How to Use Dolphin's Jungle-safe Mode - The Complete 15 Minute Tutorial

Surf the web with no fear.  If you follow the steps I give you below you can use Dolphin's Jungle-safe Mode to fearlessly browse the web the same way I do (I'm the DolphinMaster - the one who created Jungle-safe browsing).

We'll start with a quick introduction to Dolphin's 3 Security Modes: Trusted-site Mode, Cautious Mode, and Jungle-safe Mode.

Trusted-site Mode (Avoid using unless absolutely necessary). A web page on a Trusted-site Mode tab is given nearly unfettered access to your computer. This is the kind of access that Trusted Sites (like those you may have set up in Internet Explorer) receive. It's quite unusual for a website to require this level of access to work properly, although there are some secure transaction scenarios where you may need it.  Do not use Trusted-site Mode unless you trust the website absolutely (at least insofar as your computer, personal information, and financial information is concerned). As a side note, Dolphin will automatically recognize and grant Trusted-site Mode access to those websites you've previously set up as "Trusted Sites" in Internet Explorer.

Cautious Mode (Generally recommended browsing mode for websites you trust). A web page on a Cautious Mode tab is given more limited access to your computer, but will allow all but the most dangerous kinds of scripts and ActiveX controls to run.  It's my recommendation that you use Cautious Mode while browsing websites you trust with your computer's health.  Generally speaking popular, well-known websites and websites associated with big companies or big popular blogs are safe to browse in Cautious Mode, even though many of those kinds of sites will still try to throw some popups at you. Even there you need to be careful - especially when allowing a "borderline trusted site" to spawn popups or when clicking through their advertisements - you can quickly find yourself in strange territory. To avoid these borderline popups I almost always keep Dolphin's internal popup blocker set to "block all popups unless I click something" and I keep Dolphin's external IE popup killer set to "kill all external IE windows while in Dolphin" because you never know when even a trusted website or its advertisers will let their guard down and allow a malware-infected ad to show up in their ad rotation! (For example, this very thing has happened to me twice - once on an ultimate-guitar.com ad popup and once on a drudgereport.com popup) This brings up an important point - malware purveyors are very resourceful.  NEVER assume that your browser security settings, anti-virus program, anti-spyware program, or firewall will catch every piece of malware. Those malware demons are very aggressive and they're out to get your money or information, or to hijack or otherwise mess with your computer's configuration for their own twisted sociopathic purposes. Make sure you stay educated about the threats out there and take reasonable precautions to avoid them.

Jungle-safe Mode (Dolphin's super-safe mode for browsing unfamiliar or as-yet-untrusted websites). I created Jungle-safe because I didn't like the way other web browsers don't help you quickly, painlessly open a new tab in a completely malware-proof browsing mode. Even though most websites out there that are perfectly trustworthy and the anti-malware companies do their best to keep up with new threats, there are just too many hazardous new web pages published every day for even the leading anti-virus, anti-spyware, and anti-adware companies to keep up with in real-time!

Any web page opened in a Jungle-safe Mode tab is only given enough access to your computer to write a web page's related files to your browser's cache and to display its non-scripted, non-"active content".  Because a tab running in Jungle-safe Mode does not allow any scripts or active content to run no web page can pull any of the nasty tricks that virus and other malware writers use to infect your computer - like downloading a virus file disguised as a picture or text file then renaming it and running it with a script to infect your computer. Incidentally, there is another side benefit to using Jungle-safe Mode: most web pages run faster because it's usually the active content (like Flash animations) and intensive java scripting on a web page that slow your browsing sessions down to a crawl.  The one downside of Jungle-safe Mode is that some websites lose some or all of their interactive functionality because active content and scripts are an important part of the assembly and interactivity of many popular web pages. However, it's easy to re-enable any lost functionality by switching over to Cautious Mode once you're confident that you can trust a particular website which you've first safely evaluated in Jungle-safe Mode.

Step-by-step, here's how I use Jungle-safe Mode (and other "Jungle-safe" practices) to help ensure my safe browsing and to keep malware from infecting my computer:  First, I browse any and all unknown, unfamiliar, or untrusted links or web pages in Jungle-safe Mode (which, as you'll see below, is fast and easy to do from within a Cautious Mode browsing session).  Then, when I've adequately researched those websites and decided I have good reason to trust them (no malware warnings for the sites in Google + they have lots of users talking about and linking to them + they don't look like hacked creepy places where malware lives), I can decide if they're safe enough to browse in Dolphin's default Cautious Mode (although, since many information-oriented sites don't rely on active content, I can choose to always browse those pages in Jungle-safe Mode, just to be extra cautious or to enjoy browsing unencumbered by demanding scripts or animations).

Here are the Jungle-safe settings and methods I use to browse the web safely:

1. Start by setting Dolphin3D's new tab default to "Cautious Mode" if it's not there already. Cautious Mode is the mode Dolphin was set to when you first installed it (indicated by a yellow triangle within a blue sphere). Click on the security mode indicator button to change to Cautious Mode, as seen below, if needed:
   
    

2. Set your Dolphin popup blocker menu options as follows:
    

   • Control Internal Dolphin Popups: Set to "Block all Dolphin popups unless I click something..." (this is the installed default)
      

   • Control External (IE) Popups: Set to "Kill all external IE windows while in Dolphin" (this is one level higher than the default)
     
     Please note that when the External (IE) Popup Blocker setting is set this to this level it will instantly kill any Internet Explorer windows you try to launch while using Dolphin (that's exactly what it's supposed to do, since launching rogue IE windows with scripts is a favorite device of malware writers to get around "safe mode" browsing: i.e., launch a new, external IE window to a URL where it runs an evil script that installs malware on your computer)
     
     
      

3. I assume you trust your home page. If not, it shouldn't be your home page.
    

4. So you trust your home page and you most likely have a long list of sites in your head that you trust (at least you trust them enough that you don't believe they'll try to damage you or your computer). If you do wonder about any of them research their domain name on Google together with a string of malware words, like this: ["whateversite.com" virus OR spyware OR adware OR malware OR phishing]. Study the search results. Anything suspicious?
    

