You've probably heard of the terms dark web and Tor discussed find out in the media, but logging into them isn't as risky as it sounds. Actually, it's easy to get it up and running.

The dark web is a collection of pages that aren't indexable by search engines like Google. It's the area of the internet where information and content that is normally private is stored. Email inboxes as well as Google Drive folders are stored on the deep web. They're not accessible to the general public when browsing using a standard browser.

There are also many websites on the dark web which serve legitimate goals. SecureDrop, for example, is a dark-web site that allows anonymously submitting sensitive information by whistleblowers. There are sites where users can purchase and sell stolen credentials, including credit card numbers and passwords. These sites are often called 'marketplaces' and the most well-known examples are Silk Road and AlphaBay, but there are lots of others that have come and gone.

Tor is the mainstay of the dark web. It routes your connection via a number of volunteer servers scattered across the world. This makes it difficult for anyone else to monitor your activity. Tor is so named because the data it encrypts goes through a number of layers, similar to the onion layering in pizza, which helps keep your identity safe.