Silk Road forums
Discussion => Silk Road discussion => Topic started by: sisterwendy on December 02, 2011, 11:41 pm
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Can someone please list for me the steps and precautions I need to take before purchasing anything on the silk road.
I am looking to buy several ounces of MJ
For example, where to buy bitcoins, how to set up an email etc.
I really appreciate it.
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...search/browse the forum for info, theres plenty of info its all scattered about...
1. get pgp working. ..[forgot yes...next post..}
2. need to buy bitcoins...preferred sites etc...
3. need to transfer bitcoinsto SR so they show up in your a/c..
4. elect who to buy from what to buy, check with seller whether willing to deal with a new buyer....may have to relese funds early before they post..
5. [needed to have thought about where you wanted goodies posted to....what name to use ..and exact address...}
6. review the buyers guide on the SR site...
ok..
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Also, make sure you get PGP set up and confirm it's working. Go to the security sub-forum, read the stickied PGP thread. There's also a thread for posting and testing PGP. You can PM me to test it once you get it set up.
Don't buy several oz's of anything for your first purchases. Vendors tend to be very cautious of first time buyers that want weight (with good reason.) You're probably going to have to finalize early for your first purchase, especially if it's international. Find a seller with good feedback and a thread on the forums, buy a small amount, and be patient. Get a couple of small successful transactions and move up from there.
SR is the greatest site I've found in all my years on the web, and it works well, but nobody dives right in their first couple of days. Patience is key.
Welcome to the Road!
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Thanks guys. I have downloaded the GNU software. Could I test out an encrpyted email with anyone?
Also, how can I buy some bitcoins annoymously?
Also, should I be using a VPN/proxy on top of Tor?
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Here's a thread for you're bit-coin question: http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=6079.0
However, it kind of depends on your location. US can use moneypak to buy directly on the road. That's how I do it. It's more expensive than off-site, but it's quick and convenient. There are vendors who take Pay-safe and even paypal, I think, but I have no experience there. Like I said, look through the security sub-forum (not just the first page, older threads are useful to.) Make sure you read up on tumbling coins if you purchase them thru paypal or your bank account. You'll want to tumble them no matter what if you buy them from a source linked to any identifying info.
As for PGP. Here is my public key:
-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
Version: GnuPG v2.0.17 (MingW32)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=HU/O
-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
Copy this, and import it to you pgp software. Next, open notepad and type any message (you can just write "pgp test" if you want.)
Copy the text from notepad, no need to save the doc, just right-click and copy. In your pgp software, select clipboard, then encrypt. You'll be prompted to select a recipient. Choose my certificate that you just imported and click ok/next.
It will then post the encrypted message to your clipboard, open a reply in this thread and right-click and paste. You'll see the encrypted message. Post it, with your public key if you want me to send one back. I''l decrypt it and send you an encrypted message confirming that I was able to read yours. You can then select and copy my encrypted message and decrypt in pgp. It goes directly to you clipboard, so open a new notepad doc and paste it.
That should be it. I'll be on for a while if you want to try it out.
Remember: ONLY post your public key! Never post your private one, and be sure you've written down your pass-phrase. You'll need to enter it to decrypt messages sent using your public key.
Hope that helps, I've only just started doing this, so my explanation might not be the clearest. I'll help you out the best I can if you need it.
EDIT: not sure about the VPN/proxy. I don't use them, and from what I've read TOR is secure enough on it's own. I'm not a vendor or anything, so my exposure is limited compared to some on here. Some people use an entire encrypted USB boot drive before using the road, but that's definitely above my level.
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>>>>> Some people use an entire encrypted USB boot drive before using the road, but that's definitely above my level.
This. I've done this and feel a bit better about it. I have an encrypted USB key with tor bundle and my keepass. Just download TrueCrypt and it is pretty easy to create an encrypted drive.
I just placed my first order Wednesday and I'm anxiously awaiting my product :) Good luck! Once you get pass the learning curve it is very fun to window shop/purchase. Also I love communicating via PGP, makes me feel kind of hacker-ish. :D
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First: As we tell everybody, you have to study up a lot more, on your own. We can't take the time, and pages to pass on the knowledge, but your concerns are understandable, it's just the nature of SR, that we expect newbies to do exactly what we had to do, which is study study study.
I'd start with the 'Security' forum. Take a couple hours and go through that forum backwords, starting from the first posts in this forum. It take s a couple hours, and you can breeze thru a lot of it, but it will really help you.
You wouldn't be here if you didn't understand TOR. Many of us also use a live linux distro, for purchases, which, if you are interested, means reading up on TAILS or Liberte Linux, and see what we've had to say on that...
PGP, the cursed thing, takes study on your own. You seem to have gotten where we all got to, which is to ask for a partner to send encrypted msgs to, and that is sort of a constant learning process, it took me a couple days of messing round with it to get comfortable.
I use pgp when it is provided by the vendor, don't worry about it when it isn't. I use Tails or Liberte for purchases, plain old TOR on the forums.
BTC, read up, and you'll see that it is an ongoing dialog, that we don't all agree on. There are some honest vendors on here, like SugarMama, but you don't have any protection if you buy from SilkRoaders. But this is just a new, volatile currency, and you don't really have any protection no matter *where* you buy them, as mtgox itself has gone under temporarily. I use get-gitcoin.com, and we've posted plenty on how to use them, and the website itself is explanatory.
On escrow: this is a huge and well fought area here. YOu really are going to have to make your own decisions. The site is based on escrow, but some vendors insist that you go outside of escrow, or 'finalize early' so they are protected, but then you have no protection at all. I deal with vendors I trust, *or* make only small purchases from unkown vendors, if they have posted on here, and are just getting started. But I"ve been ripped off--IP-- and I thought I knew better, so it can happen.
Shit, I wrote a whole page, and didn't say much at all...yep, got to do what we all did: get some bitcoins, keep it small, pm your vendor, and don't trust *anyone* until your've read up on this forum...which is to your credit that you came here first!
Good luck.