To the newcomer,
Welcome to the darknet.
I’m going to start this letter backwards, from the end forward.
You’ve found a marketplace.
At some point in time this marketplace will either:
• exit scam
• exit with abrupt notice
• vanish/disappear mysteriously
• be seized by law enforcement
• be banned by Dread for unsafe tactics
Expect this.
The darknet is ephemeral.
Everything is always in a state of flux.
Your favorite vendor may disappear.
Stock may run out when you need it most.
Markets go offline.
I am writing this to prepare you for the end because, in the beginning, you may not anticipate any of this.
Expect that every day will bring something new (and unexpected) to the darknet.
Here is a particular mindset that will help you:
Work on a trustless basis.
This does not mean do not enjoy your time. It means there are certain things that you must do and certain things that you cannot do.
Why? To protect your safety and your real-world identity.
1) Generate a new pair of PGP keys for each marketplace you use. Never re-use the keys elsewhere.
2) Do not use the same or similar username on different marketplaces.
3) Do not use the same password at other marketplaces.
4) Do not use outside sources to find links to marketplaces.
5) You must learn how to encrypt your sensitive information.
6) You must never rely on the marketplace to encrypt your sensitive information.
7) You must learn how to verify marketplace links.
8) You must never rely on Clearnet sources for marketplace links.
9) Every marketplace ends in .onion
10) You should get in the habit of importing their PGP key by going to .onion/pgp.txt
11) You should get in the habit of finding their list of mirrors or a statement from their admin at .onion/mirrors.txt
12) You should get in the habit of checking their canary to see if it has been updated by the marketplace admin at .onion/canary.txt
13) Learn how to blend in: this is your countermeasure.
The canary is a statement that exercises the First Amendment insofar that law enforcement cannot force the marketplace admin to lie. The canary should have only a brief statement by the marketplace admin stating that he is free and on his own accord and it must be dated and signed so that you can verify its authenticity by way of PGP.
Your only protection out there is PGP. You have to become familiar with how to encrypt and decrypt messages and—especially—how to verify links. This will all be done with PGP.
You are used to the safety of the world wide web but the darknet has no safety net. Those same rules of engagement don’t apply here. What matters is how familiar and adapted you become to instinctively encrypting your messages and verifying links.
The Dark Net Buyers Bible /d/DNMBible will teach you how to verify links. Practice it. Do not assume anything down here. Do not assume that the marketplace you have reached is the right one or that the vendor will ship the item, or be there when you are ready to buy.
Do not depend on outside sources: bookmark your links. Bookmarks them in KeePassXC.
Depend on KeePassXC for storing your many passwords, your wallet seeds, the mnemonic secret phrase, your wall pin codes, your passphrases. Get in the habit of saving everything in KeePassXC. Do not be lazy about this. It will come back to haunt you if you become careless and lazy.
We are still at the end; so now you are instilled with confidence and you are careless and lazy and this is what will inevitably lead to mistakes.
Mistakes will cost you grossly in the darknet. All you need is one. One mistake. One single mistake. And who knows what it’s going to cost you but you don't ever want to experience the consequences.
The point is to not leave behind a single dot. And one more dot. And another dot. And half a dot. And a partial dot. Because all of these string together and they either lead back to you, trace around you, point to you, or get drawn out to encounter you in the real world.
That’s why you don’t leave behind anything important.
Because everything will at some point disappear and take with it a piece of you. But you want to anticipate that to stay safe and secure.
The money you had in your marketplace wallet will be taken.
The PGP Key you had used in the marketplace will disappear with it.
The username you had will go along with the marketplace when it parts from the darknet.
The password you used will be hashed and gone.
Be prepared to let these things go and walk away as if you are walking away from a burning building.
Do not trust—blindly.
Do not use outside links; they will mislead you at some point.
Become habitual with good traits: verify your links, check canaries.
Do not blindly trust the crowd.
Do not blindly trust the forums.
Do not blindly trust your intuition.
Place all of your trust in building a foundation of Operational Security. /d/OpSec
Learn before giving in to temptation.
Slow down before making purchases.
Be cautious. There are predators and there are victims here and there are wounded people but there is good here too.
If you want to stay safe place Operational Security first.
Don’t make yourself an easy target.
Go the extra mile: make your passwords complex, use two-factor authentication.
Do not ever use Bitcoin; only use Monero. Become trace-less, not traceable.
Your goal is to blend in. Remember that. You do not want to leave fingerprints behind.
Assess your risks, consider your decisions before making them, do your research.
Learn how to verify the digital signature of the software you download.
Forget everything about “how it worked” on the world wide web. Start anew. Give this place the respect of the unknown and unfamiliar.
Do not ever spend an amount that you cannot afford to lose.
Do not fall into the temptation of doing direct deals with people you don’t know.
Do not use any App to transmit any information you wouldn’t want to be read in court.
Do not believe that App developers have your best interest at heart.
Do not use your cell phone to conduct illegal activities.
You do not know when something will go wrong until it does and then there will be very little you can do about it.
Spend a lot of time researching Operational Security /d/OpSec so that you learn what not to do first, and what to do as an alternative.
Remember that nothing here is going to last. That doesnt mean all will end. Things will come and go. And you want to, need to be in the midst of the crowd.
Start by reading the important posts.
Pretend you know nothing.
Be eager to learn new things; things that will secure you.
Do not come here for gratification--it will lead to you destroying something.
Ask the right questions--after youve read the necessary materials.
By the end, you should know, instinctively: the DNB, PGP, XMR and the sense of anonymity.
Do not trust a single word I have written---verify each element first.
Hopefully, you have enjoyed your journey.
