A first lookup

This is the desk article for a reader who has never reached a Tor market before. Read it in order and it takes you from nothing to a verified address you can trust.

Get onto Tor

Download Tor Browser from its official project site and nowhere else. Verify the signature on the download the first time, which the download page walks you through. Open the shield beside the address bar and set the security level to Safest. That is the whole setup, and it closes most of the ways a first crossing goes wrong.

Pick an entry

For a first lookup, the directory points you at Awazon, which reads like an ordinary online shop, or Nexus, the reference entry. Both are filed as beginner-friendly for different reasons. Open the entry and copy an address from the verified block at the top.

Verify before you trust

Never type a fifty-six character onion from memory. Copy it. When the login page loads, read the address the captcha prints into its image and hold it against your address bar. If they match, proceed. If they do not, close the tab. Cross-reference the security topic.

Make the account carefully

Pick a username you have never used anywhere else. Generate a long unique password and store it in an encrypted local manager. Write the recovery phrase the market issues on paper, in your own hand, and keep it somewhere only you reach. Cross-reference the desk article on a first order for what comes next.