/address bar.
Start navigating from there. Voila! You've gone dark.
Link: http://zqktlwiuavvvqqt4ybvgvi7tyo4hjl5xgfuvpdf6otjiycgwqbym2qad.onion/


Disclaimer:

This write up is for informational purposes. Use responsibly.

seun and mynd44 know what I mean