To make sure you stay protected, it’s safest to use Tor with a VPN. CyberGhost VPN  adds another layer of encryption, along with a bunch of advanced features, to stop your information from falling into the wrong hands as you weave through the Tor network. Freenet provides an environment for publishing protected, anonymous content and operates as a peer-to-peer, censorship-resistant platform. Even with user-chosen curated lists, diligence is the last line of protection for users. Torlinks is a more curated and reliable alternative to the often chaotic Hidden Wiki. It functions as a traditional directory, categorizing links by topics like news, financial services, email, and social networks.

Additional Links

Torch is one of the oldest and most popular onion search engines on the dark web, serving over 80,000 requests per day. Torch is funded primarily through advertising—purchased in BTC, of course—which is why you’ll find the front page blanketed with old-school banner ads of dubious origins. The three nodes separate your IP address from your destination and enable two individuals to communicate without either party, or any middleman, knowing who the other is. Needless to say, it takes your data much longer to travel this way, which means dark web links load slowly compared to indexed sites. The deep web is just the part of the internet you can’t find with a search engine. It’s not mysterious or spooky; it’s home to everyday things like scientific research, medical records, private financial information, and secure communications.

What’s New in Version 3?

All your device’s internet traffic first goes to the VPN server, then bounces through the Tor Network before ending up at its final destination. Your ISP only sees the encrypted VPN traffic and won’t know you’re on Tor. A logless VPN, which doesn’t store any traffic logs nor session logs is highly preferable. Traffic logs are a bigger concern than session logs, but neither are good. You can now safely browse dark web websites and hidden wikis, but if you plan to do anything more than that, you’ll need to take several precautions.

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Beyond that is the mysterious dark web, which makes up a small amount of the deep web. The dark web is a hidden network hosting .onion sites that are only accessible through the Tor browser. You need to know the .onion dark web links before you can visit these sites as they aren’t all indexed like on Google or Bing. The dark web is a section of the internet that hosts websites and links you can only access via the Tor network. The Tor network is encrypted and sends your traffic through a series of nodes.

Avoid downloading dark web files

Wherever you go online, but especially if you’re on dark web websites, using a VPN helps you secure your communication data and protect personal information you send or receive. Avast SecureLine VPN encrypts all of your internet traffic to help block hackers and keep snoops out. Install Avast SecureLine VPN today to browse safely and securely, wherever your online travels take you. A lot of illegal activity occurs on the dark web, and onion websites are popular hangouts for cybercriminals and scammers. But if you use antivirus software, avoid clicking shady links, and stick to known sites you should be okay. It’s also a good idea to set up a VPN for an extra layer of protection.

#1. Install a VPN

Since you are navigating in uncharted territories with all the myriad threats today, you’ll have to disable them in your network settings to stay safe. You risk being targeted for attacks if you explore the dark web without protection. The threat can extend to your entire network of devices connected to the internet. In some countries, evading government restrictions to seek new political ideologies is punishable. For example, China uses the Great Firewall to block access to Western sites. Accessing blocked content can result in being placed on a watch list or imprisonment.

ZeroBin — the secure way to share your pastes

It contains 7,500 terabytes of information, compared with only 19 terabytes of information in the “surface” web. To look at it in a different way, it makes up between 90% and 95% of the internet. Founded by security researcher Juha Nurmi, Ahmia is essentially a list of “hidden” sites that do want to be found. Onion sites are “crawled” and added to the list provided their “robots.txt” file permits it, and if it is not on their blacklist of sites with abuse material.

A dark web search engine

It filters out harmful and illegal content, focusing on legitimate resources and services. Ahmia has become a trusted tool for navigating the Dark Web, with thousands of users relying on it for its transparency and user-reporting features. Since regular search engines don’t index .onion sites, finding what you need on the dark web can be tricky.

Darknet Links 2025 Safe And Verified Deep Web Links

Before clicking any of the dark web links below, you’ll need to get the Tor Browser (also called the Onion Browser) or another service that provides dark web access, such as the Brave browser. Onion sites are considered part of the deep web because search engines like Google and Bing can’t index them. While using the dark web may seem suspect on the surface, it is perfectly legal, and there are many legitimate uses of Tor and anonymous browsing. Start with a trusted dark web search engine like Ahmia to find specific content. Never download Tor from third-party sites, and always verify you’re on the official Tor Project website before downloading.

Dark web monitoring and identity theft protection at your fingertips

Tor is a web browser that lets you stay anonymous online or access the dark web. Tor shares similarities with VPNs and proxy servers — all of these tools allow anonymous browsing. Tor can be used together with a VPN to provide overlapping layers of privacy and anonymity.

However, some surface web platforms like ProtonMail offer encrypted email services in addition to dark web versions that enable people residing in more repressive areas to communicate freely. The Hidden Wiki is a surface website offering a collection of dark web links. Before visiting any dark websites, get comprehensive cybersecurity software to help protect yourself from threats you may encounter.

The Hidden Wiki is an uncensored link directory enlisting all the important .onion links. Users can edit it anonymously after registering, pretty much like regular Wikipedia. Be careful though, the link directory is full of dead, scam, and illegal links.

• For instance, in the UK, any book older than 70 years old (past the date of the author’s death) is no longer subject to copyright restrictions.
• However, if you want unfiltered and uncensored search results you can try Torch.
• AVG Secure VPN scrambles all your internet traffic and routes it through secure servers to help keep your location and identity hidden.
• It has some advertisements on its home page, but they’re for popular searches and services to help get you started.
• To discover content on the web, search engines use web crawlers that follow hyperlinks through known protocol virtual port numbers.
• Use a VPN when you go on the dark web to improve your privacy and security, and never click on random dark web links.
• As always, we strongly recommend using a reliable antivirus and a robust VPN to increase your security.
• Sites on the surface web (or open web) are those visible to average users without the use of Tor or any other special browsers or software.

The early version of Tor was created to mask spy communications. In due course, the framework was remodeled and made public as a secure browser. Initially, the dark web was mainly used by government agencies, big businesses, hackers, and cybercriminals. However, technological advancements such as encryption and privacy-focused browsers like Tor enabled the general public to access it.

• Their URLs (aka dark web links) have .onion as the domain, instead of the common surface web domains like .com or .net.
• Some of the deep web sites do not use standard top-level domains (TLD) such as .gov, .com, .net, etc.
• Any use, including reproduction requires our written permission.
• It’s a paid service, and while it’s extremely secure you will need another email address to sign up, which can leave traces of your true identity without you realizing.
• Torch is known for its quick loading times, enhancing the user experience.

I recommend enabling automatic updates and checking for new versions before each session. SecureDrop stands out as the leading platform for secure document sharing used by major news organizations. This open-source whistleblowing system enables anonymous file transfers with strong encryption.

Best Onion Sites to Discover on the Dark Web in 2026

• Tor, used by millions of people daily, routes traffic through a global network of over 6,000 volunteer-operated relays to protect users’ privacy.
• This is a great way to improve your privacy because Tor isolates each website you visit, meaning third-party trackers and ISPs can’t reveal your identity.
• When you search for something on Google or Bing, you’re using the clear web.
• Cryptocurrency transactions are analyzed to identify payment patterns and laundering methods.
• However, you can find legitimate content and activities here, too.
• Many marketplaces shut down suddenly due to exit scams, where administrators disappear with user funds.

Vorm Web focuses on quality over quantity and splits findable results into three security categories, from secure to risky. Its primary value lies in its attempt to keep its listed links up-to-date and verified, addressing the huge problem of dead or phishing .onion sites on the network. To protect your data from the websites you visit, one of the most effective steps is to hide your IP address, which can reveal your location, identity, and browsing habits. Using a virtual private network (VPN) masks your real IP by routing your internet traffic through a secure server, making it appear as though you’re browsing from a different location. A VPN also encrypts your connection, keeping your data safe from surveillance and unauthorized access. If you connect to your VPN and fire up Tor Browser, you’re using Tor over VPN.

Dark Web Links for Email Services

The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has developed its .onion site on Tor. This might seem very strange, given that the site’s goal is to allow people around the globe to communicate with them in a secure and anonymous way to submit intelligence, tips, or information. Riseup is a collaborative organization created by people doing activism to provide secure, encrypted means of communication via the internet and assist in bringing change within society.

The dark web often gets a bad rep due to the sheer number of illegitimate and potentially harmful websites it hosts. Many crime groups use the dark web to access and share certain types of content, making it a risky place to be. While the dark web is a hub for criminal syndicates, it’s also a platform for free press and private communication. It’s designed specifically for people in high-surveillance or restricted countries who can’t access Facebook freely. It’s the same as the original social media platform, just with greater anonymity. Since you access it through the Tor browser, it helps shield your identity and get around firewalls.

When you go to the regular site, Tor Browser will show a purple pill in the address bar that says .onion available. Plus, in giving individuals access, they have validated the use of Tor as a secure means to communicate anonymously in high-risk situations. By giving individuals access to the Tor Network, the CIA has been able to demonstrate its confidence in the functionality of the Tor Network’s anonymity as long as it is properly set up.

It provides safety and anonymity for journalists, privacy-conscious users, or those in high-censorship countries. You need to ensure you’re only accessing reliable dark web sites, and the ones listed below are among the safest ones that currently work. Using a reliable VPN with Tor provides a way to improve security when accessing dark web links.

