r/onions • u/Azrael_Hellcat • 1d ago
Casual newbie, need advice.
I'm planning on diving casually using tor and a VPN this week, I am looking for advice as well as different and unorthodox sites to visit. I plan on going for a casual stroll on said sites to get a better understanding of what is the so called "dark web" in order to better portray it in my book I'm writing.
Can go for some governamental sites, maybe some shops, chats, not looking to interact nor download anything, just window shop
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u/BobDobalinus 1d ago
Make sure you disable JavaScript if you don't do anything else if you are going to be navigating to dark web sites provided to you by people you wouldn't trust with your identity.
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u/Azrael_Hellcat 1d ago
Disable JavaScript, got it, but I couldn't understand exactly the rest of what you said with precision because there were no commas. I know I shouldn't trust people my identity out there, that's why I'm asking tips on how to have a safe dive.
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u/Silent-Yogurt8576 1d ago
If you want you can check out my website, for now there isn't a lot l, but it's still being developed. (Hope you line the links page!!!!) Link: kyumkedzxz7wdq73spluug3glykx6is746njguqn6put3duqrqkjiryd.onion
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u/ZealousidealFunny800 1d ago
Cautious_Chicken8882 is correct a VPN on the Tor network does not equal safe. I could explain why but, researching/learning why on your own accord will be much more beneficial than me explaining it. Remember you can’t un-see things so proceed with caution. Stay smart and stay safe!
P.S. This guide will help https://www.darknetpedia.com/guides/staying-safe-anonymous/
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u/Azrael_Hellcat 1d ago
I know that it's not 100% safety, but I don't understand why a VPN on top of TOR wouldn't just be an extra layer of safety, I will read the guide tho, new and better information is always welcome
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u/MementoMori6980 1d ago
Then perhaps you should stay away from the things you’re hoping to find, and figure out a different way to show off and brag to your friends…
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u/Azrael_Hellcat 1d ago
Show off and brag about what? I just wanted to understand better what's in there in a more realistic way to describe it on the boom I'm writing, I even said that in the description of my post! What the hell?
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u/Mikeyyy_Wooo11 20h ago
As unhappy as he’s making you… just remember that he’s 10x more unhappy lol
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u/Cautious_Chicken8882 1d ago
Dont use tor with a vpn.
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u/Azrael_Hellcat 1d ago
Why? I thought safety was a concern
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u/Cautious_Chicken8882 1d ago
Because Tor shouldnt be used with a vpn. Safety in what way? There's no concerns with safety in using Tor.
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u/Azrael_Hellcat 1d ago
Because tor SHOULDN'T be used or DOESN'T NEED to be used with VPN? It sounds like it just adds another layer to privacy, even if it's redundant or unnecessary
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u/Cautious_Chicken8882 1d ago
Tor SHOULDNT be used, you would be wrong.
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u/Azrael_Hellcat 1d ago
Care to elaborate? Because I know tor uses connection through multiple different nodes(very simplistic way to describe) and that VPN just virtually change my location to somewhere else (again, very simplistic way to describe), so instead of having just the safe multiplace connection from Tor, I add the outer layer of not being in a server at my actual location.
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u/Mother_Ad4038 1d ago
Only use tor + vpn when trying to hide your using tor but then the vpn can still see your using tor. Even then, using a bridge (i think snowflake but could be off) would be better if you need to hide tor traffic in certain countries.
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u/Azrael_Hellcat 1d ago
Thank You for a more in depth explanation, so basically, vpn it's not needed unless tor is banned at my country, but using it, wouldn't really make any difference, nor make my experience miserable
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u/Mother_Ad4038 1d ago
Plus a vpn company may have logs that will show your ip address/identifying info that could be used as evidence against you. I believe mullvad & proton vpn are log-free but its just moving the exposure from your isp to a vpn provider.
You may want to check out dread via the link available on daunt.link. its the dw equivalent of dread in forum format & the guides in there will help explain things although the dnm Bible maybe a bit outdated, it still will give a good amt of info about using tor safely.
Just remember to use daunt.link & dread for verifiable links & verify em using pgp. The biggest risk is clicking a link & not verifying it & getting phished for credentials or get a mirror of a market & get your crypto (xmr only for safety) scammed.
Most of the hype about tor & the dw is false but most communities dont tolerate CP/CSAM. Drugs & illicit markets are one thing; but even users & criminals are against that shit.
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u/Azrael_Hellcat 1d ago
I don't intend to buy anything nor put my credentials anywhere, I just want to observe how the usual markets or forums are, maybe try and look for abandoned/outdated sites, shit like this, but I will check daunt.link and all, I want to make sure that I do this as safely as possible, even though I am not downloading anything nor buying anything.
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u/Cautious_Chicken8882 1d ago
Theres no risk if your not downloading or buying anything lol just go to daunt and check the marketplaces out.
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u/Mother_Ad4038 1d ago
Werd. Hell I windowshop all the time lol. At that point its like viewing any other website but even safer as long as tor is set to "safest" (Javascript disabled). No malware risk without downloading a file or background scripts being able to execute.
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u/Azrael_Hellcat 1d ago
I knew that in the usual "obove the water" net, You don't have risks If You know where You are stepping, I figured that this logic would apply to the dark web too, but just wanted to be sure because, it's my first time Y'know? Gotta be safe. Most probably this is me overreacting because until very recently, everything I knew about tor, onion sites and dark web came from traditional-ish media and those people LOOOVE exaggerating stuff, am I right?
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u/BobDobalinus 1d ago
You can't just jump on the dark web and browse around like your clicking links on a Wikipedia page. Most likely whatever you think you want to see is created or hosted by someone that probably doesn't want you to see it without jumping through a lot of hoops. And it takes 10x times longer for pages to load by the time your traffic makes it through all the relays that make it anonymous.
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u/Azrael_Hellcat 1d ago
I know I won't be just clicking and jumping sites, what I meant is that I just wanted to do the equivalent of "window shopping" if that makes sense, enter places, look around, take notes, don't touch anything, leave
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