Tor Networks for private browsing.

Tor network privacy for the hyper-paranoid internet user.

Tor networks for those seeking privacy from the ever-creeping internet that seems to want to know about your privacy. And no, we're not talking about the government/NSA. They have a hard enough time sending my taxes to the right mailbox. We're mostly talking about corporate data farming. And how we fully support anything that keeps the browsing habits away from governments and corporations only interested in getting the most pay-click out of your site. Whenever you type something into a search engine and suddenly it responds with items that are local only to the area that is a company using your IP address location against you in the hopes that you'll respond better to one of their ads. That in itself is manipulating the internet in some shitty marketing tactic. instead of opening the internet for the user.

Read on if you want to learn more.

What the hell is Tor?

It is a network of encryption and proxies serving that encrypted data back and forth between a series of node PCs scattered throughout the world to allow people to mask their privacy. With a handful of PCs on major network lines acting as master hubs or nodes within the chain of networked computers. This is what is known as a "Distributed Networking Model." A lot of professionals use the Tor network such as journalists when they are doing research on a subject know they might get monitored in reverse or if the subject they are researching is just illegal in nature.

For more information, you can click here to find out more about it. You can get into Tor by clicking here to be taken to the Tor Project.

Why do you care about TOR suddenly?

Last night, I received some complaints from Tor users about my site. So I loaded up the Tor Browser which is nothing more than Firefox with a Tor network overlay on it to confirm this issue. Initially, it was due to  HTML5 canvas image data, and we quickly got run into circles about what it is or what ever it's all about. We initially thought one of my plugins is firing report data back to one of its devs so we even disabled all of the plugins within my WordPress. However, it continued to do this. It was found out eventually that there is such a thing as 'good' HTML5 canvas image data.' That my site actually uses it to find out what resolution your browser is in order to reformat all of the text that you see on it. That if you blocked it, or "Never for this site" then the responsive code will not resize the text properly as well as other functions of my website such as sketches.

 

Update 11/3/2019: we changed our theme a long time ago and thus this error is no more. We may still get other errors due to domain redirection. But none of them involve privacy-related issues. 

 

I don't trust you S, what are you going to do about it?

Nothing, we understand WHY the Tor network is paranoid of HTML5 canvas data. It's just that we will not cripple my website in order to remove this notification/error from Tor-based browsers. If you don't trust my site then you are free to block it. As we have legacy links on my site, as well as my more fancy pants java-scripting going on you, will still be able to navigate our site with the maximum protection enabled. Just know that we are not harvesting any information about who you are or where you live (privacy notice posted here). It is for these reasons is why we dropped using Google Analytics and even Statcounter. We even dropped the Jet-Pack plugin for WordPress as we felt it was too intrusive on your privacy. Most of the cookies you may receive from this site are internalized for some of the javascript graphics. Nothing leaves this site to a third-party vendor.

Tor network vs. Cloudflare:

What? Did you honestly believe that anonymous browsing would be easy?

Some sites that use the Cloudflare web firewall service will present a screen similar to the one above to you. Often times the Captcha recognition software is not going to work right and will take a few tries before being finally let through. Since you are within a Tor network. You are now seeing the net similar to how bots and scripts see the net. Sites that are using services similar to Cloudflare will place this roadblock up to prevent malicious users from executing DDOS attacks against whatever web service that they provide.

Google is really no different about it. And their reasons are hidden behind the notion of DDOS. But in reality, they just want to make your browsing experience as difficult as possible hoping you would go back to a normal browser where they track you happily. However, this does not stop us from using Google as typing in results from different Geo-Locations thanks to Tor allows us to see differences in the results that you are being proxy' ed from.

S-Config's Tor Address:

Not only can you surf the web anonymously but you can allow anonymous access to your website with a Tor/Onion address. The reason why we dived into this is almost the same reason as Facebook. In case there are people who do not trust my site or people who live in countries where we may have pissed off your government. Then you are in luck because we have a way to get to this site in the event you are blocked.

