Onion services are like the covert corners of the internet that are accessible only through the Tor network and Tor Browser. They are virtual safe havens that permit servers and websites to function anonymously while safeguarding the personal information of both site owners and visitors. Accessing these onion services requires the Tor Browser. It encrypts your data and routes it over the Tor network to keep your online activities private, much to a secret handshake. A personal online invisibility cloak can be created using onion services and the Tor browser.
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What are Onion Services?
Websites maintained within the Tor network and configured to only allow incoming connections via Tor are know as onion services. The servers that host onion services are not directly reachable from the general internet and their IP addresses are kept a secret. Instead of more conventional domain names like.com or.org, onion services utilise ones that end in .onion. These addresses contain 16 characters made up of random letters and digits and are produced algorithmically using cryptographic keys.
Features of Onion Services
- Onion services are only available through the Tor Browser, boosting user privacy and anonymity. These onion sites are inaccessible to standard web browsers.
- The onion services’ IP addresses are concealed, shielding the identity and location of the server operator from prying eyes.
- Traffic between Tor browsers and onion services is encrypted and transmitted across the Tor network, offering an additional degree of protection and anonymity.
Benefits of Onion Services
- Hosting an anonymous website Onion services defend the right to free speech by enabling website owners to host their sites anonymously without disclosing their physical location.
- The anonymity provided by onion services is very beneficial for whistleblowing and privacy platforms that need tight privacy protection, such as chat services or websites for whistleblowing.
- Onion services are guaranteed privacy and freedom from monitoring thanks to the encryption, which lets them browse and communicate without restriction.
How .onion Addresses Work ?
Onion addresses work very differently from normal domain names that work on public DNS record
- A hidden service generates a pair of private and public keys to prove its identity. In contrast to the public key, which is used to identify the service, the private key is kept secret.
- The service selects specific Tor nodes, known as introduction points, to act as intermediaries. These entry points make it easier for clients to connect with the concealed service.
- The information, including its public key and a list of introduction points, is assembled into a hidden service descriptor document.
- The descriptor is then posted to a DHT system within the Tor network, making it publicly available. The Distributed Hash Table (DHT) is a decentralised storage system in which anyone can access the descriptor.
- Through a different communication channel, clients acquire the hidden service’s. Onion address, which is derived from its public key. This address is derived from the public key of the service and is often provided via an external, non-Tor route.
- The DHT Table is used to retrieve the descriptor when a client requests a connection to a hidden service. This description contains all necessary details, including the public key and introductory points.
- To prove the client’s reliability, a rendezvous location is established with a number of inspections.
- The client provides a “one-time secret” key to the introduction points, and the hidden service connects to the chosen rendezvous point and submits the one-time secret. The operation is successful if the one-time secret keys match.
This method allows the user to connect to the service while remaining completely anonymous to both the user and the service. Neither party’s IP addresses nor physical locations are divulged throughout the transaction.
How to Use?
Onion services can be accessed through the following steps:
Step 1: Begin by downloading and installing the Tor Browser, available for free. Download and Install the Tor Browser
Step 3: Obtain the .onion Address: The .onion address for the many websites can be found on hidden wiki .