It uses multiply relay servers and layers of encryption to create a parallel but truly anonymous Internet that effectively hides the identity of its users.

In 2006, the Tor network was developed with funding from the U.S. It rides on the global IP network and is subject to any type of eavesdropping technologies a law enforcement organization or foreign government can deploy. This part of the deep Web does not allow anonymity of the sites or the IP numbers of the people viewing those sites. Early on, the deep Web was primarily used for storing large data sets (proprietary databases) and hosting restricted or private sites, which were not (necessarily) illegal. Blocking that traffic was typically done at a Web proxy by allowing access only to approved, categorized websites. Traditionally, deep websites operated exactly the same as surface websites except they were not linked to other sites, and they opted out of being indexed by search engines.

The deep Web refers to the majority of the World Wide Web that runs over a traditional IP network to fully defined domain names but is not searchable by conventional search engines such as Google or Yahoo. These activities, violations of almost any acceptable use policy (AUP), open up organizations to security risks, liability and potential litigation. While the deep Web encompasses legitimate activities like scientific research and e-commerce, it poses a major problem for information security professionals, because employee participation in legal pastimes ( Bitcoin mining) or illegal pursuits (computer hacking, narcotics and pornography) often goes undetected on corporate networks and devices.

In October 2011, altoid was looking for an 'IT pro in the Bitcoin community' on the Bitcoin Talk forum and directed interested parties to Ross Ulbricht's Gmail address. In January 2011, a user who identified himself as 'altoid' was trying to publicize Silk Road on various websites, including the Bitcoin Talk forum. Silk Road's alleged proprietor Ross Ulbricht was publicly unmasked because of a simple mistake. How can you see Tor traffic or Bitcoin mining over a network? Both applications use SSL connections over Web ports but can be adjusted to use any port.

Why are most tor links down