This iceberg metaphor sums up the differences between the 3 (4) layers of the internet. I’ll give a short, english version of the differences:
Surface is what you see through Bing, Google, yahoo, etc. Sites like n4g.com, microsoft.com, and various other everyday sites.
Deep web is more based on sites not found through normal means. In other words, sites you either forgot about (like myspace.com) or .gov sites, or even sites where you have to login first then access information. School/college sites are considered deep web since most of the information aren’t available through google. Sites like scholar.google.com can be debated to be deep web although information found through them are not through normal means.
Dark web is where you will find some not so friendly material. Illegal purchases, sex trafficking, and certain unobtainable information are located here. Here’s the reality of the dark web – 99% are scams and/or creepypasta stories (internet folklore). The real red rooms, child pornography, and necrophilia have already been taken down; so outside the actual near impossible to find illegal sites have already been exterminated.
There’s a fourth called shadow web, where the actual illegal material takes place. Not much is known outside some sources say it’s another scam artists paradise while other sources claim this is the actual dark web. Unless you know exactly what to look for, how to cover your tracks, and remain anonymous, these sites and material will not be found. Does this place exist? No one knows 100%.
I bring this to light today because of something which made my eye twitch- fox news and their usual story telling. This is the reality of the internet, not what Hollywood and/or the media claims.
The Royal Assassin 