What Is Dark Web Monitoring? Detailed Guide for Beginners

If you’re new to Dark Web Monitoring, you’re in the right place. We will help you explore the hidden world of the dark web and discover everything about Dark Web Monitoring in this post, especially how it can protect your digital identity.

Let’s dive in!

What Is Dark Web Monitoring?

Dark Web Monitoring is, in essence, a tool or service that enables you to detect early leakage of personal info on the dark web and take swift actions to prevent further digital asset infringement. To understand it further, we must first grasp the concept – what is the Dark Web?

What Is the Dark Web?

If you think of the Internet as a spectacular iceberg, above the sea, the visible and easily accessible section is the Surface Web. It contains all the web pages that we visit often, like news, social media, and shopping platforms.

Beneath the surface of the iceberg, there is a much larger part: the Deep Web. The Deep Web contains countless pages that normal search engines cannot index, such as private emails, hospital databases, and internal company systems. While not as open to the public as the Surface Web, the Deep Web content is usually legal, but needs the proper permissions or steps to access, like entering a password.

The Dark Web is a branch of the Deep Web, like those hidden crevices deep inside the iceberg. Info here cannot be found via usual search engines and must be accessed through special software, such as the Tor browser. Because of its secrecy, it has become a gray area of mixed activities. You’ll find journalists or whistleblowers who communicate and share info securely, as well as a plethora of illegal activities going on in here, ranging from malware distribution, fraud, drug/gun dealing, kidnapping, and even murder-for-hire.

For ordinary people like you and me, the biggest threat to the dark web is data leakage. Personal info, corporate data, and even sensitive government data stolen by unscrupulous elements in various cyber attacks are sold or exchanged on the dark web and used for identity theft, fraud, and other illegal activities, resulting in serious personal privacy issues and financial loss.

To address this threat, Dark Web Monitoring was born. It acts like a detective you hire, continuously patrolling the shady alleys and checking every hidden corner. If someone attempts to trade or publicly disclose your info on the Dark Web, it swiftly alerts you so that you can take timely measures to prevent further infringement of your privacy and property.

How Does Our Info Get into the Dark Web?

In the vast majority of cases, our info is collected by criminals through the following means:

・Data Leakage: Sometimes, companies and websites have insufficient security measures, so hackers can steal user data via system vulnerabilities or incorrect settings.

・Security Holes: If you don’t update your software or system in time, crooks can use specific toolkits to exploit vulnerabilities and gain access to your devices.

・Phishing: Criminals design emails or websites that mimic legitimate entities, like banks or popular apps, to trick you into entering personal info.

・Public Wi-Fi: When you connect to public Wi-Fi without any protection, hackers can easily intercept the data transmitted by the device and logs.

・Malware: Visiting insecure pages can let you unintentionally download malicious software, like keyloggers and screen grabbers, which silently record your online data in the background.

・Data Recovery: If old devices are not properly wiped or are stolen, malicious people can recover and gain access to all the data.

・Scams: Scammers will pretend to be tech support or company employees and trick you into handing over your info defenselessly over the phone or via email.

After criminals obtain your digital identity, they usually package and sell it on the dark web. These packets are known as Fullz on the Dark Web, and prices vary depending on market demand and the value of the victim’s assets.

If you want to protect your online security while connected to public Wi-Fi, a VPN is the best helper. Read this blog to know more:

Related Reading

VPNs and Public Wi-Fi Security

Public Wi-Fi can jeopardize online security. Using a VPN to encrypt data can shield you from cyber risks.

Why Should We Use Dark Web Monitoring?

Once personal or business data is exposed on the dark web, it poses serious threats.

Therefore, regular Dark Web Monitoring is extremely important. High-quality Dark Web Monitoring services can help us detect info leakage in time and take immediate remedial measures, thus effectively avoiding the damages mentioned above.

How Does Dark Web Monitoring Work?

Dark Web Monitoring is a delicate long-term service, and the workflow often involves multiple steps:

Step 1. Info collection: Users must first bind the info they wanna monitor to the service provider. The common types include email, cell phone number, bank card number, etc.

Step 2. Continuous Scanning: The Dark Web Monitoring tool will automatically continuously conduct a full scan in all corners of the Dark Web. This includes various forums, black markets, and chat groups, looking for any traces related to the relevant binding info.

Step 3. Data Matching: While scanning, the Dark Web Monitoring will match the detected data with the user’s previous bindings.

