You Can Now Access jcl.kr on the Dark Web: Here’s Why (And How I Did It)

If you’re like me and you care about privacy, open access to information, and exploring the edges of technology, you might appreciate this: I’ve just made my personal blog jcl.kr accessible via the Tor network using a .onion address.

Now, before you imagine me in a dark room wearing a hoodie and typing green code into a terminal—relax. This isn’t about hacking or illegal stuff. It’s about experimenting with privacy-preserving technologies and making my content more accessible and resilient.

This post walks you through what a .onion address is, why I set one up, and how you can visit it. I’ll also explain how I configured it on my server (yes, I use Rocky Linux), what challenges I ran into, and some thoughts about the future of privacy-focused publishing.

🧅 First off, what’s a .onion address?

A .onion address is a domain that lives on the Tor network, which is a decentralized, volunteer-run anonymity network. Unlike jcl.kr which you can open in Chrome or Safari, .onion sites can only be accessed using the Tor browser.

The address itself looks like complete gibberish—something like:

http://vwewsodumztq2sqc32uqeag4fhrsw6cvn3ypkjcafx7ltso23zxt36yd.onion

Why? Because it’s a hash generated from a cryptographic key used to securely identify the site. There’s no domain registrar, no DNS system—just math and cryptography. Pretty cool, right?

Accessing .onion sites means:

Your connection is encrypted multiple times
Your IP is anonymized
The server’s location/IP is also hidden

This is why .onion sites are sometimes associated with the “dark web”—but remember, Tor ≠ criminal. It’s a tool. Just like email can be used for spam or for work, Tor can be used for good or bad.

💡 Why I added a .onion version of jcl.kr

I work in IT. I’ve always been fascinated with privacy, open systems, and the idea that the internet should be free and uncensored. Making jcl.kr accessible on Tor wasn’t a business decision, it was a personal one. Here’s what motivated me:

Privacy-first access: Visitors who don’t want their visit logged by ISPs, ad networks, or even governments can browse jcl.kr anonymously.
Bypassing censorship: If someone in a restricted country wants to read my posts about technology, sales, or scuba diving—why not give them a safer path?
Experimentation: I love getting my hands dirty with real-world tech. Running a .onion site is a great way to understand how modern anonymity infrastructure works.
Future-proofing: Who knows how open the internet will remain in 5 or 10 years? Running a .onion mirror feels like a small insurance policy.

🔧 How I set it up on Rocky Linux

I’m running my blog on a Rocky Linux VPS, so this is what I did:

1. Installed Tor

sudo dnf install tor -y
sudo systemctl enable tor
sudo systemctl start tor

2. Configured the Hidden Service

Edited /etc/tor/torrc and added:

HiddenServiceDir /var/lib/tor/jcl_hidden/
HiddenServicePort 80 127.0.0.1:80

This tells Tor to forward incoming .onion traffic to my local web server.

3. Got the .onion address

sudo cat /var/lib/tor/jcl_hidden/hostname

Boom. That line gives you your .onion domain.

4. Secured the web server

Even though Tor encrypts traffic, I still wanted my blog to be HTTPS-ready. I use Let’s Encrypt on the clearnet side, and for .onion, optional HTTPS via self-signed cert is possible, but not required.

5. Modified WordPress theme

Since I’m using a minimal theme without a footer, I inserted a custom .onion banner using the wp_footer hook in functions.php, styled it to be mobile-friendly, and tested it in both clearnet and Tor.

🧭 Tips for first-time Tor users

If you’ve never used Tor, it’s super easy:

Download it here: https://www.torproject.org/download
Open the browser and paste this in:

http://vwewsodumztq2sqc32uqeag4fhrsw6cvn3ypkjcafx7ltso23zxt36yd.onion

That’s it. You’re anonymous, encrypted, and reading my blog through a decentralized network.

🤔 Is this common?

Not really. Most blogs and personal sites don’t bother with .onion mirrors. But I’ve seen it becoming more common with:

Journalists and activists
Open-source software communities
Privacy-focused companies

For me, it’s a tech experiment, a statement, and maybe even a conversation starter.

🧠 What I learned (and what’s next)

.onion addresses are easy to generate, but long and ugly. I’m thinking of using a vanity generator like mkp224o to create something more memorable.
I’d love to explore Tor user behavior using privacy-safe analytics (no cookies or IPs, of course)
In the future, maybe I’ll publish exclusive content or early releases for Tor users

If you’re curious about implementing your own .onion version of a site, feel free to ask me. It’s easier than you think, and kind of fun.

👋 Final thoughts

You don’t need to go full Snowden to appreciate online anonymity. Just knowing that it’s possible—and that someone cares enough to make it available—is powerful.

So if you’re browsing jcl.kr from Tor: welcome, and thank you for caring about privacy.

And if you’re not? That’s okay too. But now you know a little more about how the internet can work in different ways.

Stay safe, stay curious, and feel free to reach out if you want to talk more about privacy, tech, or travel.

Thanks for reading.

— Jacob

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