Here’s practical advice for building targeted search queries and safely navigating .onion websites. Furthermore, .onion websites are constantly changing locations, disappearing, or popping up in new forms, adding to the challenge. Because of this, there’s no single dark web search engine that covers everything comprehensively.
I tested all the website links on The Hidden Wiki and almost all of them work (I was able to access sites like Deep Web Radio and ProPublica without any issues). The Hidden Wiki is the best way to start browsing the dark web because it contains dozens of links to popular .onion sites. AVG Secure VPN encrypts your internet traffic and obscures your IP address every time you use it to go online — dark web or not. With a variety of server locations around the world to choose from, you’ll be able to navigate the web more privately and access the content you want.
Dangerous Software
It encrypts your traffic at the entry node and changes your IP address. This means you will get a VPN’s security and enjoy the anonymity of the Tor network simultaneously. ActiveX and Java frameworks are susceptible to being exploited by hackers.
Tor has an in-build slider which lets you adjust the level of security. This means that the JavaScript will be disabled by default on every website and some symbols and images will not be displayed. In terms of functionality, I don’t think there are too many differences between regular IMAP, POP3, and SMT services and the stuff you can use to communicate on the dark web.

Dark Web Links: The Best onion And Tor Sites In 2025
- It provides safety and anonymity for journalists, privacy-conscious users, or those in high-censorship countries.
- This platform is a time capsule with content, primarily web pages.
- Their search warrant was so important to the bureau that it was approved by the FBI director himself.
- The US Supreme Court has indicated that even casual browsing could lead to legal consequences.
- The dark web often conjures images of clandestine meetings and shadowy transactions.
First, visit torproject.org and download the software for your device. If you are using an iPhone or iPad, download the Onion Browser instead since there is no iOS version of Tor. Cracked is one of the few dark web forums operating openly on the surface web. It focuses on hacking tutorials, vulnerabilities, and combo lists, organized into 12 language-specific subforums.
- Other major news sources blocked in some countries, like the BBC, also have dark web versions.
- ZeroBin is a wonderful way to share the content you get from dark web resources.
- The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) provides a .onion version of its website, enabling individuals to bypass restrictions to access its content from anywhere.
- ProPublica is a non-profit investigative journalism outfit based out of New York City.
- The platform has saved millions of web pages, ensuring information remains available even if the original sources are removed or changed.
Simply put, accessing and browsing the dark web is perfectly legal. For example, it maintains your privacy and enables you to access untraceable content and services. Some of the deep web sites do not use standard top-level domains (TLD) such as .gov, .com, .net, etc.
Separate Your Real Life From Your Online Persona
Dark web links are unique .onion URLs that grant access to hidden websites on the dark web, which can only be reached using the Tor browser for privacy and anonymity. Payments are processed via CCBill and Epoch, and the site has extraordinary security measures in place, which is what earned its spot on our list of safe porn sites. Not all porn sites are created equal, and when it comes to safe porn sites, knowing where to click can make all the difference. Cybercriminals are out there, ready to exploit unsuspecting users, raking in massive sums by hacking devices and blackmailing their victims.
Discovering The Dark Web: A Safe Exploration Guide
The process makes it almost impossible for anyone to trace the traffic back to you. According to documents released by Ed Snowden, even the NSA has struggled to unmask Tor users. Based on Mozilla’s Firefox, this browser hides all that pinging about in the background. “It’s a web browser. Use it like one. It’s that simple,” says Muffett.

External Links
There are many places in the world where access to international news sources is blocked. To serve these people, several independent news outlets offer onion mirrors, making them invaluable sources of information. The Guardian Tor site is a mirror of its regular Tor site, offering the same news, analysis, and opinion as its regular web portal. Tor was originally an acronym for The Onion Router, which references Tor’s multiple layers of security. Onion Services are websites that exist within the Tor network and can only be accessed from the Tor network. Since these websites are themselves Tor nodes, there’s no need to use an exit node that could be blocked or monitored.
RAMP (Russian Anonymous Marketplace): Post-Colonial Pipeline Surge

Below, we list some onion sites you can explore relatively safely. To access them, copy and paste the hyperlinks provided into the Tor browser. Using the Tor Browser, users can browse the internet privately, avoid censorship, and access blocked websites. However, browsing speeds may be slower due to the multi-layered encryption process. Altenen employs aggressive marketing tactics—new users must promote its links on social media to gain access—ensuring a constant influx of traffic. We are a Tor network dark web directory listing created in order to monitor and study popular darknet marketplaces and onion services.
Should I Use Services Like Web2Tor?
Here, you’ll find links to various resources, including educational archives, private forums, anonymous services, and more. It’s a bit of a contradiction to talk about search engines for dark web sites because, by definition, these are not sites that get indexed by traditional search engines. Many dark web search engines on the darknet suffer from spam, because these spammy sites want to be indexed and found by the search engines as opposed to genuine onion sites.

Hence, even if you hide your IP address, you aren’t completely secure. For all these reasons, at PrivacyRadar, we strongly discourage using Awazon or any other dark web marketplaces. It’s for the good that these sites are not available for the general internet user. The Daniel site also had a status check feature that updated users on which sites were active. Unfortunately, the site’s admin could not keep up with the time demands and has taken down the links on the site as of August 2023. However, please note this article is for research and educational purposes only.
It also comes with a functionality that allows journalists to communicate with their source(s) in a private manner. Many news sites use SecureDrop, such as The Washington Post, ProPublica, and The Guardian. Though Facebook knows a lot about you than you can imagine, it isn’t keen on sharing this data with others. The social media giant has also been the target of censorship from repressive governments time and time again.
The hidden wiki is an encyclopedia like Wikipedia, which is in the deep web, is one of the most complete guides to access the pages with onion links. This search engine’s mission is to be leaders in providing services on the deep web, protecting the anonymity of each user. In addition, they share information of great importance, about the Tor network and the Tor project. These forums are frequently accessed via the top 10 dark web search engines, serving as essential resources for information and networking. OnionLand functions as both a dark web search engine and a deep web search engine, offering a smooth user experience and access to thousands of hidden services.
You can access Facebook via the dark web by using the official Facebook .onion mirror. As with Tor, it’s important to note that not all, or even most, uses of the Bitcoin network are for illicit purposes. There are tens of thousands of legitimate businesses that accept Bitcoin. But criminals have been attracted to Bitcoin for the same reasons they’ve been attracted to conventional cash. In a time of noise, confusion, and spin, we’re committed to clarity, truth, and depth — even when it’s hard.