Take this with a grain of salt! Some of our checks may report wrong results. BETA
ANALYZED URL AFTER LOADING:
http://www.lydall.com/
ANALYZED MAIL SERVER:
mxa-00177901.gslb.pphosted.com
What is this? This page shows the result of a machine-generated analysis of a specific website, which was commissioned by a PrivacyScore user. During the analysis it was checked whether the privacy of the visitors is protected on a technical level as well as possible when visiting the given internet addresses, and whether the operator uses common security mechanisms on the website. This can indicate how seriously an operator takes data protection. However, it is not possible to determine the actual security level achieved. More details please!
Sometimes, a scan can go wrong and not deliver any results. This check tests if the scan of the website using the OpenWPM tool succeeded.
Scan Module: OpenWPM
Further reading:
Result wrong? report errorWe obtain the IP addresses of the domain and look up its country in a GeoIP database. It is believed that personal data is protected better, if a website is hosted in a country that implements the European General Data Protection Directive (GDPR). We plan to offer more flexible geo-location tests in the future.
Conditions for passing: The test passes if all IP addresses (A records) are found to be in countries that implement the GDPR.
Reliability: unreliable. We perform a single DNS lookup for the A records of the domain name of the respective site. Due to DNS round robin configurations, we may not see all IP addresses that are actually used by a site. Furthermore, if the site uses content delivery networks or anycasting the set of addresses we observe may differ from the set for other users. We look up the IP addresses within a local copy of a GeoIP database. We use the GeoLite2 data created by MaxMind, available from http://www.maxmind.com.
Potential scan errors: The result may be incorrect for the following reasons. First, we may miss some IP addresses and therefore our results may be incomplete (causing the test to pass while it shouldn’t). Second, we may see a set of IP addresses that is biased due to the location of our scanning servers (all of them are currently in Germany), which may again cause the test to pass while it shouldn’t. Therefore, the results may be wrong for users located in other countries. Third, the determination of the geo-location of IP addresses is known to be imperfect. This may cause the test to fail or succeed where it shouldn’t.
Scan module: network
Further reading:
Result wrong? report errorWe obtain the IP addresses of the mail server record(s) associated with the domain and look up its country in a GeoIP database. It is believed that personal data is protected better, if a website is hosted in a country that implements the European General Data Protection Directive (GDPR). We plan to offer more flexible geo-location tests in the future.
Conditions for passing: The test passes if all IP addresses associated with the MX records are found to be in countries that implement the GDPR. This test is neutral if there are no MX records.
Reliability: unreliable. We perform a single DNS lookup for the MX records of the domain name of the respective site. Then we obtain all A records of each MX record. Due to DNS round robin configurations, we may not see all IP addresses that are actually used by a site. Furthermore, if the site uses content delivery networks or anycasting the set of addresses we observe may differ from the set for other users. We look up the IP addresses within a local copy of a GeoIP database. We use the GeoLite2 data created by MaxMind, available from http://www.maxmind.com. Finally, we only check mail servers found in MX records. Therefore, we miss sites where the domain does not have MX records, but mail is directly handled by a mail server running on the IP address given by its A record.
Potential scan errors: The result may be incorrect for the following reasons. First, we may miss some IP addresses and therefore our results may be incomplete (causing the test to pass while it shouldn’t). Second, we may see a set of IP addresses that is biased due to the location of our scanning servers (all of them are currently in Germany), which may again cause the test to pass while it shouldn’t. Therefore, the results may be wrong for users located in other countries. Third, the determination of the geo-location of IP addresses is known to be imperfect. This may cause the test to fail or succeed where it shouldn’t.
Scan module: network
Further reading:
Result wrong? report errorSome site owners outsource hosting of mail or web servers to specialized operators that are located in a foreign country. Some users may find it surprising that web and mail traffic is not handled in the same fashion and in one of the two cases their traffic is transferred to a foreign country.
Conditions for passing: Test passes if the set of countries where the web servers are located matches the set of countries where the mail servers associated with the domain are located. If there are no MX records this test is neutral.
Reliability: unreliable. See GEOMAIL check.
Potential scan errors: See GEOMAIL check. This check may wrongly be recorded as "failed", if one of the servers is found to be located in the country "Europe", which is due to peculiarities of how MaxMind records geolocations.
Scan module: network
Further reading:
Result wrong? report errorIf the website does not automatically forward the user to an HTTPS version of the website, we explicitly check for an HTTPS version, and also verify that the secure version matches the insecure version (to rule out cases where connecting to an HTTPS version accidentally or intentionally forwards the user to a different website).
