Infrastructure - https://nysed.gov BeaverCheck Audit

D

Redirect Chain

Action

2 redirect(s), 1013 ms total

FIX

2 redirect(s), 1013 ms total

2 redirects before reaching final URL

Each redirect adds latency. Try to minimize the chain to 1 hop.

HTTP to HTTPS redirect present

WWW normalization redirect

2-hop chain could be reduced to 1 hop

Redirect directly from https://nysed.gov to https://www.nysed.gov/

Redirect overhead: 1013 ms total

Got: 1013 ms

https://nysed.gov

298 ms · HTTP/1.1

301

http://www.nysed.gov/

322 ms · HTTP/1.1

301

https://www.nysed.gov/

393 ms · HTTP/1.1 FINAL

#	URL	Status	Time	Protocol	Server
1	https://nysed.gov	301	298 ms	HTTP/1.1	nginx
2	http://www.nysed.gov/	301	322 ms	HTTP/1.1	nginx
3	https://www.nysed.gov/	200	393 ms	HTTP/1.1	nginx

See the visual redirect chain in the HTTP Probe tab →

Each redirect adds latency. Try to minimize the chain to 1 hop.

Why this matters

Redirect chain — each hop adds latency; combine into one redirect where possible.

Source: Google Search Central / web.dev

Redirect directly from https://nysed.gov to https://www.nysed.gov/

Why this matters

Redirect chain could be flattened to one hop — server config tweak removes intermediate latency.

Source: web.dev

C

IPv6 Readiness

Action

No IPv6 support

REVIEW

No IPv6 support

No IPv6 (AAAA) records found

IPv6 support is increasingly important for global accessibility. About 40% of internet users have IPv6 connectivity.

No IPv6 Support

About 40% of internet users have IPv6. Consider adding AAAA records.

IPv6 support is increasingly important for global accessibility. About 40% of internet users have IPv6 connectivity.

Why this matters

No AAAA records — same impact as 'no IPv6 (AAAA) records'; IPv6-preferring clients pay extra latency falling back to IPv4.

Source: Google IPv6 stats

B

URL Variants

www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS

REVIEW

www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS

Both www and non-www versions serve content

Got: Both variants return 200 Expected: One variant 301-redirects to the other

HTTP correctly 301-redirects to HTTPS

www / non-www

200https://www.nysed.gov/

200https://nysed.gov/

Inconsistent — duplicate content risk

HTTP → HTTPS

301http://nysed.gov/ → https://nysed.gov/

Consistent

B

HTTP Probe Timing

Total 1423 ms — DNS, TCP, TLS, TTFB, content transfer breakdown

REVIEW

DNS Lookup

1.13 s

TCP Connect

97 ms

TLS Handshake

103 ms

Time to First Byte

1.42 s

Total Time

1.42 s

Connection waterfall

DNS Lookup 1.13 s TCP Connect 97 ms TLS Handshake 103 ms Server Processing 98 ms Content Transfer 0 ms

B

TLS Certificate Expiry & Recommendations

219 days until leaf cert expires — 3 issues to address

REVIEW

Certificate validity

219

days left

0d 30d 60d 90d+

Recommended actions

Enable HSTS: Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains
Enable DNSSEC on your domain for DNS spoofing protection
Enable OCSP stapling on your TLS server to remove a CA roundtrip and protect user privacy

A+

DNS Records

1 A records, 152 ms lookup

PASS

1 A records, 152 ms lookup

Resolves to 1 IPv4 address(es)

Got: 52.7.171.100

Single A record — no DNS redundancy

Multiple A records provide failover if one server goes down.

No IPv6 (AAAA) records

3 nameserver(s) configured

Got: srv21.nysed.gov, dbru.br.ns.els-gms.att.net, dmtu.mt.ns.els-gms.att.net

1 mail exchanger(s) configured

CAA records not checked

CAA record lookup requires a specialized DNS resolver. This check will be available in a future update.

SPF record present in TXT

DNS resolution time: 152 ms

Got: 152 ms

A	52.7.171.100
AAAA	—
CNAME	—
NS	srv21.nysed.gov, dbru.br.ns.els-gms.att.net, dmtu.mt.ns.els-gms.att.net
MX	0 nysed-gov.mail.protection.outlook.com
TXT	docker-verification=a52080c7-9c54-4a26-9f34-4dee4129f92e msfpkey=2obadx0ow5f7egp7t9zi3xh8w cisco-ci-domain-verification=ccf4db250380d8452fab51979cb802434aa5fdd30b2aa0c4c1f... MS=ms92383676 cisco-ci-domain-verification=71b16614c92126cab1bc28a6aac177249a034bbb4f280c1e3c3... SPF v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com ip4:149.10.0.0/16 ip4:184.73.253.171/3... atlassian-domain-verification=tPTJL8eGS0t8L87QfzfAoBd22lQhf36b9Q1U9/kPIF70ORSriL... _globalsign-domain-verification=YIPcHe6fb_y3CSP10ev7oFNyYtywnLteBszIYgazoh
CAA	Lookup not available with standard resolver

Resolved in 152 ms

Multiple A records provide failover if one server goes down.

