Mars Market addresses
Three published addresses for the same market. Copy rather than retype, and check the signature once you are through.
marsautkudspgk6j23cxdtrk36ae4fpis2eoe7izu5y2rsksvmfji2ad.onion
marshjhtog245vzjzcicnmv2ci6yljibvdm4pngq5kmkfvcutppboxad.onion
marsiujka6lrsaqpnxiwvknthhzsrlmq77mnl2fi62guc4lwxif65syd.onion
This list is published, not monitored. An address that opens is not an address that is genuine, and the check that settles it takes under a minute.
The address looks different
The one problem on this site that is on your machine rather than at the other end, and the one that checking a signature does not catch.
What is happening
Something running locally is watching for anything address shaped and replacing it between the copy and the paste. It costs nothing to run against many machines at once, so a low success rate is still worth somebody's while, which is why this has existed unchanged for years.
The check that catches it
Compare the first and last several characters of what actually landed in the field against the source. The ends, not the middle, because a substitution replaces the whole string rather than resembling it. This is the only place on this site where checking the ends is the right check, and it takes about three seconds.
| Situation | Which part to compare |
|---|---|
| An address from a page or a message | The middle. A forgery resembles the original and differs where reading stops. |
| What appeared after you pasted | The ends. A substitution replaces everything. |
| Either, done properly | Paste both strings somewhere that reports an exact match. Human comparison of random characters is unreliable regardless of care. |
Where it comes from
- Anything promising faster Tor. There is no such product and the category is made of this.
- Repackaged browser bundles. Software named similarly, from anywhere other than the project.
- Convenience wallets and helpers. Tools offering to simplify the awkward parts, which is where the awkwardness was doing work.
- Ordinary unrelated software. It does not have to arrive through this activity at all, which is why it reaches people who are careful about everything else.
If a payment already went
It is not recoverable, and the machine is the problem rather than the platform. Treat anything else on that machine as suspect, including saved wallet files, and do not repeat the payment from the same system. This is one of the few places on this site where the honest answer is that the loss is final and the useful action is preventing the next one.