Welcome to the darknet.
I’m going to start this letter backwards, from the end forward.
You’ve found a marketplace.
At some point in time this marketplace will either:
• exit scam
• exit with abrupt notice
• vanish/disappear mysteriously
• be seized by law enforcement
• be banned by Dread for unsafe tactics
Expect this.
The darknet is ephemeral.
Everything is always in a state of flux.
Your favorite vendor may disappear.
Stock may run out when you need it most.
Markets go offline.
I am writing this to prepare you for the end because, in the beginning, you may not anticipate any of this.
Expect that every day will bring something new (and unexpected) to the darknet.
Here is a particular mindset that will help you:
Work on a trustless basis.
This does not mean do not enjoy your time. It means there are certain things that you must do and certain things that you cannot do.
Why? To protect your safety and your real-world identity.
1) Generate a new pair of PGP keys for each marketplace you use. Never re-use the keys elsewhere.
2) Do not use the same or similar username on different marketplaces.
3) Do not use the same password at other marketplaces.
4) Do not use outside sources to find links to marketplaces.
5) You must learn how to encrypt your sensitive information.
6) You must never rely on the marketplace to encrypt your sensitive information.
7) You must learn how to verify marketplace links.
8) You must never rely on Clearnet sources for marketplace links.
9) Every marketplace ends in .onion
10) You should get in the habit of importing their PGP key by going to .onion/pgp.txt
11) You should get in the habit of finding their list of mirrors or a statement from their admin at .onion/mirrors.txt
12) You should get in the habit of checking their canary to see if it has been updated by the marketplace admin at .onion/canary.txt
13) Learn how to blend in: this is your countermeasure.
The canary is a statement that exercises the First Amendment insofar that law enforcement cannot force the marketplace admin to lie. The canary should have only a brief statement by the marketplace admin stating that he is free and on his own accord and it must be dated and signed so that you can verify its authenticity by way of PGP.
Your only protection out there is PGP. You have to become familiar with how to encrypt and decrypt messages and—especially—how to verify links. This will all be done with PGP.
You are used to the safety of the world wide web but the darknet has no safety net. Those same rules of engagement don’t apply here. What matters is how familiar and adapted you become to instinctively encrypting your messages and verifying links.
The Dark Net Buyers Bible /d/DNMBible will teach you how to verify links. Practice it. Do not assume anything down here. Do not assume that the marketplace you have reached is the right one or that the vendor will ship the item, or be there when you are ready to buy.
Do not depend on outside sources: bookmark your links. Bookmarks them in KeePassXC.
Depend on KeePassXC for storing your many passwords, your wallet seeds, the mnemonic secret phrase, your wall pin codes, your passphrases. Get in the habit of saving everything in KeePassXC. Do not be lazy about this. It will come back to haunt you if you become careless and lazy.
We are still at the end; so now you are instilled with confidence and you are careless and lazy and this is what will inevitably lead to mistakes.
Mistakes will cost you grossly in the darknet. All you need is one. One mistake. One single mistake. And who knows what it’s going to cost you but you don't ever want to experience the consequences.
The point is to not leave behind a single dot. And one more dot. And another dot. And half a dot. And a partial dot. Because all of these string together and they either lead back to you, trace around you, point to you, or get drawn out to encounter you in the real world.
That’s why you don’t leave behind anything important.
Because everything will at some point disappear and take with it a piece of you. But you want to anticipate that to stay safe and secure.
The money you had in your marketplace wallet will be taken.
The PGP Key you had used in the marketplace will disappear with it.
The username you had will go along with the marketplace when it parts from the darknet.
The password you used will be hashed and gone.
Be prepared to let these things go and walk away as if you are walking away from a burning building.
Do not trust—blindly.
Do not use outside links; they will mislead you at some point.
Become habitual with good traits: verify your links, check canaries.
Do not blindly trust the crowd.
Do not blindly trust the forums.
Do not blindly trust your intuition.
Place all of your trust in building a foundation of Operational Security. /d/OpSec
Learn before giving in to temptation.
Slow down before making purchases.
Be cautious. There are predators and there are victims here and there are wounded people but there is good here too.
If you want to stay safe place Operational Security first.
Don’t make yourself an easy target.
Go the extra mile: make your passwords complex, use two-factor authentication.
Do not ever use Bitcoin; only use Monero. Become trace-less, not traceable.
Your goal is to blend in. Remember that. You do not want to leave fingerprints behind.
Assess your risks, consider your decisions before making them, do your research.
Learn how to verify the digital signature of the software you download.
Forget everything about “how it worked” on the world wide web. Start anew. Give this place the respect of the unknown and unfamiliar.
Do not ever spend an amount that you cannot afford to lose.
Do not fall into the temptation of doing direct deals with people you don’t know.
Do not use any App to transmit any information you wouldn’t want to be read in court.
Do not believe that App developers have your best interest at heart.
Do not use your cell phone to conduct illegal activities.
You do not know when something will go wrong until it does and then there will be very little you can do about it.
Spend a lot of time researching Operational Security /d/OpSec so that you learn what not to do first, and what to do as an alternative.
Remember that nothing here is going to last. That doesn't mean all will end. Things will come and go. And you want to, need to be in the midst of the crowd.
Start by reading the important posts.
Pretend you know nothing.
Be eager to learn new things; things that will secure you.
Do not come here for gratification--it will lead to you destroying something.
Ask the right questions--after you've read the necessary materials.
By the end, you should know, instinctively: the DNB, PGP, XMR and the sense of anonymity.
Do not trust a single word I have written---verify each element first.
Hopefully, you have enjoyed your journey.
Darknet.Taxi