VPNoverview.com Privacy Anonymous Browsing The Dark Web Dictionary: Definitions for Everything Dark Net
Nathan Daniels
Tech Journalist
Updated:02-29-2024
Click here for a summary of the most important dark web terms
The Dark Web Dictionary: A Quick Overview
See Also
The 12 Best Deep Search Engines to Explore the Invisible WebNetworks Course blog for INFO 2040/CS 2850/Econ 2040/SOC 2090What it is, Why it exists, How to find it, and Its inherent ambiguityTop 5 Dark Web Browser for Anonymous Browsing | Cashify Laptops BlogThe dark web has its jargons. While some terms are common, others are exclusively tied to the dark web. The most common and important dark web terms include:
- Blockchain: A decentralized, publicly accessible database for recording information — used for crypto
- Bitcoin: The most popular cryptocurrency
- Carding: The theft and distribution of credit card information
- Cryptocurrency: A virtual currency based on blockchain technology that can be used anonymously
- PGP: Short for “Pretty Good Privacy,” an encryption method
- Silk Road: A former illegal marketplace on the dark web
- VPN: Short for “Virtual Private Network,” a tool that can hide your IP and protect your privacy — highly recommended for any type of dark web browsing
Apart from learning about dark web jargons, you should also be aware of potential dangers on the dark web. This part of the web is significantly less regulated than the surface web. As such, you might run into dangerous cybercriminals.
Among other safety measures, we recommend using a strong VPN, like NordVPN, to shield you from various dark web threats, including malicious Tor entry nodes.
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For more detailed definitions of the dark web terms above and other dark web jargon, read the complete article below.
The dark web, also known as the darknet or black web, is rife with jargon and technical terms that will seem alien to a first-time visitor. As such, a brief overview of regularly used terms can come in handy. That’s why we created this dark web dictionary.
Unfortunately, knowing dark web jargons isn’t enough to keep you safe on there. We recommend taking precautions to ensure your safety, including using a solid VPN like NordVPN to add an extra layer of protection.
Stay Safe on the Dark Web With NordVPN
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Account Takeover (ATO) | This term refers to a cybercriminal obtaining access to an online account that’s not theirs. After they get everything they can from the account, they often sell it on the dark web. In fact, many times, these accounts are sold straight away. Cybercriminals often acquire large sets of login credentials during a data breach or server attack. They might also obtain account details through phishing attacks. |
| Alias | An alias is a pseudonym: an assumed identity for users of the dark web.Since anonymity is important for dark web users, many use an alias. |
| Alphabay | Alphabay was the biggest dark web market after the shutdown of the original Silk Road. Most buyers flocked to Alphabay when Silk Road was shut down. However, after a few years, Alphabay was also taken down by law enforcement. In 2021, Alphabay was relaunched. |
| AML | AML stands for anti-money laundering. This term refers to practices aimed at preventing illegal funds from entering circulation. For example, most crypto exchanges require users to verify their identity using their passports. This makes it much harder for criminals to convert their illegal assets into legal cryptocurrency. |
| Anon | This is a slang term for any dark web user whose identity is unknown or “anonymous.” |
| Anonymous | Anonymous is a decentralized international collective of hackers, activists, and “hacktivists.” Since there is no central leadership, its members often aren’t uniform in their views, aspirations, and strategies. Nevertheless, the collective does raise a few central themes, such as free speech and (government) transparency. |
| AnonFiles | An anonymous file-sharing service that doesn’t track users’ IP addresses or other identifiers. |
| APT | APT stands for Advanced Persistent Threat. These threats generally involve a state actor gaining unauthorized access to a computer network for an extended time. The computer network often belongs to another government or a (large) organization. Usually, the objective of these attacks is to gather and/or steal data to advance political or economic goals. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Backdoor | The term backdoor refers to a system vulnerability that allows for unauthorized (and often illegal) access to a device, system, or network. Alternatively, governments or law enforcement agencies sometimes want (secret) access to large systems or networks with the system’s or network’s permission. These access points are also referred to as backdoors. Many (dark web) users worry that Tor might get a backdoor for US government agencies in the future. As of now, however, it seems this has not happened. |
