To best understand what the dark web is it is important to know that the Internet is made up of three main parts – the open (or surface) web, deep web and the dark web. The surface web – this is what makes up around 10% of the Internet and includes everything and anything that can be found via search engines like Google. Things like Facebook, Amazon and Wikipedia are all part of the surface web. Of course, this privacy allows criminal activities to flourish and the dark web can be used to buy things like illegal drugs or stolen credit cards or access illicit and illegal content, like child pornography. The level of illegality can vary however. For example, some use the dark web to access content that is only illegal in specific areas, such as gambling in certain US states, or to bypass local restrictions to access TV or movie services. Aside from criminal activity such as money laundering or visiting dark web marketplaces to buy illegal goods, the dark web is also used for a range of completely legal purposes. In fact, despite its poor reputation, the popularity of the dark web has grown significantly.