How to Access the Dark Web

Posted by Polly Tech on March 9th, 2022

If you want to access the dark web, it’s important you do so in a safe way. The dark web isn’t the same as the ‘normal’ surface internet. It comes with a number of unexpected pitfalls. To access the dark web, follow these steps:

Download and install the anonymous Tor browser from their official website. Here’s how to install the Tor browser.
Switch on your VPN for extra online security.
Launch the Tor browser.
Make sure your Tor browser doesn’t allow any scripts to run.
Adjust the browser’s security level to “most secure”.
Go to the dark web website you want to visit. You could, for example, visit The Hidden Wiki (link only works in the Tor browser). This is a page with links to other dark web sites.
If you really want to be prepared on the dark web, you need more than these simple steps. Additional explanations and tips on how to enter the dark web anonymously and safely can be found in our extensive guide below. We will give you tips to help you stay safe when using Tor.

Note: You may have heard that using the Tor network (with a good VPN for added security) is not the only way to access the dark web, which is true. However, it is in fact the only way that’s more or less safe. Nowadays, users can also reach some dark web pages via their standard browser (such as Google Chrome) through another tool developed by Tor: Tor2web. However, even Tor itself indicated this is far more dangerous than using the Tor browser to do so. After all, this way of accessing the dark web makes it far easier for cybercriminals to find out your identity or even infect your PC with malware. As such, we stress that the use of the Tor browser to access the dark web is really important!