What Is Darknet ?

A darknet (or dark net) is an overlay network that can be accessed only with specific software, configurations, or authorization, often using non-standard communications protocols and ports. Two typical darknet types are friend-to-friend[1] networks (usually used for file sharing with a peer-to-peer connection)[2] and privacy networks such as Tor.

The reciprocal term for an encrypted darknet is clearnet[3][4][5] or surface web when referring to search engine indexable content.