Download Dangerzone 0.4.0 (Mac) – Download Free

PDF files and other types of documents that you receive as email attachments can be dangerous. They may contain scripts that trigger certain actions and install malware or disclose information.

danger zone is an open-source application designed to be a cleaner of all kinds of documents you absolutely need to open, even if they trigger some red flags. It uses Docker containers and goes through multiple steps to produce secure, readable, searchable documentation.

If you cannot avoid opening dangerous attachments

For most people, ignoring files and suspicious messages received from unknown senders is a matter of course. Unfortunately, journalists cannot ignore potential leads, so they still need to be able to view these documents. This also applies to other professionals.

PDF files can contain much more than just text and images, making them good vectors for malware, especially since many users don’t think a simple document can compromise their computer in any way.

Use Docker containers to process documents into safe copies

First, you need to have Docker Desktop installed and running. Once the document is loaded, the application uses the container to convert the document to PDF, split it into pages and convert them to PNG, convert these to RGB pixel data, and store this data in a separate volume.

Then load a second container where the RGB data is converted to PDF. If using OCR, the pixel data will first be converted to PNG and then to searchable PDF. The file is then saved on your Mac and can be opened safely.

Compress files and create searchable documents

In addition to protecting files, Dangerzone can also improve them. PDFs are automatically compressed to reduce file size, and you can choose to enable OCR to detect text in images and non-searchable PDF files.

In short, Dangerzone is a must-have tool if you need to open suspicious PDF files, office documents or images. Even if the document is almost certainly malicious, this app lets you read it without exposing your Mac and your data to potential threats.