Conditions for passing: Test passes if the server outputs the same site when the given URL is requested via HTTPS. Test fails if no HTTPS connection can be established or the content (HTTP body) of the HTTPS response differs from the HTTP response. Neutral if the given URL is already an HTTPS URL.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: If website contents change significantly on each page load, this test may incorrectly fail.
Scan Module: OpenWPM
Result wrong? report errorA secure HTTPS connection requires a valid SSL certificate on the server. This check tests if the certificate provided by the server is trusted.
Conditions for passing: Test passes if the server provides a valid SSL certificate.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: If website contents change significantly on each page load, this test may incorrectly fail.
Scan Module: OpenWPM
Result wrong? report errorTo protect their users, websites offering HTTPS should automatically redirect visitors to the secure version of the website if they visit the unsecured version, as users cannot be expected to change the address by hand. This test verifies that this is the case. If the browser is redirected to a secure URL, all other HTTPS tests use the final URL.
Conditions for passing: Test passes if the server automatically redirects the browser to an HTTPS URL when the browser requests a HTTP URL. Neutral if the given URL is already an HTTPS URL.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: If users are redirected to the HTTPS version using JavaScript, this test may not detect it.
Scan Module: OpenWPM
Some servers offer HTTPS, but will forward users back to the insecure version of the website when they attempt to use it.
Conditions for passing: Test fails if the server automatically redirects the browser to an HTTP URL when the browser requests a HTTPS URL. Neutral if the server does not support HTTPS.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: If users are redirected to the HTTP version using JavaScript, this test may not detect it.
Scan Module: OpenWPM
Perfect forward secrecy protects the security of connections even if the long-term cryptographic keys of the server are disclosed at a later time.
Conditions for passing: Test passes if the server offers HTTPS with perfect forward secrecy. Neutral if the server does not support HTTPS.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan Module: OpenWPM
This HTTP header prevents adversaries from eavesdropping on encrypted connections. HSTS allows a site to tell the browser that it should only be retrieved encryptedly via HTTPS. This decreases the risk of a so-called SSL Stripping attack.
Conditions for passing: The header is set on the HTTPS URL that is reached after following potential redirects.
Reliability: unreliable. We only evaluate this header for the HTTPS URL to which a site redirects upon visit. We rely on the result of testssl.sh to evaluate the validity of the header. Under certain circumstances, a website may be protected without setting its own HSTS header, e.g. subdomains whose parent domain has a HSTS preloading directive covering subdomains - this will not be detected by this test, but will show up in the HSTS Preloading test.
Potential scan errors: We may miss security problems on sites that redirect multiple times. We may also miss security problems on sites that issue multiple requests to different servers in order to render the resulting page but forget to set the header in all responses. We may miss the presence of HSTS if redirection is not performed with the HTTP Location header but with JavaScript.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
HSTS Preloading further decreases the risk of SSL Stripping attacks. To this end the information that a site should only be retrieved via HTTPS is stored in a list that is preloaded with the browser. This prevents SSL Stripping attacks during the very first visit of a site. To allow inclusion in the HSTS preloading lists, the servers need to indicate that this inclusion is acceptable.
Conditions for passing: The Server indicates it is ready for HSTS preloading, or is already part of the HSTS preloading list.
Reliability: unreliable. We only evaluate this header for the HTTPS URL to which a site redirects upon visit. We will miss preloading indicators on higher-level domains (e.g. example.com if the provided domain was www2.example.com).
Potential scan errors: We may miss security problems on sites that redirect multiple times. We may also miss security problems on sites that issue multiple requests to different servers in order to render the resulting page but forget to set the header in all responses. We may miss the presence of HSTS if redirection is not performed with the HTTP Location header but with JavaScript.
Scan module: testssl, HSTS preloading database
Further reading:
Result wrong? report errorHSTS Preloading further decreases the risk of SSL Stripping attacks. To this end the information that a site should only be retrieved via HTTPS is stored in a list that is preloaded with the browser. This prevents SSL Stripping attacks during the very first visit of a site.
Conditions for passing: The final URL is part of the current Chromium HSTS preload list, or one of its parent domains is and has “include-subdomains” set to true.
Reliability: unreliable. We only evaluate this header for the HTTPS URL to which a site redirects upon visit. We also do not evaluate if the HSTS policy actually has force-https set to true.
Potential scan errors: We may miss security problems on sites that redirect multiple times. We may also miss security problems on sites that issue multiple requests to different servers in order to render the resulting page but forget to set the header in all responses. We may miss the presence of HSTS if redirection is not performed with the HTTP Location header but with JavaScript.
