If I go onto the dark web using TOR, is it advisable to use a VPN?  Also, if I download something directly onto my flash disk from the dark web, is there a footprint left on my computer?  Thanks, Jo

If I go onto the dark web using TOR, is it advisable to use a VPN?  Also, if I download something directly onto my flash disk from the dark web, is there a footprint left on my computer?  Thanks, Jo

TOR and a VPN are two different way to access the net. The VPN server which you pay for anonimity will know your internet traffic and IP ;
if you are using TOR you Internet Provider will not be able to see neither the actual IP you are using nor the traffic.
TOR is slower.
for the second question one should know what Operating System you are using...in any case try downloading on your flash disk something from a regular site and then check your cache folder or better in Firefox preferences make sure that History is never remembered...maybe is enough...
Sam

[Nero]

If I go onto the dark web using TOR, is it advisable to use a VPN?  Also, if I download something directly onto my flash disk from the dark web, is there a footprint left on my computer?  Thanks, Jo

It depends on the VPN - some play nice with TOR, some not so nice.  Ideally, using a VPN will completely mask your use of the darkweb, assuming that your VPN provider doesn't keep logs.    So yes, using a VPN could completely hide your use of the darkweb/TOR.  Even though your internet service provider cannot see what you access while using TOR, it is possible that they can detect that you are using TOR.  Although using TOR is not illegal, it could be seen as suspicious.  A VPN that works correctly with TOR will hide your connection to TOR because that connection will be encrypted.  Thus, no one will no you are using TOR.

But don't do it on your work computer, no matter how careful you think you are!

In theory nothing should be left on your computer if you save directly to a flash drive, but the possibility of carelessness or mistakes makes it risky.

[Nero]

If I go onto the dark web using TOR, is it advisable to use a VPN?  Also, if I download something directly onto my flash disk from the dark web, is there a footprint left on my computer?  Thanks, Jo

TOR and a VPN are two different way to access the net. The VPN server which you pay for anonimity will know your internet traffic and IP ;
if you are using TOR you Internet Provider will not be able to see neither the actual IP you are using nor the traffic.
TOR is slower.

Your Internet Provider  can still detect that you are using TOR - they just can't see what you are accessing on TOR.   Jo needs to use TOR to access the darkweb, but wants more security.  A VPN will hide your internet access from your Internet Provider.  Of course the VPN can still detect your IP address and what TOR node you are entering the darkweb on - although they can't see what you are accessing - so it is imperative to get a VPN that does not keep logs.  In other words, avoid VPNs located in countries that demand that such logs are kept.  Like the UK, for example.

Hi Guys, many thanks for the replies & they all make for interesting reading.  My VPN is out of Panama & assures new users that logs are not kept. (Key selling point & one of the reasons I chose this VPN).  I use Windows & office & they are updated regularly, by Bill. My browser of choice is Firefox, I also try to use private window which I know only hides history!

As far as my laptop is concerned, I own it & it is never given over to others to use & yes I use it often for work.  I'm a constant traveler & my laptop is with me most of the time & is never shared.  I do have a concern with my traveling, I fly often &  sometimes wonder if this is safe regarding, airport security checks?  My laptop is with me always, as hand luggage, but I wonder if they asked me to login, how much of a detailed check they would do?  I never travel with my flash disks so that alleviates some of my concerns.

Now I know what most of you are thinking now!  But no, I am not an international smuggler of various commodities, the pics are pretty tame & come from sites on 'WWW' all of which assure me the models are over 18, (Mmmm me thinks)?  Having said this, I will be using some pics to complement story ideas I'm working on.   Am I being overly paranoid... Jo


PS: I haven't yet got around to using the various Cloud services, some of which are provided free!  Is this safe to store things like, story texts & pics?

You could consider encrypting your stories. I don't know if its possible to encrypt a picture but its worth looing into.

[littlebluebird]

the pics are pretty tame & come from sites on 'WWW' all of which assure me the models are over 18, (Mmmm me thinks)?  Having said this, I will be using some pics to complement story ideas I'm working on.   Am I being overly paranoid... Jo

Why in the world are you using Tor, and a VPN, to access content that is both completely legal, and easily accessible, on the clear net? Is there something I'm missing here? Regarding travelling, from what I gathered from some quick research, it seems that a search request typically only ever happens upon entering the country and is incredibly rare, to the point of one year's statistics being as likely as 'less than one-hundreth of 1%' of all international flyers.

If you're that paranoid about it, not that the content you're talking about is illegal anyway, then just create an encrypted ghost partition on your HDD. These are highly encrypted, password-protected partitions (so long as you research regarding the strength of passcodes of phrases) and you can make them invisible. There's virtually no chance a TSA/CBP agent would ever find them.

But again, this all seems ludicrously overkill and you're overreacting.

Hi Littlebluebird,

Thanks for your input & I'll research your suggestion of an encrypted ghost partition.  As far as the possibilities of stop & search go, the places I travel to are mostly countries not that popular with tourists & sometimes very strict as far as any kind of pornography goes, be it soft or otherwise.  Often I'm not on tourist visa's, but short term business visa's, so I often get stopped and quizzed.  Lately their seems to be an increase in this sort of thing, to find out more of the purpose of your visit and it's more the accidentally finding of porn, I worry about.  As I said in previous post, I never carry flash drives with me on trips.

Some of the stories I am archiving are very explicit and to add to the readers enjoyment, I have built up quite a selection of pics, to compliment the stories.  Eventually, I plan some sort of website for like-minded individuals, but that is still very much in the planning stage.  Once again, thanks for all the comments and should you feel like adding to this, please feel free, as I enjoy reading your posts!   Jo 

[Nero]

As it's your own computer that you are using, then I will mostly retract what I said about not using a "work computer" for porn, because the issues I refer are less of a risk on a computer you own yourself.

