Watch notes
Watch notes for Tor Watch links
Short, practical notes written for this monitor. Each one answers a single question about the Tor Watch onion address, a torwatch URL or a Tor Watch mirror and can be read in a few minutes.
Mirrors
- 04Tor Watch mirror or copy? A five-minute comparisonA genuine Tor Watch mirror and a copied page can look identical. Use this short comparison routine before trusting any tor watch mirror you are given.
- 05Finding a Tor Watch link through search results safelySearch engines list pages about Tor Watch, not the onion service itself. Learn how to use results to find references while avoiding paid or copied listings.
- 10Signals that a Tor Watch page is phishing for loginsCopied Tor Watch pages exist to collect logins and deposits. These signals help you recognise one before typing anything.
- 13Why long Tor Watch mirror lists are a warning signPages listing dozens of Tor Watch mirrors are rarely maintained. Learn why fewer, dated links are safer than a long tor watch mirror list.
Monitoring
- 03What the Tor Watch link status light meansAmber, green and grey on the TorWatch monitor each have a specific meaning. Learn how the status of a Tor Watch link is decided and when it changes.
- 08When the Tor Watch onion will not loadOnion services go offline for many reasons. Learn what different errors mean and why an outage is the moment fake Tor Watch links spread fastest.
- 12Using PGP-signed announcements to confirm a Tor Watch linkWhen a Tor Watch onion link is announced with a PGP signature you can verify it yourself. A plain explanation of what a valid signature proves.
Onion addresses
- 01Tor Watch onion address anatomy: the 56 characters that matterA Tor Watch onion URL is a 56-character v3 address plus .onion. Learn which parts you can check by eye and which need a careful character comparison.
- 02Torwatch URL or clearnet domain: knowing which one you are looking atA torwatch URL can be an onion address or an ordinary web domain. Learn how the two differ and why a clearnet page claiming to be Tor Watch needs extra care.
- 09Lookalike onion strings and the Tor Watch prefix trickAttackers generate onion addresses that share the first characters of a real Tor Watch link. See how prefix matching works and how to defeat it.
Safe habits
- 06Keeping a personal torwatch link logA simple text log of every Tor Watch onion link you used, with dates and sources, makes lookalikes easy to spot. Here is a format that works.
- 07Tor Browser settings worth checking before opening Tor WatchSecurity level, updates and extensions all affect how safely you open a Tor Watch onion link. A short checklist of settings to review.
- 11Sharing a Tor Watch link without spreading mistakesPassing on an unverified tor watch link can mislead others. Learn how to share a Tor Watch onion address with context instead of a bare string.
- 14A Tor Watch link checklist you can run in two minutesA compact checklist for any Tor Watch onion link, torwatch URL or tor watch mirror: source, full address, signature, browser and log.