Scan module: testssl, HSTS preloading database
Further reading:
Result wrong? report errorThis HTTP header ensures that outsiders cannot tamper with encrypted transmissions. With HPKP sites can announce that the cryptographic keys used by their servers are tied to certain certificates. This decreases the risk of man-in-the-middle attacks of adversaries who use a forged certificates. However, opinions about the usefulness and risks of this functionality differ widely among experts. This check is informational only and does not influence the ranking of the website.
Conditions for passing: The Public-Key-Pins header is present and the certificate hashes in the header can be matched against the certificate presented during the TLS handshake.
Reliability: unreliable. We only evaluate this header for the HTTPS URL to which a site redirects upon visit. We rely on the result of testssl.sh to evaluate the validity of the pins.
Potential scan errors: We may miss security problems on sites that redirect multiple times. We may miss the presence of HPKP if redirection is not performed with the HTTP Location header but with JavaScript.
Scan module: testssl.sh
Further reading:
SSL 3.0 is a deprecated encryption protocol with known vulnerabilities. Encrypted connections that use SSL 3.0 are vulnerable to the so-called POODLE attack. This allows adversaries to steal sensitive pieces of information such as session cookies that are transferred over a connection.
Conditions for passing: Test passes if the server does not offer the SSL 3.0 protocol. Neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Result wrong? report errorTLS 1.0 is a legacy encryption protocol that does not support the latest cryptographic algorithms. From a security perspective, it would be desirable to disable TLS 1.0 support. However, many sites still offer TLS 1.0 in order to support legacy clients, although, as of 2014, most contemporary web browsers support at least TLS 1.1. Furthermore, the PCI DSS 3.2 standard mandates that sites that process credit card data remove support for TLS 1.0 by June 2018.
Informational check: As TLS 1.0 is neither desireable nor completely deprecated, this test is informational and will always be neutral.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
TLS 1.1 is an outdated encryption protocol that does not support the latest cryptographic algorithms. From a security perspective, it would be desirable to disable TLS 1.1 support in favor of TLS 1.2. However, there are still many clients that are not compatible with TLS 1.2
Informational check: At the moment, we show the result of this check for informational purposes only. The result of this check does not influence the rating and ranking.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
TLS 1.2 is the a modern encryption protocol that does support the latest cryptographic algorithms.
Informational check: Test passes if the server does offer the SSL 3.0 protocol. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Check for protection against Heartbleed
The Heartbleed vulnerability was a critical error in a SSL-enabled server that allowed attackers to retrieve sensitive information from the server.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
The ChangeCipherSpec-Bug was a critical programming error in OpenSSL.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
The Ticketbleed-Bug was a programming error in enterprise-level hardware.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Description will be added soon.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Description will be added soon.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Description will be added soon.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Check for protection against BREACH
Description will be added soon.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. As mitigations exist that cannot be detected automatically, the result will be neutral if the attack is detected to be present. The result is also neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Description will be added soon.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Description will be added soon.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Description will be added soon.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Description will be added soon.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Description will be added soon.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: unreliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Description will be added soon.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. As no mitigations exist that do not break backwards-compatibility with most old clients, we will not actively penalize servers for this vulnerability at the moment, however this may change in the future. The result is also neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Description will be added soon.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. As mitigations exist that cannot be detected automatically, the result will be neutral if the attack is detected to be present. The result is also neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not using RC4. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Description will be added soon.
Informational check: Test passes if the server is not vulnerable to this bug. The result is neutral if the server does not offer encryption at all or if the server cannot be reached.
Reliability: reliable.
Potential scan errors: None that we are aware of.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading:
Web servers may be configured incorrectly and expose private information on the public internet. This test looks for a series of common mistakes: Exposing the "server-status" or "server-info" pages of the web server, common debugging files that may have been forgotten on the server, and the presence of version control system files from the Git or SVN systems, which may contain private or security-critical information.
Conditions for passing: No leaks have been detected.
Reliability: unreliable. The detection is not completely reliable, as we can only check for certain indicators of problems. This test may result in both false positives (claiming that a website is insecure where it isn't) and false negatives (claiming that a website is secure where it isn't).
Potential scan errors: We only check for leaks at specific, pre-defined paths. If The website exposes information in other places, we may not detect it.
Scan Module: serverleaks
Further reading:
Many eMail servers do not allow encrypted connections. This test checks if the mail server associated with the domain supports encrypted connections.
Informational check: Test fails if the server does not offer encryption. The result is neutral if the encryption test did not complete with any results.
Reliability: unreliable.
Potential scan errors: Many eMail servers will slow down our test significantly, which may lead to it failing even though the server offers encrypted connections. In that case, we will be unable to determine any information about the security of the server, and will exempt the category from the rating.
Scan module: testssl
Further reading: