.onion
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.onion is a pseudo top-level domain address suffix (similar in concept to such endings as .bitnet and .uucp used in earlier times) designating an anonymous or pseudonymous address reachable via the Tor network. Such addresses are not actual DNS names, and the .onion TLD is not in the Internet DNS root, but with the appropriate proxy software installed, Internet programs such as Web browsers can access sites with .onion addresses by sending the request through the network of Tor servers. The purpose of using such a system is to make both the information provider and the person accessing the information more difficult to trace, whether by one another, by an intermediate network host, or by an outsider.
Addresses in the .onion pseudo-TLD are opaque, non-meaningful strings which are automatically generated based on a public key when a hidden service is configured.
The "onion" name refers to onion routing, the technique used by Tor to achieve a degree of anonymity.
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| Generic top-level domains | ||
|---|---|---|
| Unsponsored | .biz .com .edu .gov .info .int .mil .name .net .org | |
| Sponsored | .aero .cat .coop .jobs .museum .pro .travel | |
| Infrastructure | .arpa .root | |
| Startup phase | .mobi .post .tel | |
| Proposed | .asia .geo .kid .kids .mail .sco .web .xxx | |
| Deleted/retired | .nato | |
| Reserved | .example .invalid .localhost .test | |
| Pseudo-domains | .bitnet .csnet .local .onion .uucp | |
| Unofficial | see Alternative DNS roots | |
| See also: Country code top-level domains | ||
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