diff --git a/static/js/magazine.js b/static/js/magazine.js
index 2fca30f..f54d087 100644
--- a/static/js/magazine.js
+++ b/static/js/magazine.js
@@ -114,23 +114,44 @@ function magShowDroppedFile(file) {
   if (noteEl) noteEl.textContent = file ? file.name : MAG_DROPZONE_DEFAULT_NOTE;
 }
 
+let _magDropGuardInstalled = false;
+
 function setupMagDropzone() {
   const zone = $('mag-dropzone');
   const input = $('mag-new-file');
-  if (!zone || !input || zone.dataset.magDropzoneWired) return;
+  if (!zone || !input) return;
+
+  // A page-wide safety net: if a drop ever lands outside the zone (or the
+  // zone's own handler below fails to intercept it for any reason), the
+  // browser's native behaviour is to navigate to/open the dropped file --
+  // confirmed live as exactly what happened before this existed. Installed
+  // once regardless of which section is active, since a stray drop can land
+  // anywhere on the page.
+  if (!_magDropGuardInstalled) {
+    _magDropGuardInstalled = true;
+    window.addEventListener('dragover', (e) => { e.preventDefault(); });
+    window.addEventListener('drop', (e) => { e.preventDefault(); });
+  }
+
+  if (zone.dataset.magDropzoneWired) return;
   zone.dataset.magDropzoneWired = '1';
-  zone.addEventListener('dragover', (e) => {
-    if (e.dataTransfer && Array.from(e.dataTransfer.types || []).includes('Files')) {
-      e.preventDefault();
-      zone.classList.add('dragover');
-    }
-  });
+
+  // dragenter AND dragover both need preventDefault() -- some browsers only
+  // arm the element as a valid drop target once dragenter itself has been
+  // cancelled, not just the dragover events that follow it. Not gated on
+  // dataTransfer.types: during a real OS file drag, Chromium does not
+  // always populate that list synchronously on every one of these events,
+  // and gating on it here (confirmed live) silently skipped preventDefault
+  // often enough that neither the hover highlight nor the drop interception
+  // ever fired -- the browser fell through to opening the file itself.
+  const armDropTarget = (e) => { e.preventDefault(); zone.classList.add('dragover'); };
+  zone.addEventListener('dragenter', armDropTarget);
+  zone.addEventListener('dragover', armDropTarget);
   zone.addEventListener('dragleave', () => zone.classList.remove('dragover'));
   zone.addEventListener('drop', (e) => {
-    if (!(e.dataTransfer && Array.from(e.dataTransfer.types || []).includes('Files'))) return;
     e.preventDefault();
     zone.classList.remove('dragover');
-    const file = e.dataTransfer.files?.[0];
+    const file = e.dataTransfer?.files?.[0];
     if (!file) return;
     if (file.type !== 'application/pdf' && !/\.pdf$/i.test(file.name)) {
       return say('Only PDF files are supported', 'err');