Our V3 address:

http://xjfbpuj56rdazx4iolylxplbvyft2onuerjeimlcqwaihp3s6r4xebqd.onion/

Out V2 address:

http://ofkxjgj74q2lb5s4.onion

Update 02/21/2021: V2 addressing will be phased out. This address will be 303 to our new V3 address.

copy this link and put it into the Bookmarks of your Tor Browser.

Why no hyperlink?

Because I have a plugin that checks links and crosses out anything it cannot reach. Also, I did not get some vanity addresses as Facebook got with their Onion because we want you to get into the habit is legit reading the links you are about to get since it's hella-easy to impersonate someone within a Tor/Onion network. Always check your data.

Tor+HTTPS?!?

We will not be getting an EV-SSL certificate for my site as Tor by its design does end-to-end point encryption. The reason why SSL for an onion network is rather useless is because of the way the protocol works. When you send an HTTP request across the Tor Network the only point of the transmission that is not encrypted is from your computer to your ISP and finally to the first ToR node. After that, it gets encrypted by the relay system.

So with such logic, do we really need to pay $200 a year so that my data center can't snoop on people's traffic? Especially when the content they will be uploading (Comments mostly) will be the only thing they get? Sheesh, they can just visit my site normally if they really want that!

DeepWeb? DarkWeb?

These two terms can be thrown around a lot. They almost seem interchangeable. But the reality is that they mean very different things.

Deepweb:

Is anything that is not accessible publicly from a search engine of the clear-net? That's it! By logging into Gmail you are effectively on the "Deep-Web." By logging into your administration panel of Twitch or YouTube. Guess what? Deep-Web time! All of office365? You guessed it! Deep Web.

Anything that stops a search engine or any public browser from proceeding further. Or has a gatekeeper mechanism that keeps the general public out but is still on the internet. That is "Deep-Web."

Darkweb:

Means, anything that requires an extra mechanism to traverse that is layered on top of the normal internet would be considered the "DarkWeb." It does not necessarily mean a place of unspeakable evil like how the media and movies portray it. We remembered a time in the '90s when the media was thinking the internet was a source of evil. And well! They were partially right! But more of the depressing monopolistic evil instead of "hack the planet" evil.

Using Tor/Onion-enabled browsing and preferring .onion-based websites versus clear-net is effectively browsing the "Dark-Web." Tor of course may not be the first nor last of its kind of technology. It also gets its term "Dark-Web" because it's not something that can be easily cataloged by Google. That even if you set loose a search engine to war-dial the entire address book of Tor/Onion V2 and V3 addressing. You'd have a better chance of spending that computing power to win the lottery than you do finding a 'live' or 'hidden' site.

Even if the website does NOT wish to be hidden like this one. It's still made available to the Dark Web for the anonymity of readers. We do not know where the reader comes from. And the reader typically does not know where the administrator is.

But aren't DarkWeb / TOR / Onion servers dangerous?

Hah, Hahahha. HAHAHAHAHAH! Boy. Understatement of the year right there! But then again, so is the rest of the internet depending on where you go! So if your looking for fear it will find you!

The cost of absolute freedom is that everyone is free to do whatever they wish. That includes doing some terrible illegal shit. Listening to some of the chat rooms linked out there talk about people saying that you have to send them CP (child pornography) to prove you are not the cops which in itself is a terrific way of getting the cops after you for simply getting it onto your computer! Couple this with slave trafficking, drug dealing, and assassination services and it tends to earn its name as the "Dark-Web." 

But in almost a poetic sense. You have to think of the Dark Web a lot like downtown Manhattan. That in Manhattan there's a handful of very vocal dirtbags and scammers. But the rest of the city is just people that are going about their business and want to be left the hell alone. But very much like Manhattan that even though there are a lot of dirtbags and scammers. It's also almost its charm. It's like putting out a welcome mat that says "Enter at your own risk." If you think you have what it takes, then proceed.