• The onion site is especially beneficial for people in regions with heavy censorship or restricted access to media.
• The BBC remains one of the most visited news platforms worldwide, with over 438 million users each week accessing its content across various channels.
• The only thing is, you can’t just access Riseup, you need an invitation code to set up an account.
• The hidden side of the internet can feel like a scary and mysterious place to be.
• Riseup is another anonymous email provider that lets you create private email and chats.
• Rather than focusing on current availability, we examined overall impact and relevance within broader darknet discussions.
• Other options include Ahmia and NotEvil, which focus on listing .onion links.

They offer user generated reviews of forums and darknet markets, alongside breaking stories and news from the Tor-sphere. ZeroBin is another great Tor service that helps maintain anonymity and privacy by offering an encrypted pastebin service. Pastebins are text sharing services, usually for sending and sharing text snippets. ZeroBin encrypts and decrypts text in the browser, so their servers have no way of knowing what’s happening on the browser side.

It hosts an onion site so people in countries with restricted press freedom can access its journalism, which covers everything from hacktivism to government repression. Download Avast SecureLine VPN to encrypt your internet connection and protect your privacy wherever you go online. Install Avast SecureLine VPN to encrypt your internet connection and protect your privacy wherever you go online. Fortunately, you can’t just stumble onto dark web websites by accident.

It can only interact with the gateway, the most effective method by which the browser protects user applications from learning a device’s IP address. While accessing the dark web using Mozilla Firefox is possible, you must first adjust its settings. To prevent detection, the program runs user data via a tiered stream before allowing access to the dark web.

Crimes range from data theft and selling illegal goods for cryptocurrencies to human trafficking and more severe offenses. Excavator is perhaps as controversial as it gets, among the most comprehensive search engines on the dark network. Built in 2019 by anonymous activists, Excavator would be an extremely deep digger into the onion content, trying to be open for everything.

Visiting Tor Metrics provides a fascinating, technical look “Under the hood” of the dark web, showing its real-world usage and resilience. The benefit of operating anonymously on the dark web has allowed them to withstand legal action taken against them by the major publishing companies. As I’ve previously said, it’s a good idea to keep your interactions with the dark web to a minimum, unless you can absolutely trust the people you’re dealing with. You’ll often see a sign in stores that says “look, don’t touch,” and it’s not a bad adage to bear in mind as you navigate around the dark web. For obvious reasons—I don’t want to get you or me into trouble, after all—I’m not going to get too specific when it comes to what you can find for sale on the dark web.

While your IP address is hidden, the site can still collect information you share on your profile. The best news is Torch updates its sites every single day, so you’ll always be able to browse the latest news and access new services and sites. It lets you search both clearnet and dark web sites, but it blocks all trackers, doesn’t use your location data, and never stores your search history. TorlanD opens up access to a vast range of hidden content, allowing you to navigate the deep web freely without restrictions. The dark web is a double-edged sword, offering anonymity but also posing significant risks. It’s a hub for illicit activities, with cybercriminals ready to exploit any weakness.

Many social media platforms keep their presence on the dark web, and it is no surprise that Facebook has a .onion portal. Facebook’s dark web version allows users to access the site where it is banned or restricted. Although the social application is known for collecting data on its platform, it does not like sharing the information with others. Unlike most other similar search engines, even though it gives you access to that (hidden) part of the internet, it still blocks dangerous and illegal stuff like child exploitation material. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies worldwide monitor the dark web to identify and apprehend criminals.

This repository serves as a knowledge hub for individuals interested in understanding the structure, functionalities, and applications of the darknet. Please note that all material provided here is aimed at promoting awareness, responsible research, and ethical use of information. Start with a dark web exposure scan to see what’s already leaked. For continuous protection, book a demo to see how automated monitoring catches what manual searching misses. Small security teams might start with manual searching using Ahmia or Torch.

The Tor browser conceals IP addresses and browsing activity by redirecting web traffic through a series of proxy servers operated by thousands of volunteers across the globe. This process, called onion routing, protects users from surveillance and tracking. While it provides anonymity for privacy advocates and whistleblowers, it’s also a breeding ground for cyber threats. Over half of its listings pose potential risks to individuals and organizations. To counter this, dark web monitoring has become essential to detect these threats and safeguard digital privacy. To access onion sites, users need a stable internet connection and the Tor browser.

The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) provides a .onion version of its website, enabling individuals to bypass restrictions to access its content from anywhere. This platform allows visitors to anonymously explore the World Factbook, darknet link submit information, apply for jobs, and perform any other actions available on the CIA’s main site. Unless you know where you’re going, there’s always some risk connected to clicking on dark web search engine links.

The VPN encrypts your traffic before it enters the Tor network, preventing your ISP from seeing that you’re using Tor. This double encryption also protects against compromised Tor entry nodes that could potentially monitor your activity. However, many are used for illegal activity and onion websites are often popular hangouts for cybercriminals and scammers. Using common sense like avoiding clicking on shady links or download buttons, sticking to known sites and adding a VPN for an extra layer of protection, you should be fine. The dark web remains a largely unregulated and unmonitored part of our digital world. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a thriving community there though.