Warning: This article is for informational purposes only. Neither the author nor the publisher encourages or condones any illegal activity. Use this information at your own risk.
What Is the Darknet?
The term “darknet” has become a buzzword, often used to describe anything forbidden, hard to access, or potentially dangerous online. But what is the real darknet? In this article, we dive into the Russian segment of the darknet, sharing our latest findings and insights.
Search Engines in the Darknet
When you launch Tor Browser, it greets you with the DuckDuckGo search engine. While great for privacy, DuckDuckGo only searches the open web, making it less useful for darknet exploration.
Within the darknet, there are several dedicated search engines, including Ahmia, Candle, and Torch. Previously, Grams and Fess were also popular, but they are currently unavailable. Each search engine returns different results for the same queries, so it’s best to bookmark all three.
- Candle: Less known, no third-party ads, and often more relevant results.
- Torch: Frequently returns links to drug-related sites, doesn’t handle Cyrillic well, and is notorious for questionable ads.
- Ahmia: Accessible from both the darknet and clearnet, but often returns irrelevant results.
However, search engines are of limited use in the darknet due to the small number of indexable resources. Sometimes, they may even lead you to fake sites.
Link Directories: The Maps of Tor
It’s recommended to start your research with link directories. While they also contain outdated or junk links, options are limited. The most famous English-language directory is The Hidden Wiki, and in Russian, it’s Godnotaba. Other collections include OnionDir and Oneirun.
Warning: Beware of fakes! Popular link directories are often counterfeited, with addresses replaced by scammers. Always double-check the URLs.
Educational Resources in the Darknet
Piracy and cheap e-readers have made buying books unnecessary for many. As copyright holders crack down, book download links are disappearing from the clearnet. In the darknet, however, sites like Flibusta and Slovesny Bogatyr offer vast libraries.
The Darknet and Torrents
In the early 2000s, torrents were not restricted, and people freely downloaded books, movies, games, and more. As restrictions increased, the darknet became a new haven for piracy. Torrent trackers like RuTor and The Pirate Bay have .onion links, allowing users to bypass bans and limitations.
Online Stores That Don’t Accept Cards
The darknet is infamous for its illegal marketplaces, most of which are related to drug trafficking. Buying drugs online has become so common that even elderly people are aware of “dead drops” sought by suspicious young people.
The typical process involves exchanging money for Bitcoin, shopping at a marketplace, and receiving the location and photo of a hidden stash to retrieve the goods.
Glossary of Terms
- Warehouse (Sklad): Stores large quantities of drugs, distributes them via “master drops” to couriers.
- Dropman (Kladman): Picks up master drops and splits them into smaller stashes.
- Grower: Produces drugs, often in garages or abandoned buildings.
- Operator: Handles communication between the store and customers, acting as support.
The giants of the Russian drug trade are Hydra and WayAway. Other stores like Matanga and Darkcon exist, but newcomers rarely gain trust quickly. In the West, Dream Market and Free Market are the largest.
Ramp and Hydra
Ramp was once the leading Russian darknet marketplace, operating as a forum for buyers and sellers. It shut down in 2017, causing widespread confusion. A supposed successor, Ramp 2.0, turned out to be a scam, disappearing with users’ deposits.
Hydra quickly took Ramp’s place, maintaining its lead through active PR, a Telegram channel, and even YouTube ads. Hydra offers a forum, built-in Bitcoin exchangers, and accepts Qiwi payments. The platform is known for its aggressive marketing and controversial promotions, such as lotteries using Bitcoin wallets.
Hydra is also notorious for the sale of “spice” and “salts,” synthetic drugs that are extremely harmful. The site has a clearnet address, but it is blocked in Russia.
Other Marketplace Offerings
Besides drugs, sites like Hydra sell SIM cards, bank cards registered to “drops” (mules), modems, routers, VPN services, debit cards, and more. Each marketplace has a job section, recruiting couriers, warehousemen, growers, and operators. Courier positions are in high demand due to high turnover.
Hacker Forums
For many, the darknet is synonymous with drug markets, but that’s just the beginning. There are also major hacker and carding forums in the Russian darknet.
- DaMaGeLaB.IN: An English-language forum focused on hacking, coding, malware, and cybersecurity.
WWH-CLUB
WWH-CLUB is the largest Russian carding forum, with both darknet and clearnet addresses. It offers educational services, with “mentors” promising to teach carding for around $1,000. Registration used to provide access to a wealth of information, but due to trolls and unreliable users, most valuable sections are now paid ($20 for access).
Verified
Verified is a respected, long-standing carding forum. Registration costs $50, and even then, new users need a reference from an established member to do business.
Exploit.in
Exploit.in is mainly a hacker forum. Registration is free, but users must provide links to reputable accounts on other boards. The forum is respected in both Russian and Western circles, with users offering services from website creation to botnet rentals. It also has a popular Jabber server.
CrdClub
CrdClub is one of the oldest carding forums, with free registration and access to all sections. It has both Russian and English-speaking communities, covering carding, scams, hacking, and social engineering.
Probiv
Probiv is popular among scammers operating in Russia and the CIS. The forum specializes in “probiv”—selling personal information such as credit histories and passport data. It also sells “money-making schemes,” with prices ranging from a few thousand rubles to several million, depending on potential profit.
Popular Services and Goods
All these forums offer job opportunities for specialists. WWH seeks skilled carders, Exploit.in needs coders, and Probiv looks for mules for shell companies and microloans. There’s also a thriving trade in stolen credit card data, botnets, hacked accounts, and more.
Communication Platforms
Some platforms offer a mix of services, while others focus solely on anonymous communication. Here are a few popular spots:
- Runion: A unique forum covering everything in the Russian darknet, from drugs and weapons to politics and intelligence work. It even launched its own drug marketplace, Solaris.
- Chat with stranger: An anonymous chat service where neither the user nor the owners know anything about you. Usually, 40–50 people are online at any time.
- NS-forum: A forum dedicated to national-socialism, where users share books, ideas, and personal stories. It also has sections on information security, like setting up Tails, choosing a VPN, and encrypting flash drives.
There are also other forums and chatrooms, including a Facebook mirror (unlikely to protect you from prosecution) and Tor4, where users share drug trip reports. The darknet also hosts far more disturbing forums, but for obvious reasons, we won’t provide links to those.
Money in the Darknet: Wallets and Mixers
Most people come to the darknet for anonymous communication or, more often, for illicit activities. As a result, there are many exchangers, cash-out services, and mules. But first, you need a place to store your money.
By 2016, people were already debating whether Bitcoin was truly anonymous. Unfortunately for criminals, it isn’t. Police have increasingly arrested hackers who stored their money in Bitcoin. This challenge led to the rise of mixers like Rahakott, which functions as a Bitcoin wallet with a built-in mixer. It breaks up transactions into small parts, making them nearly impossible to trace.
Other popular mixers include MixerMoney and Blender. Exchangers like Konvert and 24xbtc bridge the gap between Bitcoin and cash, often using couriers or dead drops. However, scams are rampant, and many exchangers simply steal users’ funds.
Scams in the .onion Network
With money and popularity come problems. Popular darknet sites are often counterfeited to scam users. For example, searching for “Hydra” on Candle will return fake sites at the top. These fakes may look identical but will scam you out of your money or simply ban you.
On legitimate forums, escrow services protect users by holding funds until a transaction is confirmed. On fake forums, the escrow is also fake. Beware of deals that seem too good to be true, like a new iPhone at half price or “get rich quick” schemes. Most likely, it’s a scam.
The best way to avoid scams is to use only trusted directories and always verify the site’s address.
The End of the Adventure
Every year, darknet sites appear, move, and disappear en masse. While most are dedicated to illegal trade or scams, there are also places for discussion and sharing life stories. The darknet is a cold, unwelcoming place, but it’s undeniably fascinating. What captures your attention is up to you.