Why this matters

Single A record means a single point of failure — if that IP goes down, your site is unreachable until DNS TTL expires.

Learn more ▾

Add multiple A records for round-robin failover, or use a managed DNS provider with health-checked failover (Route 53, Cloudflare, NS1). Short TTL (60-300s) lets clients recover faster on outages.

Source: SRE practice / DNS architecture

CAA record lookup requires a specialized DNS resolver. This check will be available in a future update.

Why this matters

Informational: CAA (Certification Authority Authorization) records weren't checked in this scan.

A+

Crawlability

robots.txt present, sitemap with 2 URLs

PASS

robots.txt present, sitemap with 2 URLs

robots.txt is present

Got: 5498 bytes

sitemap.xml is present

sitemap.xml is valid XML

sitemap.xml contains 2 entries

Sitemap index with 2 child sitemaps

robots.txt references sitemap

robots.txt 200 OK

Size 5498 B Sitemaps referenced 1 User-agents AlexaToolbar # Amazon's user agent, AmazonProductDiscoverybot # Amazon's user agent, aws* # Amazon's user agent, echo* # Amazon's user agent, Googlebot-News # Google's user agent, FeedFetcher-Google # Google's user agent, amazon-QBusiness # Amazon Q Web Crawler, anthropic-ai, Bytespider, Amazon CloudFront # Amazon's user agent, OAI-SearchBot, alexa # Amazon's user agent, Amazonbot # Amazon's user agent, Storebot-Google # Google's user agent, Googlebot-Image # Google's user agent, AdsBot-Google-Mobile # Google's user agent, GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, AWS* # Amazon's user agent, Google-Extended, *, AmazonAdBot # Amazon's user agent, aws-internal # Amazon's user agent, Mediapartners-Google # Google's user agent, CCBot, Aranhabot # Amazon's user agent, amazon-kendra-web-crawler-* # all customers of Amazon Kendra's web crawler, Googlebot-Video # Google's user agent, GoogleOther # Google's user agent, amazon-kendra # all customers of Amazon Kendra's web crawler, GoogleProducer # Google's user agent, Google-Extended # Google's user agent, APIs-Google # Google's user agent, ClaudeBot, Alexabot # Amazon's user agent, amzn_assoc # Amazon's user agent, echo # Amazon's user agent, *Glue # Amazon's user agent Blocking No — crawling allowed

#
# robots.txt
#
# This file is to prevent the crawling and indexing of certain parts
# of your site by web crawlers and spiders run by sites like Yahoo!
# and Google. By telling these "robots" where not to go on your site,
# you save bandwidth and server resources.
#
# This file will be ignored unless it is at the root of your host:
# Used:    http://example.com/robots.txt
# Ignored: http://example.com/site/robots.txt
#
# For more information about the robots.txt standard, see:
# http://www.robotstxt.org/robotstxt.html

# Block crawling of faceted search results to prevent infinite loops
Disallow: /*?f[*
Disallow: /*&f[*
Disallow: /*?search*
Disallow: /search?

# Block AI training scrapers (The "Content Vacuums")
User-agent: GPTBot
User-agent: ClaudeBot
User-agent: CCBot
User-agent: Google-Extended
User-agent: anthropic-ai
User-agent: Bytespider
Disallow: /

# Allow AI Search bots to maintain referral traffic (Optional)
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Allow: /

# Specific protection for the funding opportunities directory
User-agent: *
Disallow: /funding-opportunities/grants?*
Disallow: /funding-opportunities/grants/*?
Disallow: /standards-instruction/standards-resources-and-supports?*
Disallow: /standards-instruction/standards-resources-and-supports*/?
Disallow: /aepp/welcome-adult-education-programs-and-policy-aepp?*
Disallow: /aepp/welcome-adult-education-programs-and-policy-aepp*/?

User-agent: alexa             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: Alexabot             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: AlexaToolbar             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: Aranhabot             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: amazon-QBusiness    # Amazon Q Web Crawler
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: Amazon CloudFront             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: Amazonbot             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: amzn_assoc             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: amazon-kendra-web-crawler-* # all customers of Amazon Kendra's web crawler
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: amazon-kendra # all customers of Amazon Kendra's web crawler
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: AmazonAdBot             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: AmazonProductDiscoverybot             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: AWS*             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: aws-internal     # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: aws*             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: echo             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: echo*             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: *Glue             # Amazon's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: Storebot-Google             # Google's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: Googlebot-Image             # Google's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: Googlebot-News             # Google's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: Googlebot-News             # Google's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: Googlebot-Video             # Google's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: AdsBot-Google-Mobile       # Google's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: Mediapartners-Google       # Google's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: FeedFetcher-Google        # Google's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: GoogleProducer            # Google's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: GoogleOther             # Google's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: Google-Extended          # Google's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: APIs-Google             # Google's user agent
Disallow: / # disallow everything