5. OK, so now you have a trusted or trusted + researched list of websites you're comfortable with. Go ahead and surf those in Cautious Mode with the popup blocker settings I recommended in # 2.
    

6. Before clicking on any link or ad in this Cautious Mode group, get in the habit of noticing whether the link's domain is different than the trusted one you're browsing. If the domain is the same you're probably OK, if the domain is different then that's more iffy - but either is a judgment call on your part. (I seldom worry if I'm on a major email, major news, major corporate, or major entertainment site and they're linking me somewhere that I know to be reputable). But if you want to make sure you're safe, use the methods under step # 8 below to browse iffy links in Jungle-safe Mode.
    

7. When clicking on search results from any search engine you're in more dangerous territory. If the search result points to Wikipedia or some other reputable well-known website then no sweat. Just make sure the result's domain isn't just a close spoof of a big or reputable website's domain - something like en.wikipedea.org (misspelled) - for example. In that case someone's trying to spoof you - don't click on a link like that unless you like danger. When opening unknown websites' pages from search results or anywhere else, I always launch the link in Jungle-safe Mode (see # 8 below).
    

8. 2 Methods for quickly launching a link in Jungle-safe Mode (from a web page in a Cautious Mode tab):
    

   • The one-handed two-click method: Right-click on the link and select from the "Open in new tab (Jungle-safe)" or "Open in new tab and go there (Jungle-safe)" options. A new Jungle-safe tab will launch with that link in it. The tab will remain in Jungle-safe Mode until you change it. Any new links you click on will either reload their pages in that same Jungle-safe tab or, in the case of a link that spawns a new tab or window, the new tab or window launched from a Jungle-safe tab will also launch in Jungle-safe Mode.
     
      

   • The two-handed one-click method: Hold down Ctrl + Alt while clicking on a link to open it in a new Jungle-safe tab in the background. Hold down Shift + Ctrl + Alt while clicking on a link to open it in a new Jungle-safe tab and go there.
     
      

9. Opening a new blank tab in Jungle-safe Mode: Right-click on the Add Tab Button and select the "Open a new tab in Jungle-safe Mode" option. A new blank Jungle-safe tab will open, ready for you to type in a web address to browser in Jungle-safe Mode. Look at the tab panel's Security Mode Icon (the left-most icon on the tab's upper panel). If it display's the Jungle-safe Mode icon (the jungle leaves) then that tab is in Jungle-safe mode and will stay that way until you change it or launch a Cautious or Trusted Favorite into that tab page from one of your Favorite Buttons or QuickGroups or launch your home page, which changes the tab to Cautious Mode after unloading any page that's already there in Jungle-safe Mode.
   
    

10. Optional: Setting your browser's default trust level to Jungle-safe for all new tabs: If you're going to be browsing a bunch of untrusted/unknown web pages during your current browsing session it might be a good idea to default all new tabs to Jungle-safe Mode. Just remember that doing this only affects all new tabs launched (unless they're in your IE Trusted Sites list or you specifically launch your Dolphin home page or a Cautious or Trusted Favorite Button or QuickGroup page into a new tab)
    
     

11. Lastly, by default Dolphin3D downloads (not opens or runs) clicked executable files (like .exe's and install programs) - even in Jungle-safe mode. The one way you can still infect your computer in Jungle-safe Mode is if you do it "on purpose" by intentionally running or opening some executable link/file AFTER you've clicked on it and downloaded it. NEVER click on or open or run or agree to install ANYTHING you didn't intentionally download or that you don't fully trust. A lot of malware is disguised as helpful installation dialogs and urgent-sounding virus and spyware warnings. Don't be duped!  If you just can't help yourself from intentionally running or opening or installing dangerous executables or strange, unknown file types then install a pushy firewall like the free one from Comodo or use Windows Vista with EVERY warning left on (that's the only Windows Vista recommendation you'll hear from me). With those installed you'll have to confirm any bad thing that happens at least two or three times before it kills your computer.

    Remember: Jungle-safe disables many web pages' full functionality because it won't run any scripts or active content. For example, YouTube, Hulu, and most other videos won't run in Jungle-safe Mode. Javascript-dependent links won't work in Jungle-safe Mode. Pretty Flash home pages and Java-based Web Apps won't run in Jungle-safe Mode. To restore the lost functionality of a web page you are willing to trust with your computer's health you just click on the current tab panel's Security Mode Icon and select "Reload this page in: Cautious Mode". This will reload the web page in Cautious Mode with its full functionality. Any subsequent browsing you do in that same tab will also be in Cautious Mode, so use all the same precautions as before for clicking on any unfamiliar off-site links.

    That's it.  You're Jungle-safe trained.  Be careful - it's a jungle out there!

    Also, remember the Dolphin features listed below. These can also help improve the safety and convenience of your browsing.