Help How can I tell if my VPN is on?

[Ineedthis]

I've been trying to access the dark web and paid for Nordvpn but don't know if it's on or not. I also didn't pay for the dedicated IP, is that a problem?

 

[ipmanwc0]

Google what's my ip

 

[Ineedthis]

Google what's my ip

So it hides my up even if I didn't pay for the extra, right?

 

[ipmanwc0]

So it hides my up even if I didn't pay for the extra, right?

yes. although if you're using tor you should probably turn your vpn off since only experienced users should use a vpn concurrently

 

[Ineedthis]

yes. although if you're using tor you should probably turn your vpn off since only experienced users should use a vpn concurrently

So I don't need a VPN for tor then?

 

[ipmanwc0]

So I don't need a VPN for tor then?

You don't

 

[Ineedthis]

You don't

The people on the dark market thread said I do, who do I believe I'm so confused

 

[ipmanwc0]

The people on the dark market thread said I do, who do I believe I'm so confused

"Generally speaking, we don't recommend using a VPN with Tor unless you're an advanced user who knows how to configure both in a way that doesn't compromise your privacy."

TorPlusVPN · Wiki · Legacy / Trac · GitLab

Welcome to The Tor Project's Gitlab

gitlab.torproject.org

 

[wasted__life__23]

https://www.expressvpn.com/vpn-service/tor-vpn How to combine

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/vpn/guides/best-vpns-tor/ The best VPN's to use with TOR

https://mullvad.net/en Mullvad has a VPN built into the browser built in collaboration with TOR (but not using TOR).

I hope that helps!

 

[Ineedthis]

Thanks, I won't be needing any of it anymore tho, I've changed my mind on how I'm gonna go out

 

[HighFlight]

@Ineedthis - The dark web is like visiting a major city and understanding it will make life easier and safer for you. Like most cities, there are really nice areas to stroll and take in the sites, and other areas to avoid. K owledge is key.

You will need to have a VPN if you are planning on accessing the dark web, and NordVPN is a decent choice for beginners. It will still hide your actual IP address even if you didn't pay for a dedicated IP.

When you install and connect the VPN, you should be able to Google "What's my IP" and it will return an IP address. That is an IP associated with the NordVPN service provider you're connecting to. Before attempting to connect to the dark web, try this search with and without the VPN enabled. You should get two different addresses. If so, you know it's working.

FYI - The additional cost for a dedicated IP is for people who want to host content through the VPN, and this is a much more advanced topic.

The Tor browser will come with a built-in VPN, and it will ask you if you want to use it. Use NordVPN instead - don't use both.

I would also recommend that you connect the VPN and use Tor as a normal browser while you get the hang of using both. Then start looking into the dark web - slowly and carefully at first. You'd be surprised how many bad actors there are in the world.

Also, make sure your anti-virus is up to date.

@ipmanwc0 - great information, but we need to find a way to help people who are "tech dependent", not "tech savvy". I'm happy to collaborate with you to make/update a Tor/dark web beginner's guide. If interested, PM me...

@Ineedthis - reply or PM me if you have questions.

I wish you all the best in your pursues into the unknown. Stay safe!

Thanks, I won't be needing any of it anymore tho, I've changed my mind on how I'm gonna go out

Saw this too late, so you got my long-winded response. Maybe the information in this thread will help someone else.

 

[doneforlife]

@Ineedthis - The dark web is like visiting a major city and understanding it will make life easier and safer for you. Like most cities, there are really nice areas to stroll and take in the sites, and other areas to avoid. K owledge is key.

You will need to have a VPN if you are planning on accessing the dark web, and NordVPN is a decent choice for beginners. It will still hide your actual IP address even if you didn't pay for a dedicated IP.

When you install and connect the VPN, you should be able to Google "What's my IP" and it will return an IP address. That is an IP associated with the NordVPN service provider you're connecting to. Before attempting to connect to the dark web, try this search with and without the VPN enabled. You should get two different addresses. If so, you know it's working.

FYI - The additional cost for a dedicated IP is for people who want to host content through the VPN, and this is a much more advanced topic.

The Tor browser will come with a built-in VPN, and it will ask you if you want to use it. Use NordVPN instead - don't use both.

