Part 3: Daily Operations and Troubleshooting

This part gives you a practical runbook for real daily operations.

1. Daily Start Checklist

At session start:

1. Open SafeMode.
2. Confirm monitor/proxy status pills.
3. Confirm filter update recency.
4. Confirm alert stream is active.
5. Confirm no immediate certificate warnings.

2. Daily Operating Mode

Recommended baseline for most users:

• monitor ON while browsing
• phishing/secrets/malware notifications ON
• ad/tracker notifications OFF (unless debugging)
• periodic glance at Live Threats summary

This keeps awareness high without alert fatigue.

3. Interpreting Live Threats

Use these heuristics:

• high blocked, low secrets = normal ad/tracker suppression
• any secrets_detected = high-priority investigation
• any phishtank in user path = critical review

Always inspect details before allowlisting.

4. Incident Playbook A - Connectivity Loss

Symptoms:

• websites fail to load
• browser sessions timeout

Steps:

1. toggle monitor OFF
2. confirm proxy OFF
3. retest website
4. if recovered, isolate filter/engine cause
5. re-enable with minimal safe changes

5. Incident Playbook B - TLS/Certificate Errors

Symptoms:

• browser privacy/certificate warning banners

Steps:

1. open certificate settings
2. reinstall/verify trust
3. recheck with common HTTPS domain
4. if still failing, test from clean browser profile

6. Incident Playbook C - Internal App Breakage

Symptoms:

• specific internal site/app fails when SafeMode is ON

Steps:

1. inspect blocked reason
2. test with only one engine disabled
3. add narrow allowlist entry if needed
4. keep phishing protection active whenever possible

7. Manage History and Resource Usage

Operational recommendations:

• keep sensible history cap
• use auto-clear policy when required
• avoid excessive UI update frequency on low-power devices

8. End-of-Day Safety Check

Before closing:

• decide policy: keep running in tray vs full stop
• if stopping, ensure proxy returns OFF
• confirm no stale high-priority alerts unresolved

9. Escalation Triggers

Escalate to engineering if:

• proxy repeatedly fails to enable/disable
• UI freezes under normal load
• filter counts unexpectedly collapse
• startup certificate gate behaves inconsistently

Next

Continue to Part 4: Hardening and Best Practices.