Technical Specifications & FAQ

How is the network accessed?

Access is strictly limited to the Tor (The Onion Router) network. Users connect via verified .onion hidden service addresses. Standard web browsers cannot resolve these addresses; specialized software capable of onion routing is required to establish a connection to the decentralized infrastructure.

Why do mirrors experience high latency?

The Black Ops infrastructure occasionally experiences high latency due to Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks or automated circuit rotation within the Tor network. The system utilizes a rotational mirror strategy to mitigate these attacks, meaning specific URLs may be temporarily cycled offline for maintenance while others remain active.

What configuration is required?

Javascript execution policies vary by mirror availability. Generally, the "Safer" security level in Tor Browser is recommended. Full deactivation of Javascript (Safest) may break Captcha challenges on the login interface. Users must ensure their browser is updated to the latest Tor Project release to ensure cryptographic compatibility.

How is mirror authenticity validated?

PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) signatures are the cryptographic standard for authenticity. The market signs a message (usually containing the current mirror URL and timestamp) with its private key. Researchers and users verify this message against the known public key. If the signature matches, the mirror is confirmed as authentic and free from man-in-the-middle phishing attempts.

How does the 2FA protocol function?

The 2FA implementation on Black Ops relies on PGP encryption. Upon login, the server generates a unique challenge string encrypted with the user's public PGP key. The user must decrypt this string using their private key and return the plaintext token to authenticate the session. This ensures that even if a password is compromised, the account remains inaccessible without the private key.

How are phishing sites identified?

Phishing sites often replicate the user interface perfectly but reside on a different .onion address. The only technically sound method to identify a phish is by verifying the PGP signature on the landing page. If a site fails to provide a signed message, or if the signature does not validate against the imported public key, it is classified as a hostile phishing node.

Which protocols are supported?

The infrastructure primarily supports Monero (XMR) due to its ring signature privacy features and stealth addresses, which obfuscate the sender, receiver, and amount. Bitcoin (BTC) is historically supported but often requires CoinJoin or mixing protocols to match the privacy standards required by the platform's architecture.

How are funds secured during transit?

Funds are held in a multi-signature wallet or a temporary holding address managed by the market protocol. The funds are not released to the receiving party until the transaction is finalized by the initiator or the auto-finalization timer expires. In the event of a dispute, a moderator holds the decryption key to release funds to the correct party.

What is the standard timeout?

To prevent funds from being locked indefinitely, the system employs an auto-finalization timer. This is typically set between 7 to 14 days, depending on the type of transaction (digital vs. physical goods). If no dispute is acted upon within this window, the smart contract releases the funds to the vendor.

Why do verifications fail?

Captcha failures are often caused by clock synchronization issues on the client side (Javascript drift) or aggressive distinct circuit creation by the Tor browser. Ensuring the system clock is set to UTC and disabling "Always use a new identity" for the specific tab can resolve verification loops.

Are lost credentials recoverable?

The system utilizes a mnemonic seed phrase generated at registration. This phrase acts as the cryptographic master key for the account. Without this mnemonic, administrative recovery is impossible due to the zero-knowledge architecture of the password database.