| Bait & switch | This is a fraudulent sales technique that’s used on dark web markets and regular shopping platforms. The idea is to advertise a high-quality product for a great price. When contacted, the vendor will claim the product is no longer available and subsequently offer the buyer a more expensive product of lesser quality or with fewer features. |
| BIN | This acronym stands for Bank Identification Number. Usually, this number comprises the first six digits of your 16-digit credit card number. Since some criminals trade in stolen credit cards, you might encounter this term frequently. |
| Bank drops | Bank drops refer to the illegal use of legitimate bank accounts to receive and transfer funds obtained through unlawful activity. The owners of these accounts can be either tricked or persuaded, generally with money, to make their accounts available. Alternatively, criminals might steal a victim’s personal information and open an account in their name. Bank drops play a huge role in money laundering. |
| Bitcoin (BTC) | Bitcoin is the oldest and most popular cryptocurrency. It’s often used to pay for things on the dark web as Bitcoin payments are more anonymous than conventional payment methods, such as credit cards. However, even Bitcoin isn’t completely anonymous. These days, there are several more privacy-orientated cryptocurrencies around. |
| Bitcoin exchange | Bitcoin exchanges are platforms where you can buy and sell Bitcoin for fiat currency, such as UD Dollars. For many dark web users, it’s essential to know a reliable Bitcoin exchange, as Bitcoin is a vital payment method on the dark web. Popular Bitcoin and crypto exchanges include Coinbase, eToro, and Binance. |
| Black market | A black market is an illegal dark web trading platform. Products on black markets may include illicit or controlled substances. The dark web features various black markets of all kinds. The dark web also has markets that contain perfectly safe and legal products. Even so, it’s important to learn how to stay safe on dark web markets before visiting one. |
| Black market goods | As the term denotes, black market goods are products that are sold on illegal dark web trading platforms. |
| Blockchain | Blockchain is the underlying technology that makes Bitcoin and most cryptocurrencies possible. It functions as a public ledger to store transactions and has a consensus mechanism to approve new transactions. Both systems are often decentralized, meaning they don’t require a central authority, such as a bank. |
| Botnet | A botnet is a network of devices that have been infected with a virus. Because of this, hackers can operate all these infected devices at the same time. These networks can be used in DDoS attacks and are sometimes sold on the dark web. |
| Bridges | Bridges are nodes you can use to access the Tor network (and ultimately the dark web) even if this is blocked in your country. A bridge will make it seem like you are entering the network from a different location. Because of this, local restrictions no longer apply. Some people also use it to prevent their ISP from knowing they accessed the Tor network. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Carding | Carding refers to the theft and sale of credit card information, which, unfortunately, is a common practice on the dark web. Are you concerned that your personal information or credit card details are being offered for sale on the dark web? Read our guide to dark web monitoring to learn how to protect your privacy. |
| Clearnet | The “clearnet” is the part of the internet that is publicly accessible and indexed by search engines like Google. The clearnet excludes the dark web since dark web pages are not indexed by regular search engines. It also excludes other parts of the internet that aren’t indexed, such as company spreadsheets that only employees with the right link and login details can access, i.e., the deep web. |
| Click fraud | Click fraud refers to the practice of deceiving advertisers by using tools that click on or interact with their ads. This way, even though there is no genuine interaction with their ads, they believe many people are viewing them. Tools that can facilitate click fraud are readily available on the dark web. |
| Cold storage wallet | Cold storage refers to a way of storing your crypto. “Cold wallets,”unlike“hot wallets,”are not connected to the internet. Instead, they are physical devices used for storing your private key. Hackers can’t access your private key when using a cold wallet. This is very important, as the person with the private key is, in effect, the person who owns the corresponding crypto. |
| CP | CP is short for child p*rnography. Unfortunately, the dark web contains several pedophile networks through which their members exchange illicit materials. |
