dark web

noun

variants or less commonly Dark Web

: the set of web pages on the World Wide Web that cannot be indexed by search engines, are not viewable in a standard Web browser, require specific means (such as specialized software or network configuration) in order to access, and use encryption to provide anonymity and privacy for users

The dark web is only accessible by means of special software, allowing users and website operators to remain anonymous. Once used by political dissidents, the dark web has become the Internet's black market, where visitors can buy anything from guns to drugs and fake IDs or trade child pornography.—

Guillermo Contreras

compare deep web

Examples of dark web in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Have dark web click-farmers AI’d a zombie-Manute Bol to fascinate viewers and mine data, and if so, is his battery running low? —

Jonathan Rowe, Spin, 22 Aug. 2023 These details can include data from various sources, such as open-source intelligence, dark web monitoring, social media and other threat intelligence feeds. —

Rabiul Islam, Forbes, 4 May 2023 Norton 360 is a collection of privacy management tools, including a VPN, antivirus, and dark web monitor. —

Stackcommerce Team, PCMAG, 14 Aug. 2023 Mike Litt, who specializes in consumer financial protection for the advocacy group U.S. PIRG, said credit monitoring alerts, credit score services, dark web monitoring and other financial offerings that I was pitched are mostly a waste of money. —

Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2023 In recent years, his focus has been on Bitcoin and the broader ethos of decentralization, famously paying $19 million for 30,000 Bitcoin in 2014 that had been seized in the U.S. government takedown of dark web marketplace Silk Road. —

Leo Schwartz, Fortune Crypto, 4 May 2023 Additionally, Bitcoin has lost its guise of opacity, with government agencies using analytics software like Chainalysis to take down dark web marketplaces and other illicit networks. —

Byleo Schwartz, Fortune Crypto, 29 June 2023 But a survey Gray conducted for WIRED of dark web advertising targeted at the US over the last year did not reveal a dramatic spike in content related to abortifacients. —

WIRED, 23 June 2023 On dark web forums used by child predators, users share tips about how to effectively deceive children on Discord. —

Ben Goggin, NBC News, 21 June 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dark web.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.