Step 4. Real-time Alerts: Once the match is successful, the tool will immediately send out an alert to notify the user.

It is through the above process that Dark Web Monitoring services can help users proactively prevent cyber threats and protect important personal and financial info.

Introduction: X-VPN Dark Web Monitor

Though X-VPN is dedicated to offering top-notch VPN services, the surge in spam and frequent personal privacy breaches have made protecting digital identities a pressing concern. 

Therefore, to provide users with more comprehensive privacy and security protection, X-VPN has launched three new solutions: Identity Protection, Safe Browsing, and Computer Security. One of the indispensable key features is the Dark Web Monitor.

X-VPN Dark Web Monitor allows you to bind up to 5 email addresses and use them as credentials to monitor the exposure of your personal info on the dark web in real time. As soon as any sign of credential leakage is detected, X-VPN will immediately alert you in the app: the accounts you registered with that email on specific websites, along with associated sensitive info – like your phone number, real addresses, bank card number, and social media accounts – have been exposed on the dark web.

This way, you can take quick action to change your account passwords and prevent further privacy breaches and property loss.

The Features of X-VPN Dark Web Monitor

Now, you can click the button below to unblock X-VPN Dark Web Monitor and all other features for only $2.99/mo (The cheapest price). If you are dissatisfied for any reason, you can get a full refund within 30 days!

・VPN Encyption ・Dark Web Monitor・Security Tools

How to Use Dark Web Monitoring?

Now it’s time to show you how to use Dark Web Monitoring, and we will use X-VPN for Windows as the demo tool.

Step 1. Get X-VPN Premium and download it on your Windows PC.

Step 2. Run X-VPN and navigate to the Dark Web Monitor on the sidebar.

Step 3. Hit the Add button to bind your email addresses. X-VPN can monitor 5 mailboxes at the same time.

Step 4. Once successfully linked, X-VPN will continuously monitor your email’s exposure on the dark web and send you timely alerts. You can manage your bonded emails at any time by clicking Edit, and check all alert reports and archived logs on the left.

What Should You Do After Getting an Alert?

If you receive an alert sent by X-VPN while using Dark Web Monitor, please take the following steps immediately to minimize the risk.

Pro Tip: How to Achieve Better Online Security?

You should now have a detailed understanding of Dark Web Monitoring and how to promptly mitigate risks if your privacy is exposed. But Dark Web Monitoring doesn’t stop personal info from being leaked on the dark web at all – no worry, this is the key aspect that X-VPN’s core service – VPN – excels at bridging.

VPNs are one of the best tools for protecting user privacy. With top AES-256 encryption, your online data becomes indecipherable. No matter where you are, even if you’re using public Wi-Fi, your info remains secure from hackers.

When you connect to a VPN server, your data will also be routed by it, thus covering your digital identity. And X-VPN’s extensive network of 8000+ global servers can even provide you with massive IP addresses, allowing you to access global content securely and anonymously.

And if you own a Windows PC, the additional security tools provided by X-VPN are extremely useful: Tracker Blocker can prevent third parties from collecting your personal data; Ad Blocker and Malicious Website Blocker can protect you from phishing; and Download Protection can isolate and scans downloaded files in advance to prevent malware from invading your device.

With the help of VPN encryption and security tools, X-VPN minimizes the chances of your personal info reaching the dark web. Combined with Dark Web Monitor, your online privacy and security are best protected.

📝More Info about X-VPN

Global Servers	8000+ servers in 225+ locations
Compatibility	Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Chrome, Chromebook, TVs, etc
Security	Top VPN Encryption with No-Log Policy.
Speed	Ultra-Fast and Stable
Connections	5 Simultaneous Connections
Free Version	Provide for common devices. Auto-connection. 500MB/day.
Price	$11.99/mo, $47.99/year, $69.99/two-year

Best of all, there are no additional costs to worry about – both the VPN service and other features are integrated into the X-VPN premium plan. You can get the most cost-effective two-year plan for just $2.99/mo, or try it for a month at $11.99. Of course, all plans support a 30-day refund policy!

Conclusion

Dark Web Monitoring is a security service or tool that protects a user’s personal data and identity on the Dark Web. Among many products, we recommend you use X-VPN, which provides you with high-quality darknet monitoring service and offers top VPN encryption and additional security tools to minimize the possibility of your personal privacy leakage from the source.

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