To help Genesis Market victims and prevent future crimes, the Dutch Police created a Check your hack tool that lets victims see if their credentials were sold or for sale on Genesis Market. The tool is still available today, and interested parties simply need to enter their email address to place an inquiry. If the address is in one of the cybercrime datasets, the person will receive an email that includes personalized instructions on how to clean up their computer and make it safe again. In the first 24 hours of launching Check your hack, two million people took advantage of the service. So far, five million people have used the tool, and over 13,000 victims have been notified that their computer was infected, and received instructions to help them make their device safe again.
So, I put together a list of the best dark web sites in 2025 to help you get started. I also included instructions on how to access the dark web, and outlined how to stay safe when browsing dark web links (the dark web is also home to many scams and malicious sites). Law enforcement crackdowns targeting the dark web have increased and generated substantial wins in the last year.

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Like other marketplaces, it also requires registration for new users and accepts payments in Monero. Empire Market is a dark web shop that resembles the AlphaBay marketplace. Its look, design, options, and interface are exactly the exact copy of its competitor, but everything else, including buyers, vendors, and servers, is different.
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Nowadays, the forum is aimed at database leakers, malware developers, and drug users. Some forums tried to capitalize on the temporary demise of the BreachForums after the admin pompompurin’s arrest, however they did not last long. The admin of the Exposed forum (alias Impotent) tried to prove the forum’s legitimacy by leaking the RaidForums’ user database. Another, PwnedForums, also used a very similar interface to BreachForums but was quickly taken offline, after failing to attract many users in its short life span. At the end of 2023, neither of the aforementioned forums are accessible anymore.
Now, that is not to say illegal behavior is completely beyond detection. The dark web combines encryption, anonymity, and hidden doorways to provide the perfect sanctuary for such illicit activity compared to the usual internet, which is more vulnerable and trackable. Although these marketplaces are continuously shut down by law enforcement agencies, they still work today. Interestingly, new sites get more hype, and it even becomes difficult to shut them down, as they have better security than the older ones. Sharing a lot of similarities with Exploit, the XSS cybercrime forum also attracts a mixture of threat actors – from simple hacking tool developers to ransomware operators. Even the administrators consider the forum to be “friendly” to Exploit.
The Rise Of Secure And Diverse Drug Trade On Darknet Platforms
To find .onion links for dark web sites, you’ll need to use a dark web search engine. Many of them are safe for beginners to use since they filter out dangerous/illegal content to only provide safe .onion links. My favorites are DuckDuckGo (usually the Tor browser’s default search engine), The Hidden Wiki, and Ahmia.
- The website allows visitors to view all the goods and services on display before they buy something.
- Additionally, the diversity of products available on these platforms has expanded, offering everything from pharmaceuticals to rare substances, catering to a wide range of consumer needs.
- This is achieved by overwhelming the targeted website’s server with thousands of connection requests, causing it to crash.
- Later, in 2013, Silk Road caught the attention of law enforcement and policymakers like US Senator Charles Schumer, who publicly called for a federal crackdown.
- The use of cryptocurrencies facilitates discreet transactions, making it challenging for law enforcement agencies to trace or seize funds on the dark web.
The Bright Future Of Darknet Drug Trade
As a consequence of this, likely fewer crypto trading accounts and wallets were available for hackers to target. Cryptocurrency accounts were the only category that we saw to have experienced an increase. This is likely due to the fact that cryptocurrency prices have been largely stagnating in H and H1 2023, which resulted in less interest shown by the mainstream population. The most common type of account details for sale on the Dark Web are PayPal accounts. As the Dark Web market evolves, its operators adopt strategies and priorities similar to those of traditional marketing and retail businesses. It will route your traffic through multiple servers instead of one, making tracking your data and activities even harder.
Dark Web Links: The Best onion And Tor Sites In 2025
Ahmia is a search engine for .onion sites — you search for a keyword and Ahmia retrieves relevant results. I tested it 10+ times, and it always provided me with accurate search results. For example, I used the “radio” keyword and the third result was Deep Web Radio, which is a popular online radio station on the dark web. You can also filter the results by telling Ahmia to only display links from the last day, week, or month.
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Please check your local laws to ensure your use of VPN complies with statutory requirements. In 2013, the FBI seized and shut down the Silk Road, arresting its founder, Ross Ulbricht. However, the closure of this marketplace gave rise to numerous successors, known as the “Silk Road 2.0” and other iterations, showcasing the ongoing resilience of the dark web market ecosystem. As the year 2023 unfolds, this hidden realm becomes a hub of clandestine transactions and covert operations. A quick guide for developers to automate mergers and acquisitions reports with Python and AI.

It has indexed more than 1.5 billion pages from over 260,000 .onion websites, so you’ll easily be able to find what you’re looking for. 2022 and early 2023 saw the seizure of many major darknet markets by law enforcement. Some of the biggest markets have disappeared within just a few weeks in the latter half of 2022. Onion sites aren’t really dangerous, but they could be when accessed through unfamiliar or suspicious links.

Counterfeits On Dark Markets: A Measurement Between Jan-2014 And Sep-2015
This .onion link makes it impossible for hackers to impersonate your profile. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have been the dark web currency even before they became available to the general public. Right now, you can use many cryptocurrency .onion sites to buy or sell all types of cryptocurrencies. While this is not much compared to standard email services, it is enough for PGP-encrypted messages. Using the ProtonMail .onion site offers security and privacy advantages. Moreover, the company also uses HTTPS and SSL encryption on the Onion site for extra protection.
New Payment Processing Services
At its launch, the platform accepted payments through Litecoin, but now it has incorporated support for other payment methods like Monero and Bitcoin. The platform also cares about its users and uses PGP encryption and two-factor authentication to secure their data and communication. Its intuitive interface and advanced search features make it easy to find local and global products. The marketplace extensively vets vendors listed within its deep web environment that offer a wide range of product portfolios, including security solutions, digital services, and specialized equipment. It stands as a reliable alternative to the defunct Alphabay Market as it continues to position itself as the premier source for advanced privacy-focused digital commerce. In this article, you’ll find detailed overviews of the top ten Dark-Web marketplaces currently dominating the hidden internet landscape in 2025.
While this market started in Canada in 2021, WeTheNorth now sells to both Canadian and international users. It’s a market for fake documents, hacking software, and financial fraud services. WeTheNorth has a strong community vibe, with an active forum where users interact and share updates. Unlike regular e-commerce sites, markets on the dark web often deal with illegal or highly restricted goods and services, such as fake documents, hard drugs, and hacking services. Sure, you might come across listings for legit products like handcrafted jewelry or digital art, but those are few and far between. Another notable departure from the scene was the ASAP market, which has been active since at least 2020.
Scammers on darknet markets claim to offer legit tools or services, but instead provide you with malicious software that can infect your device. Whether you want some pharmaceutical products (drugs) or digital items, you will probably find the products here, and that too at affordable prices. Vice City listens to the problems faced by its customers and vendors and solves them so that they can keep using the platform with ease. To access the marketplace, dark web users must register first and pass the CAPTCHA test to prove they are human.
As with our previous reports, we gather data by scanning Dark Web marketplaces, forums, and websites. This information is then processed to generate an index of average prices for a broad range of specific products. During the second half of 2022, law enforcement cracked down on a large number of darknet markets, temporarily disrupting the supply of such illicit goods. Blockchain even has an HTTPS security certificate for even better protection.