Tor safety & OPSEC for WeTheNorth users
Tor gives you a strong baseline. These habits decide whether you keep it. Nothing here is exotic — it is the same short list of rules experienced darknet users actually follow, written down.
Rule 1 — Transact on the onion address only
Browse the mirrors if you like, but logins, deposits and orders happen on the onion address, inside Tor Browser. On clearnet your ISP logs the domain; on onion it cannot. The market never sees your IP; your ISP never sees the market. That separation is the entire point of the setup.
Rule 2 — Compartmentalize identities
Your market username, your market passphrase, your market PGP key: used for the market and nothing else. Never log into your personal email or social accounts in the same Tor session you use for shopping. Cross-contamination is how "anonymous" stops being anonymous, and it is fully under your control.
Rule 3 — 2FA and PGP are not optional
A stolen passphrase alone cannot drain a 2FA-protected account. PGP-encrypted messages keep sensitive details (name, address) unreadable to anyone but the recipient. WeTheNorth supports both; turn both on before your first deposit. Vendors are required to hold PGP keys for the same reason.
Rule 4 — Keep market balances small
Escrow protects in-flight orders; nothing protects a parked balance except your own habits. Top up per order, withdraw leftovers. If an account is ever compromised, the attacker finds pocket change, not a payday.
Rule 5 — Arrive by bookmark, leave by bookmark
The addresses are fixed and known: the onion link, the three mirrors, the two forum domains. Bookmark them once from a verified source (this site or our sister directory), and never reach the market through pasted links again. Phishing pages do not hack Tor — they hack arrivals.
Rule 6 — Mind the physical layer
Canada-only shipping already removes the customs risk. What remains: order from vendors with long, consistent feedback; prefer vacuum-sealed stealth (read recent reviews); use a receiving name and address you are comfortable with; and never sign for a package. The forum has long threads on vendor stealth quality worth an evening of reading.
VPN, Tor, or both?
- Tor alone — the community default for market use, and enough for most Canadians.
- Tor over VPN — hides Tor usage from your ISP; the VPN then knows you use Tor but not what for. Reasonable, if you already trust a VPN provider more than your ISP.
- VPN over Tor — rare, situational; generally not worth the added trust for market shopping.
Whichever you choose, the onion address remains the market's canonical door — see our onion links page for why.
The five-minute monthly check
- Confirm your bookmarks still match the official addresses.
- Review your market sessions and withdraw leftovers.
- Update Tor Browser if prompted.
- Glance at the forum for security announcements.
That is the whole maintenance schedule of a private market life.