Precautions are usually made by people that decide to play with Tor/Onion services. They would usually have a laptop independent of their main computer. It will NOT be loaded with Microsoft Windows and usually a flavor of Linux like Kali. To top everything off they would also have some sort of VPN service going just as another layer of protection to obfuscate the entry point of our Tor request. With all of this in mind, it's important to reset your Tor Browser every 30 minutes or so. That way you're coming from different relays all of the time.

Block that Javascript!

At the very least the Tor web client since it's based on the Firefox builds comes with NoScript by default. Which when configured correctly can stop people from getting evil with scripting on their websites.

We went into our default settings and set the default for every website to be exactly like the untrusted status. This should keep the fuckery down to a minimum. Also, for those wondering about this website. Don't worry! The site is equipped with fallback measures for those that restrict scripting. You should still be able to download videos and content find without any of the Javascripting that naturally comes within a CMS like ours.

Other web clients that support TOR are out of the box.

Currently there is only one browser (That we know of) which supports Onion browsing right out the box. Which is the brave browser. Although we're not too keen on their 'browse and earn crypto' thing. It's at least a way of browsing onion networks within a chrome-like environment. In which we support AVIF images over Onion which is kind of sweet.

 

Interesting websites to look at.

All and all, if you are aware of the dangers of it all there are actually a few sites that are really great at getting you started finding sites that aren't total shit-bag evil! Many of these sites we've used ourselves and often go to. So consider it this blogger's lowly link page.

Image	Site Name	Description	Tor-Address
	CPNK	Seapuink is a website that exists on Lainchan as well and is another furry blogger that self-hosts as well.	http://seapunkltrahptcvv45lyws754uk64l3ywssuzil2ghk77k276dvtvqd.onion/
	The Dark Web Pug	Solid list of great links. They added me so we're adding right back! And how can you go wrong taking web-links from a Pug huh?!? You can't! Go Visit them!	http://jgwe5cjqdbyvudjqskaajbfibfewew4pndx52dye7ug3mt3jimmktkid.onion
	The Hidden Corner	The Hidden Corner is a blogger and also has a decent collection of books onhand as well.	http://hidcorktriskdf6rz7xsgobe77a6mekyfjmc3byg5cpwvge32i5iqvad.onion/
	The hidden Irony.	A more political blog about the EU . Since they linked to me it's only fair we return the favor!	http://absjpxsvyn5cboihzenbyfngq224rpvtfgnehwwvkhjm3gmk6oruhoad.onion/blog/
	The Hidden Wiki	This is probably the homepage of the DarkWeb in general and the most frequented area of links that people go to and use. It takes a while to get your link published there to be patient.	http://zqktlwiuavvvqqt4ybvgvi7tyo4hjl5xgfuvpdf6otjiycgwqbym2qad.onion
	Jakes Thoughts	A rather awesome blog. certainly worth checking out. Dig the Cheeseburger mouse graphics.	http://y5wnzw4e6i7srm2gqadlow5anhlaj5avdkzbwzbmrxwkygxdp7ffieqd.onion/
	Lets Decentralize	This is one of the Tor sites that we look up to in reguards to alternative networks. Although the site owner has many other websites beyond this one. Let's Decentralize focuses on finding new (and updating) places on the other side of the web.	http://xanthexikes7btjqlkakrxjf546rze2n4ftnqzth6qk52jdgrf6jwpqd.onion
	Lus en tenebris	Similar to PK33 in respects that they come from the Lainchan webring AND they are a tor-only kind of website. Heavy on tech and hacking and wishes to remain anonymous. respect.	http://oh3curby3abfknsydatt2qc3vgxggfjxd6infybwvlbgaezjhvhzqhad.onion/
	TorLinks	Similar to the Hidden Wiki in terms that it is human edited.	http://torlinksge6enmcyyuxjpjkoouw4oorgdgeo7ftnq3zodj7g2zxi3kyd.onion/
	Onion Link Directory	The Screenshots of the sites are a nice touch on a per-catagory level.	http://oniondirsl37g3uwoesuwvg6nufnsnibpfo7x7ukbydtdsgdpanjxjqd.onion/
	PK33	This is one of the few sites on the Lain WebRings that does NOT have a clearnet. As they have a listing of all Lain sites it wouldn't be fair for us to leave them out so here they are.	http://pk33wwwi6liefvo2ziz3q5enzxxe35jrtnsr44ehtld5rywyeppqunad.onion/
	Size of Cats	Lainchan Onion - A sizable general blog about many topics and very much worth checking out!	http://sizeofaex6zgovemvemn2g3jfmgujievmxxxbcgnbrnmgcjcjpiiprqd.onion/
	underDir	A directory of sites people have submitted and have been verified and cataloged. It's Erie Similar to DMOZ. It gets a little messy however and there's still a lot of V2 links the admins need to clean up.	http://underdiriled6lvdfgiw4e5urfofuslnz7ewictzf76h4qb73fxbsxad.onion/