| CPN | CPN stands for Credit Privacy Number or Credit Protection Number. Scammers that sell these present them as a legitimate way to hide your credit history. However, they are stolen SSN numbers sold illegally, often on the dark web. Don’t get tricked into buying and using one. If discovered, you’ll get in trouble, as “SSN misuse” is a felony. |
| Cryptocurrency | Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that are often decentralized. The most popular cryptocurrency on the dark web and elsewhere is Bitcoin, although there are various Bitcoin alternatives as well. Some other popular cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin include Ethereum, Tether, Binance Coin, Solana, and Ripple. |
| Crypto address | The term “crypto address” refers to the long line of characters identifying a specific cryptocurrency wallet. If you want to transfer Bitcoin or crypto to a crypto wallet, you need to use the corresponding crypto address. |
| Crypto wallet | The term crypto wallet refers to a digital or physical storage space for the private key that identifies you as the owner of your crypto. Be careful: whoever owns the private key owns the crypto! This why we advise opting for a solid physical cold wallet, which is more secure than a software-based hot wallet. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Darknet | The darknet is a synonym for the dark web. Although some opinions about the definition vary, the two terms are mostly used interchangeably. |
| DAO | DAO stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. It refers to organizations, projects, or initiatives that don’t have a central leadership. Usually, these organizations are governed by a publicly available code base and smart contracts that determine what will happen in different situations. Most cryptocurrencies are DAOs. |
| DBAN | DBAN stands for Darik’s Boot and Nuke. It’s an open-source program that permanently deletes information on a hard drive. This is very useful for users with sensitive data on their drives that they want to delete without any possibility of recovery. |
| DD (Delivery Days) | DD is a common term used on the darknet to refer to the number of delivery days you can expect for a product shipment. In context, it can look something like “10DD Europe,” which means that a product delivery to Europe will take about 10 days. |
| Deep web | The deep web is every page on the internet that’s not indexed by a search engine and/or accessible through a conventional browser, like Google, Firefox, etc. This includes pages on the dark web (which are intentionally hidden), members-only platforms, repositories, company databases, or de-indexed sites. |
| Doxing | Doxing is an online attack in which previously private information about an individual or organization is made public. This is usually accomplished through hacking, social engineering, or regular research. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Encryption | Encryption is a way to codify data to make it illegible to anyone but the party or parties with the encryption key. Encryption relies on an algorithm that only the encryption key can “crack.” The Tor browser, used by most dark web users, relies on encryption to keep its users’ data private. Another good way to encrypt your traffic is using a trusted VPN like NordVPN. The advantage of this is that a VPN generally slows down your connection a lot less than the Tor browser. |
| Escrow | An escrow is a third party that facilitates a transaction by holding onto funds until a condition has been met (like the fulfillment of a purchase agreement). Online marketplaces can act as escrows to facilitate transactions. |
| Exit scam | An exit scam happens when a business owner takes off with the money of its customers or investors without or while no longer fulfilling their end of the transaction. Common exit scams involve cryptocurrency promoters who vanish with investors’ money during or after an ICO (Initial Coin Offering). This is also called a crypto pump and dump scam. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Finalize Early (FE) | Finalizing early means paying for a product you buy on the dark web before you receive it. This could mean you’re transacting with someone directly without using an escrow system, and you pay them in advance. It could also mean you use an escrow, but release your funds to the seller before your product arrives. Partaking in FE transactions (as a buyer) is not recommended. |
| 420 (four-twenty) | This term originates from a regular 16:20 meeting held by five California teenagers in the 70s who were looking for a cannabis crop. Over time, it has come to refer to marijuana and marijuana consumption in general. |
