Dark web glossary
Short definitions, no folklore. If a word in a forum thread or a dispute post does not mean what you think, it is probably here.
Nexus Market mirrorsThe current Nexus Market addresses. Copy one into Tor Browser.
nexusb2l7jnnbmofyik5fqdemwg6inbg4e3i2pi75uewuw34zwvx2ryd.onionnexusma2iekjhhyenua3u4zlyfsj2ubwxr2nt6gdte5rvwukzze63fyd.onionnexusabcdrstn74osnr67fsbzbo44kjpxqbbz5ymcwhlxjg6dloyhoyd.onion
- .onion address
- A 56-character address plus .onion that only resolves inside the Tor network. It points at a hidden service: a server that does not publish its location. Each address is a cryptographic identity, which is why a one-character difference is a completely different site.
- Tor
- A network that routes traffic through relays in sequence, so that no single hop sees both you and your destination. The browser for it is Tor Browser.
- Circuit
- The specific chain of relays your current connection uses. A new circuit is a new chain. Some circuits reach an onion faster than others, at random.
- Bridge
- A relay that is not in the public list. Used when a network blocks or shapes the standard relays. Tor Browser can enable bridges from its settings.
- Hidden service
- The server side of an .onion address. The market is a hidden service. The three mirrors are three hidden services fronting the same store.
- Mirror
- Another address for the same service. On Nexus Market the mirrors are equivalent: same account, same balance, same orders, whichever entry you use.
- Clearnet
- The regular, non-Tor internet. A clearnet proxy for an onion is a normal website that fetches the onion for you, which means it sees your requests.
- Vanity prefix
- The leading characters of an address that were generated on purpose. Here: nexus, and on one mirror the longer run nexusabcd. Generated into the key by the operator, not added by hand.
- Darknet market
- A marketplace that runs as a hidden service. Orders pass through escrow, disputes go to moderators. Nexus Market is one.
- Vendor
- A seller on the market with a profile and a feedback history.
- Escrow
- The holding of your payment until you confirm the order. On Nexus it is a multisig setup: your keys, the vendor’s and the market’s decide what happens.
- Dispute
- A formal complaint about an order. You and the vendor submit evidence, moderators decide.
- PGP
- The encryption and signing system. Markets publish PGP-signed announcements for things like mirror rotations, so a reader can check that an announcement came from the operator and not a copyist.
- 2FA
- A second login step, usually a code from an authenticator app. The recovery phrase issued at setup is the way back in if the app is lost.