I would also recommend that you connect the VPN and use Tor as a normal browser while you get the hang of using both. Then start looking into the dark web - slowly and carefully at first. You'd be surprised how many bad actors there are in the world.

Also, make sure your anti-virus is up to date.

@ipmanwc0 - great information, but we need to find a way to help people who are "tech dependent", not "tech savvy". I'm happy to collaborate with you to make/update a Tor/dark web beginner's guide. If interested, PM me...

@Ineedthis - reply or PM me if you have questions.

I wish you all the best in your pursues into the unknown. Stay safe!

Saw this too late, so you got my long-winded response. Maybe the information in this thread will help someone else.

Thanks. For starters who are not tech savvy , where do we begin ? What exactly is dark web. Will it help us in any way. I don't know much about VPN either. I am aware that it hides your device ip.

 

[wasted__life__23]

Thanks, I won't be needing any of it anymore tho, I've changed my mind on how I'm gonna go out

You should still visit this site with a VPN, just for privacy.

 

[HighFlight]

@doneforlife - you've asked a lot of questions that unfortunately don't have quick answers.

First, "tech dependent" vs "tech savvy". Everyone I know or seen, or heard about are pretty much tied to their phones or computers scrolling social media, posting TicToks or Reddits. So much of their lives are on the phone or in the cloud, but have no idea how the thing operates. These are the Tech Dependent people. This is not a problem in day-to-day use, but becomes a nightmare when ever they want to do something more advanced or run into a problem.

The Tech Savvy crowd simply is more familiar and comfortable with the technology, and have the ability to make use of more advanced features on their devices. IMHO, this comes from a mindset of wanting to learn more about the technology and how it works - no formal schooling need unless that a career goal.

The dark web is a little more complicated. But to put it simply, envision an iceberg floating in the ocean. You can only see the very top of it, maybe 10%. This would represent the Internet everybody is used to. Amazon, Google, X, etc operate within this space. And this is the area that Google's search engine has cataloged.

The dark web represents the rest of that iceberg. It's not cataloged for you, no good search engines. Think of it as a more shady part of the city. If you know how, you can buy and sell pretty much anything. Accessing the dark web is not particularly difficult, but can be dangerous if certain protections aren't in place.

One of those protections include using a VPN or Virtual Private Network. This is kind of like using a PO Box instead of your home address. It hides your actual address/location, and displays to the world the address of your VPN provided, which could even be in another country.

The VPN encrypts the data to and from your computer through a virtual tunnel directly to the VPN provider. End result is that no one along that route knows anything about the request you just made, or can it be traced back to you.

If we try to access the dark web without a VPN, or a special browser, then our friends in big tech (Google, Verizon, Apple Spectrum, and many, many others) get to see what we're doing and they collect that data.

Well that's enough for today... I hope this was helpful.

p.s. To my Tech Savvy and beyond friends, don't be too hard on me for trying to keep this simple and understandable at the expense of some of the finer details. But feel free to correct if I misstated anything.

 

[sensenmann]

IP/DNS Detect

What is your IP, what is your DNS, check your torrent IP, what informations you send to websites.

ipleak.net

If you don't see your ISP IP anywhere, you are good, also make sure you have an kill-switch.

 

[doneforlife]

@doneforlife - you've asked a lot of questions that unfortunately don't have quick answers.

First, "tech dependent" vs "tech savvy". Everyone I know or seen, or heard about are pretty much tied to their phones or computers scrolling social media, posting TicToks or Reddits. So much of their lives are on the phone or in the cloud, but have no idea how the thing operates. These are the Tech Dependent people. This is not a problem in day-to-day use, but becomes a nightmare when ever they want to do something more advanced or run into a problem.

The Tech Savvy crowd simply is more familiar and comfortable with the technology, and have the ability to make use of more advanced features on their devices. IMHO, this comes from a mindset of wanting to learn more about the technology and how it works - no formal schooling need unless that a career goal.

The dark web is a little more complicated. But to put it simply, envision an iceberg floating in the ocean. You can only see the very top of it, maybe 10%. This would represent the Internet everybody is used to. Amazon, Google, X, etc operate within this space. And this is the area that Google's search engine has cataloged.

