The history of the Internet as you may not know it — part 3 — the Surface Web

Part 3

So far we’ve been talking about the depths of the web, things we can’t explore in any way, now it’s time to walk around the iceberg.

What most internet users see when they go online is known as the Surface Web, which represents less than 5% of all web content. The Surface Web is just the tip of the iceberg.
Just think that when you surf this ocean of information, you are accessing a tiny fraction of all there is of the internet.

WHAT IS THE SURFACE WEB?

The Surface Web is also known as the visible web, this is the portion of the web that is accessible to the general public when we search the web using common search engines such as Google and Yahoo!

Surface Web content is content on the World Wide Web and is intentionally indexed by search engines so that information can be found easily compared to other layers of the Internet.
The Surface Web represents around 5% of the entire existing web (World Wide Web). It is indexed and referenced by search engines, which provide free accessibility via a web browser.

In contrast to Deep Web and Dark Web, the Surface Web is accessible without the use of special software (like Thor browser).

The number of people accessing the internet is growing at an explosive rate every day. According to research from statistics.com, around 4.57 billion people were active internet users in April 2020, comprising 59% of the global population.

Cybersecurity Ventures estimates that the number of internet users will increase to 7.5 billion by 2030 (which equates to 90% of the projected global population of 8.5 billion people, aged 6+).

The increased number of internet users will produce a huge amount of digital data from their interactions in cyberspace.

WHAT CAN YOU FIND ON THE SURFACE WEB?

• Benefits

The Surface Web is easily accessible to anyone with internet access, so you get a wide range of information.

• Pros

You don’t need to use special software to browse, as is required for the deep web or Dark Web.

• Problems

A virus can infect you and your identity can be stolen. So you need to pay attention when surfing the internet since it isn’t safe.

HOW IS THE SURFACE NETWORK CREATED?

Search engines build up a database of pages on the internet using programs called web spiders.

The web spider receives a copy of each page and stores the information for quick retrieval the next time it is accessed.

When a new page is linked, it is eventually inspected by the spiders and added to the list of accessible pages; the Surface Web.

All pages that cannot be found in the Surface Web are part of what is called the Deep Web.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SURFACE WEB AND THE DEEP WEB?

• the Surface Web is 400–550 times smaller in information than the Deep Web;
• the Surface Web contains 19 terabytes, while the Deep Web contains 7,500 terabytes;
• the Surface Web contains 1 billion documents, while the Deep Web has 550 billion;

There is only 5% of the web available to you, and I hope you aren’t disappointed.

During the next article, you will see how to create your own universe using an ecosystem.

Is there anything on the internet you would like to access?