User-agent: *
Crawl-delay: 10
# Directories
Disallow: /includes/
Disallow: /misc/
Disallow: /modules/
Disallow: /profiles/
Disallow: /scripts/
Disallow: /themes/
Disallow: /COMS/
Disallow: /stateaid/
Disallow: /cafe/
Disallow: /heds/
Disallow: /dpls/
Disallow: /tapeusage/
Disallow: /cn/
Disallow: /fm/
Disallow: /fmis/
Disallow: /stateaid/
# Files
Disallow: /CHANGELOG.txt
Disallow: /cron.php
Disallow: /INSTALL.mysql.txt
Disallow: /INSTALL.pgsql.txt
Disallow: /INSTALL.sqlite.txt
Disallow: /install.php
Disallow: /INSTALL.txt
Disallow: /LICENSE.txt
Disallow: /MAINTAINERS.txt
Disallow: /update.php
Disallow: /UPGRADE.txt
Disallow: /xmlrpc.php
# Paths (clean URLs)
Disallow: /admin/
Disallow: /comment/reply/
Disallow: /filter/tips/
Disallow: /node/add/
Disallow: /search/
Disallow: /user/register/
Disallow: /user/password/
Disallow: /user/login/
Disallow: /user/logout/
Disallow: /seduser
# Paths (no clean URLs)
Disallow: /?q=admin/
Disallow: /?q=comment/reply/
Disallow: /?q=filter/tips/
Disallow: /?q=node/add/
Disallow: /?q=search/
Disallow: /?q=user/password/
Disallow: /?q=user/register/
Disallow: /?q=user/login/
Disallow: /?q=user/logout/
Disallow: /homepage-slider/*
Disallow: /node/4695
Sitemap: http://www.nysed.gov/sitemap.xml

sitemap.xml 200 OK

Type Sitemap Index URLs 2 entries Valid XML Yes

Child Sitemaps:

A+

Domain Intelligence

nysed.gov — via get.gov, 28 years, 11 months old, hosted on AWS

PASS

nysed.gov — via get.gov, 28 years, 11 months old, hosted on AWS

Domain registered until Nov 3, 2026 (6 months remaining)

DNSSEC is not enabled

DNSSEC protects against DNS spoofing attacks. While not required, enabling DNSSEC adds an additional layer of security. Contact your DNS provider to enable it.

Registrar: get.gov

Registrar lock is NOT enabled

The domain can be transferred without an unlock step. Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) in your registrar's control panel to protect against unauthorized or accidental transfers.

Hosting: AWS

Got: AS14618

Domain expiry

143 days

November 3, 2026

SSL certificate

219 days

Issued by GlobalSign nv-sa

Domain age

28 years, 11 months

Registered October 2, 1997

DNSSEC

Not enabled

Protects against DNS spoofing

Hosting

AWS

ASN AS14618

52.7.171.100

Registrar

get.gov

Unlocked 3 NS records

Expiry timeline

Today

+1 year

Domain expiry SSL expiry Danger zone (≤30 days)

Recommended actions

Enable DNSSEC to protect visitors from DNS spoofing
Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) to block unauthorized domain transfers

Registrar get.gov

Created October 2, 1997 (28 years, 11 months ago)

Expires November 3, 2026 (6 months)

Last Updated November 8, 2025

Name Servers dbru.br.ns.els-gms.att.net, dmtu.mt.ns.els-gms.att.net, srv21.nysed.gov

DNSSEC Not enabled

Registrant REDACTED FOR PRIVACY

Hosting

IP Address 52.7.171.100

ASN AS14618 (AMAZON-AES - Amazon.com, Inc., US)

Provider AWS

Data source: rdap (0.5s)

DNSSEC protects against DNS spoofing attacks. While not required, enabling DNSSEC adds an additional layer of security. Contact your DNS provider to enable it.

Why this matters

Without DNSSEC, an attacker who can poison your DNS can hijack your domain — and SSL certs alone don't stop them.

Learn more ▾

DNSSEC adds cryptographic signatures to DNS records, preventing forged responses from poisoning resolver caches. Without it, an attacker who controls the network path can redirect your domain to a malicious server before any HTTPS handshake happens. Most modern registrars (Cloudflare, Google Domains, Route 53) enable it with one toggle.

Source: ICANN / RFC 4033

The domain can be transferred without an unlock step. Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) in your registrar's control panel to protect against unauthorized or accidental transfers.

Why this matters

Without registrar lock, an attacker who phishes your registrar credentials can transfer the domain in minutes — total brand hijack.

Learn more ▾

Registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited, clientDeleteProhibited) requires extra verification before any transfer/update/delete. Every major registrar offers it free. Combined with 2FA on your registrar account, it's the strongest defense against domain hijacking.

Source: ICANN / domain-security best practice

A+

CDN & