Onion anatomy · Entry 01
Tor Watch onion address anatomy: the 56 characters that matter
Every Tor Watch onion link ends the same way, which is exactly why the part before .onion deserves your attention.
Version 3 onion strings
Modern onion services use 56 lowercase letters and digits followed by .onion. The string is derived from the service's public key, so it cannot be chosen freely or shortened.
Why the ending tells you nothing
Every onion address ends in .onion and many begin with a few readable letters chosen by brute force. A fake Tor Watch mirror can copy the opening letters while the middle is completely different.
The checksum built into the address
The last characters include a short checksum and version byte. A typo usually breaks the address entirely, but a deliberately generated lookalike will still be valid.
A practical reading habit
Read the Tor Watch onion address in four blocks of fourteen characters and compare each block with your saved record instead of skimming from both ends.