| Freenet | Freenet is an anonymous peer-to-peer service for hosting and publishing sites or pages. The website provides an anonymous way to communicate with others free of censorship. In this sense, it’s not too dissimilar to the Tor browser. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Grams | Grams is a former dark web meta-search engine that allowed users to find products from various darknet markets, such as drugs (this is presumably where the name comes from) and guns. The platform was active from 2014 to 2017. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Hidden Wiki | The Hidden Wiki is a well-known dark web page. It’s essentially a dark web index where you can find links to dark web websites that have been grouped into different categories. This helps people navigate the dark web. |
| Hidden services (HS) | The term “hidden services” (HS) simply refers to the websites that comprise the dark web. These are called hidden services because regular browsers can’t access them, and they aren’t indexed. Only people with the actual link can access these pages. |
| Honeypot | A honeypot is the digital equivalent of a police sting. It involves luring hackers into a trap with a seemingly valuable data set. What hackers don’t know is that this data set is not valuable at all. It’s also isolated from the main site and (heavily) monitored. Honeypots are used to catch hackers or to study their hacking methods to improve security practices. |
| Hot wallet | A hot wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet connected to the internet or stored on a device that’s connected to the internet. This could be an online platform or an offline software wallet on a device that’s regularly connected to the internet. While hot wallets are more convenient for people who regularly transact crypto, they are far less secure than cold wallets. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| LEA/LE | LEA and LE are short for “Law Enforcement Agencies/Law Enforcement.” These acronyms are used in chatrooms by those who wish to stay out of law enforcement’s hands. Law enforcement agencies are present and active on dark markets and try to catch criminals red-handed. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Malware | Malware refers to “malicious software.” Cybercriminals use this type of software for various malicious activities, like blackmailing victims into paying them to get their files back (ransomware), spying on people (spyware), obtaining payment information, and taking over a victim’s device (Remote Access Trojans). The dark web contains a lot of malware, so we recommend exercising caution and using solid antivirus software. |
| Mystery boxes | Dark web mystery boxes were a craze on YouTube. Popular YouTubers acted like they ordered mystery boxes on the dark web and opened these on camera. While these videos can be thrilling, they are most likely completely fake. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| .Onion | .Onion is the dark web version of .com. It is the domain suffix most commonly used on the dark web. It gets its name from The Onion Router (Tor). The Tor browser is used to access the dark web. |
| Onion routing | Onion routing refers to protecting the contents of data packets through various layers of encryption. It’s called onion routing, as this encryption resembles an onion’s layers. Onion routing is the system that Tor, the most common dark web browser, uses to anonymize its users and keep their traffic private. |
| OS (Live or Host) | OS is short for “operating system.” A live OS might be an OS that is temporarily loaded from software such as VirtualBox. A Host OS is the operating system you are running your computer, i.e., Windows or macOS. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| PGP | PGP is short for “Pretty Good Privacy.” Millions of people use this cryptographic method daily to communicate anonymously and safely. It relies on a public key that encrypts messages and data and a private key that only you can access to decrypt the data. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Red Room | Red Rooms are a common dark web myth. These are supposedly live streams that paid customers can access to see someone get abused, tortured, and murdered. Thankfully, there have never been any reports of Red Rooms that are actually legitimate. In fact, Tor’s low internet speeds make live streaming, in general, quite difficult and unlikely. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Sandbox | Sandboxing is a very common security practice. The idea of sandboxing is to isolate different programs or connections so malicious software in one application can’t infect others. On the dark web, sandboxing is especially helpful. Sandboxie is an example of good sandbox software. |
| Satoshi Nakamoto | Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym for the creator and architect of Bitcoin. However, it is possible and more plausible that multiple people collaborated to create Bitcoin, even if they only use one name to refer to them as a collective. |
| Silk Road | Silk Road was one of the biggest and most popular dark web markets ever created. It became notorious for featuring illegal products, such as drugs and weapons. It was shut down in 2013. In October of the same year, the supposed “mastermind” behind the platform, Ross Ulbricht, was arrested by the FBI. |