As for bringing the computer to another country -  there's a (practical) limit to what kind of a search can be conducted at an airport screening.  Generally speaking, they are only going to catch the low hanging fruit, because they don't have the time/resources to do proper forensic analysis of your hard drive.   Even so, if you are that concerned, or the countries involved are that dangerous, then you might want to consider getting another computer for your "non-work activities", and leaving that at home when you travel.

If the penalties are really severe - then you have to weigh the low risk against the severity of the penalty.  You probably won't get caught, but what if you do get caught, and you can't get proper legal assistance (or it's not even relevant).  I guess what are looking for is peace of mind, and if you are getting quizzed every time you go to one of these countries, then you'd surely be happier if you didn't have to worry about busted, even though the chance might be tiny!

Many thanks Nero,

Yes I have been thinking along the lines of a second laptop, at some point in the future.  I do have a three year old Lenovo laptop, but it has a virus on it at the moment which I need to clear.  It crossed my mind that maybe if I wiped the hard drive & installed Linux, which I know little about, but I've heard is very secure against hacking.  Possibly, this could be the way to go for my future ventures, who knows?

As I said in the first post, I am about to explore the dark web a little, but I am worried about viruses or ransomware, my VPN is always on & I have the latest version of Win10 defender.  I used to have a paid version of Malwarebytes, but I gave it up.  Maybe I'll install their free version as an extra precaution, what do you folks out there think?  Thanks, Jo   

Hi,

There are a couple of points in the past string of posts that have not been answered yet? 

Firstly:  Are the various Cloud services, some of which are provided free, safe & secure from prying eyes?  I'm thinking of pics I'm taking of various girls on my travels & pics I've gotten off of other sites on the web, my stories are of a non-consensual style for future postings.  The pics will be used to help fuel readers imagination & generally compliment my stories.  Also, I will use to promote a future venture, which I'm thinking of involving forums & possible website, but still very much in the plotting stages!

Secondly: Linux, is this a more secure OS for me to use?  Maybe partition part of my drive which is 1TB & setup Linux on that, or as I said before, set up on my old laptop & use separately?  My VPN is a paid service, & I am assured no backup logs are kept.  I also plan using TOR as another layer!  Thanks Jo, any suggestions welcomed...

PS: When I take pics I download direct to my flashdrive, plugged to my laptop, no footprint left on my laptop!  Is that correct!   Thanks again....

[Nero]

Some browsers store thumbnails of the images on sites that you've browsed, unless you're in incognito or private mode.  If you are browsing safely and downloading directly to your flashdrive, then no other trace should remain.

Yes, Linux is more secure than other operating systems.    The safest possible option would be to either boot Linux from a flashdrive - or  run a virtual Linux OS using VM software.  That way you don't have to do anything to your existing Windows setup or hard drive partitions. Your browser and VPN/TOR could be run from inside the virtual Linux OS and everything in that OS can be wiped once you are done.   Otherwise yes, you could just partition part of your drive and dual boot to either Windows or Linux.

I do not recommend storing "sensitive" pics on Cloud services.

Many thanks once again Nero,

You've now perked my interest in VM software, I've done a very quick bit of research & found,  'VirtualBox' which is free!  They reckon it's pretty easy to setup and easy for an amateur to use.  So I will do some more research and look to set it up with Linux.  They say it can slow things down a bit, so I guess using TOR & VPN with  VM software would make for a slow browse?  It also mentioned that it is a lot more secure for things like virus & malicious software, because it sandboxes anything you download & cannot infect your normal hard dive.  I should imagine this will give you more protection when browsing the dark web?  Your thoughts on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks for the advice about, Cloud services & I'll refrain from using the service for anything risque.

One other point to make.  Judging by the amount of people reading this thread, there must be an awful lot of people intrigued with the topic of TOR, VPN & darkweb.  So, if anybody would like to add there experiences, good or bad & any advice on this, I'm sure it will be well received by all Ravishu members reading this post!... Jo     

[Grumpy]

Do not download anything off of the onion network unless you have dozens of reliable sources telling you it's safe. There is really only one reason to ever put something up for download on the onion network, and that is because its illegal (be it leaked government documents, cp or credit card numbers, they're all illegal).

And even if things are downloaded from the clearnet, having links to it from the onion network is also a really big red flag - so unless links to it exist on the clearnet, too, I wouldn't.

I am a big believer in using TOR to browse the regular net, though, so if that's a possibility, you should definitely do it.

As for using VPN, is basically a waste of time if you are using TOR. Using a VPN means you are connecting to the internet through another computer (at its core) and usually transmitting the data in encrypted form back to your computer. This means that your ISP cannot see what you are browsing, or that you even are browsing. The VPN can, though. TOR is essentially a series of VPNs connected together in a format that makes it impossible to track where, how, and what data is being transferred between them to anyone outside the sender and receiver (and even they can't tell where exactly that data is going to end up). Your ISP can see that you are using TOR, but it cannot see any of the data you send or receive (because just like with the VPN, the data is encrypted). By using a VPN together with TOR you are just creating another node in the system, not really making it any more secure (but usually making it a great deal slower).

[AnimalKing]

TOR is compromised. They're arresting users almost every day. The architecture of the internet was designed for connectivity and not privacy. Until the internet is re-designed, nobody is anonymous - ever.

I don't know the policy for posting outside links so just do a search for "Jolly Rogers Security Guide For Beginners".