We also wanted to bring up possibly the best site that's on the "Real Net" which is this place.

 

AHMIA

Although their search engine gets a little crazy at times with indexing the Dark-Net this site is possibly one of the best ones out there. Because data was meant to be searched and people deserve privacy while searching and accessing sites.

Beyond that; When you start diving into the loosely generated structure of Tor it's as if Google/Bing/Yahoo didn't really exist. Because it can't arbitrarily send a bunch of bots across the entire network to brute-force every server in existence. Especially with the new V3 addressing convention which is what we're using.

The final thoughts.

'If evolution is outlawed only outlaws will evolve. - Jello Biafra

We choose to open a Tor address because even though it's a little tin-foil-hat of us to say but we're honestly afraid that the majority of the internet within our country is controlled by a single organization. Which that company is "Google." Frankly, no one deserves that level of control over what we say or do. Plenty of activists within this country have gone protesting for far less then what Google has done here.

We've gone on rants about how much of a complete shit-show YouTube has become and Twitch as well! Because both are following the guise of corporate censorship at the request of advertisers. They make more money if the internet is homogenized like a fucking Disney after-school special. All it takes to really flip the (Regular/Hah I can't believe we're even saying that) internet on its side is simply deploy the same practices that they use for YouTube and enforce it onto Google Search. How would Google Search look then?

Let's go down that rabbit hole of a scenario:

• Too many naughty words on your website? We hope you like your site buried!
• Want to speak up about politically sensitive issues? Enjoy your blacklist like a regular porn server!
• If one of our many AI bots can't easily traverse your site we'll send one of our exploited mentally unstable activities er, agents to go and check your site to ensure that it's advertiser-friendly. On second thought, to hell with that, we'll just have the AI blindly marking your site as evil banishing you off of the internet from anyone looking up anything and claim ignorance if you try to contest it.
• Want to talk about world news on your site and you aren't one of our Media-Bro friends? Enjoy your blacklist!
• Talk show hosts, CNN, and MSNBC are excused from this level of harsh treatment and are elevated on a non-competitive platform because.. Reasons. We're not naming talk show hosts here because frankly, they're not even worth the free advertisement here.

If we put up a Tor address and none of this happens. Well, we shall at least take comfort in the fact that we're wrong, and then we could all have a good laugh at our fashionable tin-foil-hats we DIY'ed ourselves! Seriously! They are super nice! We hope to make them into Top Hats.

Final thoughts.

Frankly, the Tor network technology is something that should've come out a long time ago. If it came out early enough it might have even slowed down the greed of ad-revenue-based sites from practically ruining the net like a plague of locusts. But we're glad it's here now.

This cannot be stressed enough that as a user of the net that you are responsible for your own data. And the moment you give someone else that data and information then you are bitched. This is why we're not going to hold your hand. If you continue to be their "consumer" then you are nothing but a slave to the people who hold that data and will continue to be told how to think/live/act. Evolve or don't. The choice is yours.

Take care out there keyboard cowboys and until next time,

Server protect you.

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