| Spoofing | Spoofing refers to hiding the true origin of a message or piece of data and replacing it with false information. Examples include IP spoofing (changing your IP address) and GPS spoofing. Spoofing is done for many different reasons, and only certain types of spoofing are illegal. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Two-factor authentication (2FA) | This is a safer way to secure an account. Rather than relying solely on your password,with 2FA,you have to identify yourself a second timeto gain access to your account. Often, this works with a code that is sent to your smartphone. This method makes it harder for criminals to hack your account. |
| Tails | The term “tails” stands for The Amnesiac Incognito Live System. You can load this OS from a USB drive to browse the dark web anonymously. No information about your activities will be stored on the computer once you exit the system. |
| Tor | Tor is short for The Onion Router. The Tor browser is the most-used browser to visit the dark web. It’s also a great tool to protect your privacy. It encrypts your data and sends it through different “nodes,” so you’re more anonymous online. |
| Tumble | Also called crypto mixing or blending, tumbling means performing a transaction in which your crypto is mixed with other users’ crypto before it reaches its final destination. This way, it’s much harder, if not impossible, to trace your Bitcoin or crypto back to you. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Vendor | A vendor is a person who offers goods or services on the dark web. |
| VPN | VPN is short for virtual private network. A VPN is used to encrypt your data and protect your privacy online. To do this, VPNs route your internet traffic through servers in different countries, changing your IP address in the process. If you’re unsure which VPN to pick, check our roundup of the best VPNs. Our favorite VPN is NordVPN, thanks to its outstanding encryption. Plus it’s the fastest VPN we’ve tested. |
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Whistleblower | A whistleblower exposes the wrongdoings of a company, organization, or even a government to the world. They often get inside information while working for the organization in question. Whistleblowers usually want to remain anonymous to avoid being fired, sued, or worse. Therefore, many whistleblowers use the dark web to contact journalists anonymously. |
Are you interested in learning more about the dark web after checking out our dark web dictionary? Check out some of our other articles on the dark net below:
- What Is the Dark Web? How to Access It and What You Can Find
- How to Use the Dark Web to Communicate Safely
- The 10 Best News Websites on the Dark Web
- The Top 12 Dangers of the Dark Web: How to Protect Yourself
- The 5 Best VPNs for Accessing the Dark Web in 2023
The Dark Web Dictionary: Frequently Asked Questions
If you want more details on a particular darknet term that gets thrown around a lot, check our FAQ section below!
What does DD stand for on the dark web?
On the darknet, DD stands for “Delivery Days.”
What is the dark web?
The dark web is a collection of internet pages that aren’t indexed by search engines, and are only accessible through special browsers and networks, most commonly the Tor browser. Dark web links are composed of random characters, rather than actual words and phrases. You have to know these links to actually navigate to their corresponding dark web pages.
What is the Silk Road?
Silk Road was one of the most infamous marketplaces on the dark web, earning it the nickname “The eBay of Vice.” It was shut down in 2013 when its presumed owner (Ross Ulbricht) was arrested. While numerous darknet marketplaces appeared after this original one was shut down, none of them rose to the same level of prominence.
What is the deep web?
The deep web refers to pages that are not publicly accessible. Most of these pages require you to have the actual link and some form of authentication to access them. This includes things like member platforms, repositories, company databases, or de-indexed sites. The dark web is technically part of the deep web, but it’s often (rightfully) differentiated from it.
What is Blockchain?
Blockchain is the underlying technology that Bitcoin and most other cryptocurrencies are based on. It contains a public ledger to store transactions and a consensus mechanism to approve new ones. Blockchains are decentralized. This means they can operate completely autonomously without any form of central leadership. This makes most blockchains very transparent and difficult to manipulate.
Nathan Daniels
Tech Journalist
Nathan is an internationally trained journalist with a special interest in the prevention of cybercrime. For VPNOverview he conducts research in cybersecurity, internet censorship, and online privacy. He contributed to developing our rigorous VPN testing and reviewing procedures.
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