  Kernelization algorithms in the context of Parameterized Complexity are often
based on a combination of reduction rules and combinatorial insights. We will
expose in this paper a similar strategy for obtaining polynomial-time
approximation algorithms. Our method features the use of
approximation-preserving reductions, akin to the notion of parameterized
reductions. We exemplify this method to obtain the currently best approximation
algorithms for \textsc{Harmless Set}, \textsc{Differential} and
\textsc{Multiple Nonblocker}, all of them can be considered in the context of
securing networks or information propagation.
