Accessing the Darknet

Accessing the Darknet requires special tools and up-to-date information.

Disclaimer: Access guidelines are being provided for research and educational purposes only. Neither the authors nor the McAfee Institute assumes any responsibility for consequences resulting from the use of information obtained at linked sites and is not responsible for, and expressly disclaim all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, a reference to, or reliance on such information.

Install the TOR browser, which can be found at https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en.
Once the TOR browser is installed, one easy starting place to access some of the Darknet sites is the hidden wiki (http://zqktlwi4fecvo6ri.onion/wiki/index.php/Main_Page), which collects Deep Web links. If the above URL is not accessible in the TOR Browser, one can try http://hwiki2tzj277eepp.onion/index.php?title=Main_Page or http://kpvz7kpmcmne52qf.onion/wiki/index.php/Main_Page.

This area of the Deep Web loses major websites constantly, partly due to crackdowns on illegal activity and partly because many of the websites are run by individuals or small teams without any funding. To find out the latest replacements, check with other Deep Web users on OnionChat (http://www.chatrapi7fkbzczr.onion/).
To further explore the Darknet, special search engines have been developed specifically for the TOR network. Darknet sites are intentionally difficult to explore and maintain, so these search engines may not be as effective as those on the Surface Web. In order to find a variety of results, a common practice is to use several different search engines for each search, such as Torch (http://xmh57jrzrnw6insl.onion/) or TorSearch (http://kbhpodhnfxl3clb4.onion/). Other options include Deep Search, Deep Dive, Deep Peep, and Duck Go.

Particular attention should be paid to Grams, which is a special search engine developed specifically for searching the cyber black market. For any of these steps, one can also ask Surface Web communities for up-to-date instructions and advice.