This is a categorized list of notable onion services (formerly, hidden services) [1] accessible through the Tor anonymity network. Defunct services and those accessed by deprecated V2 addresses are marked.
SecureDrop and GlobaLeaks software is used in most of these whistleblowing sites. These are secure communications platform for use between journalists and sources. Both software's websites are also available as an onion service. [45] [46] Websites that use secure drop are listed in a directory. [47]
BitTorrent, also referred to as simply torrent, is a communication protocol for peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P), which enables users to distribute data and electronic files over the Internet in a decentralized manner. The protocol is developed and maintained by Rainberry, Inc., and was first released in 2001. A 2004 study by Cachelogic found that one third of all internet traffic was BitTorrent traffic.
An anonymous P2P communication system is a peer-to-peer distributed application in which the nodes, which are used to share resources, or participants are anonymous or pseudonymous. Anonymity of participants is usually achieved by special routing overlay networks that hide the physical location of each node from other participants.
The Invisible Internet Project (I2P) is an anonymous network layer that allows for censorship-resistant, peer-to-peer communication. Anonymous connections are achieved by encrypting the user's traffic, and sending it through a volunteer-run network of roughly 55,000 computers distributed around the world. Given the high number of possible paths the traffic can transit, a third party watching a full connection is unlikely. The software that implements this layer is called an "I2P router", and a computer running I2P is called an "I2P node". I2P is free and open sourced, and is published under multiple licenses.
A dark net or darknet is an overlay network within the Internet that can only be accessed with specific software, configurations, or authorization, and often uses a unique customized communication protocol. Two typical darknet types are social networks, and anonymity proxy networks such as Tor via an anonymized series of connections.
Magnet is a URI scheme that defines the format of magnet links, a de facto standard for identifying files (URN) by their content, via cryptographic hash value rather than by their location.
.onion is a special-use top level domain name designating an anonymous onion service, which was formerly known as a "hidden service", reachable via the Tor network. Such addresses are not actual DNS names, and the .onion TLD is not in the Internet DNS root, but with the appropriate proxy software installed, Internet programs such as web browsers can access sites with .onion addresses by sending the request through the Tor network.
Tribler is an open source decentralized BitTorrent client which allows anonymous peer-to-peer by default. Tribler is based on the BitTorrent protocol and uses an overlay network for content searching. Due to this overlay network, Tribler does not require an external website or indexing service to discover content. The user interface of Tribler is very basic and focused on ease of use instead of diversity of features. Tribler is available for Linux, Windows, and OS X.
Tor, short for The Onion Router, is free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication. It directs Internet traffic via a free, worldwide volunteer overlay network that consists of more than seven thousand relays.
DuckDuckGo is an American software company that offers a number of products intended to help people protect their online privacy. The flagship product is a search engine that has been praised by privacy advocates. Subsequent products include extensions for all major web browsers and a custom DuckDuckGo web browser.
In the BitTorrent file distribution system, a torrent file or meta-info file is a computer file that contains metadata about files and folders to be distributed, and usually also a list of the network locations of trackers, which are computers that help participants in the system find each other and form efficient distribution groups called swarms. Torrent files are normally named with the extension .torrent.
Tails, or "The Amnesic Incognito Live System", is a security-focused Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at preserving Internet privacy and anonymity. It connects to the Internet exclusively through the anonymity network Tor. The system is designed to be booted as a live DVD or live USB and never writes to the hard drive or SSD, leaving no digital footprint on the machine unless explicitly told to do so. It can also be run as a virtual machine, with some additional security risks.
The Associated Whistleblowing Press (AWP) is a not-for-profit information agency based in Brussels, Belgium, dedicated to the defense of human rights by promoting transparency, freedom of information and speech, whistleblowing and investigative journalism, conceived as a global network made up of cooperative local platforms and actors. According to its website, the initiative aims to work in a decentralized network structure, with local platforms that deal with local information, contexts and actors in a "from the roots upward model". The stories produced will then be published on the project's multilanguage newsroom under a Creative Commons license. The team consists of collaborators spread all around the world, led by two editors, Pedro Noel and Santiago Carrion.
Tor2web is a software project to allow Tor hidden services to be accessed from a standard browser without being connected to the Tor network. It was created by Aaron Swartz and Virgil Griffith.
The Tor Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) research-education nonprofit organization based in Winchester, New Hampshire. It is founded by computer scientists Roger Dingledine, Nick Mathewson, and five others. The Tor Project is primarily responsible for maintaining software for the Tor anonymity network.
Doxbin was an onion service. It was a pastebin primarily used by people posting personal data of any person of interest.
Parrot OS is a Linux distribution based on Debian with a focus on security, privacy, and development.
The Facebook onion address located at facebookwkhpilnemxj7asaniu7vnjjbiltxjqhye3mhbshg7kx5tfyd.onion is a site that allows access to Facebook through the Tor protocol, using its .onion top-level domain.
Sarah Jamie Lewis is an anonymity and privacy researcher with published research in the fields of deanonymization and e-voting. She also has a special interest in the privacy protocols of sex toys. She has been cited in academic research regarding the security and ethics considerations associated with this technology.
A virtual private network (VPN) service provides a proxy server to help users bypass Internet censorship such as geoblocking and users who want to protect their communications against data profiling or MitM attacks on hostile networks.
OnionShare is an open source file sharing application using tor network to share files, available on most major platforms. It also lets users host websites and chat in a secure and anonymous manner. It uses peer-to-peer sharing over Tor network to preserve privacy and anonymity.
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Guide to Tor hidden services and elements of the Tor network at Wikibooks
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