Safety tips that outlast a single order

The supplementary section. The step pages cover the order of operations for a first run; the habits below cover the things worth keeping in mind on every visit after that.

Encrypt shipping detail with PGP

The storefront message store is encrypted by the storefront, which protects the messages from anyone who is not the storefront. To protect them from the storefront as well, layer a personal PGP key over the message system for anything that contains an address, a name or a tracking number. Each vendor page carries their published PGP key. Encrypting the shipping line yourself before you send it means the storefront sees only ciphertext for the part of the order that matters most.

Keep the wallet sized to the active order

A funded wallet is not a savings account. Top it up when you need to spend, draw it down when an order finishes. Funds left sitting in the storefront wallet are funds carrying needless risk — risk of an outage, risk of an unrelated dispute, risk of a hiccup that makes withdrawal awkward for a stretch. A small active balance is friendlier in every direction.

Recognise lookalike storefronts

A handful of clearnet pages exist purely to lure first-time readers into a lookalike storefront that resembles Mars Market but is not. The defences are dull but effective: read the address before you click, scan the four-letter prefix that ties the address to this storefront, and copy the line rather than retyping. If you do land on a lookalike, close the tab; the lookalike has no power over an account on the genuine storefront.

Sensible browser choices

The Tor Browser is the supported browser for the storefront. Other browsers may render some pages but will not protect the session in the same way. Do not run the storefront alongside ten unrelated tabs in the same Tor session if you can avoid it — fewer tabs means a smaller surface for a mistaken paste. Closing and reopening the Tor Browser between long sessions is reasonable and costs nothing.