The dark web represents the rest of that iceberg. It's not cataloged for you, no good search engines. Think of it as a more shady part of the city. If you know how, you can buy and sell pretty much anything. Accessing the dark web is not particularly difficult, but can be dangerous if certain protections aren't in place.

One of those protections include using a VPN or Virtual Private Network. This is kind of like using a PO Box instead of your home address. It hides your actual address/location, and displays to the world the address of your VPN provided, which could even be in another country.

The VPN encrypts the data to and from your computer through a virtual tunnel directly to the VPN provider. End result is that no one along that route knows anything about the request you just made, or can it be traced back to you.

If we try to access the dark web without a VPN, or a special browser, then our friends in big tech (Google, Verizon, Apple Spectrum, and many, many others) get to see what we're doing and they collect that data.

Well that's enough for today... I hope this was helpful.

p.s. To my Tech Savvy and beyond friends, don't be too hard on me for trying to keep this simple and understandable at the expense of some of the finer details. But feel free to correct if I misstated anything.

Thanks a lot. That was very helpful. So I should use a VPN , if I don't want anyone to know that I am visiting this site ? Also tor seems to be a browser. Does it mean tor browser provides the features that VPN provides ? If so , can I use tor to visit this site instead of normal browsers?

Also will I be in any kind of trouble for visiting this site ? I was hoping the website would protect our privacy ..

Also , this site comes up in my Google search when I search about suicide. It means Google has catalogued it. Based on the society's view on CTB , this website itself should be part of dark web or am I wrong ? Sorry for being a bit inquisitive .

 

[HighFlight]

@doneforlife - I need to clear up some misinformation I gave you yesterday and be more accurate. First, the Tor browser does not come with built-in VPN. I must have confused it with another browser, or old age has me completely confused on where I got that. But no, tor does not include a VPN

A second, VPN is not mandatory when using Tor, although when properly setup it does provide better overall security. But if your VPN provider is not really secure, it can actually be less secure. The link @ipmanwc0 sent does include more technical details, but the short answer is that some commercial VPN providers will keep logs, which could be used to track back to you.

To answer what seems to be your bigger concern is whether you can access this site legally and without 3rd parties knowing. The legal part of the question depends on where in the world you are located. I'm in the US, and for now, First Amendment rights prevent this site from being illegal. However, there are countries that make the information on this site, and accessing this site illegal. You need to check your local laws. (Or PM me your country , and I'll research your laws)

As this site is not engaged in illegal activity - no terrorists, drug runners, arms dealers, etc - there's no need for it to be hidden in the dark web. Although I've been curious if there is a dark site .onion address for SaSu. (idk)

But if you want to be anonymous, then you need to mask your activity. If you're using a major browser from one of the big companies, you can be sure they're tracking you. Additionally, you're ISP is probably tracking to. They do this under the guise of providing you the service of focused ads, and is how they make their money.

So you can use a browser such as Tor, but their are others that claim to be security focused. Tor traffic will be routed through multiple private servers, and your traffic is split up. This effectively makes it very difficult to track. Tor doesn't send any personal or location information.

VPN is another path for remaining anonymous, but unlike Tor there are some catches that may cause you to accidently provide personal or location information. If you use Edge or Chrome (or other major browsers), they can send an identifier for your device. This can be used to compare to other entries and map the request back to you. Additionally, some of the VPN companies keep traffic logs. NordVPN claims they don't log traffic, but we're just trusting them.

Using Tor and VPN together closes the most number of the security holes provided you trust your VPN provider.

In short, depending on your location, your options are:

1) Connect with Tor alone. Your ISP will know you're connected to the tor network, but won't see your specific traffic.

2) Connect with VPN and a commercial browser in Private mode. Your ISP will see encrypted traffic, but won't know what sites your are visiting. Using private mode is supposed to prevent the browser from send or capturing traffic that a site could use to identify. This all depends on your trust level with both the VPN provider and browser maker.

3) Connect with Tor through VPN. You can connect to the VPN first, then open and connect with Tor. Again, this assumes you trust your VPN provider.

My apologies this is so long, but it's a complex, technical subject. Wishing you all the best.

 

[doneforlife]

Thanks. I was able to absorb few things. I will check my country laws. Few people here claimed to have got wellness check from police. So I got worried as to how did it happen.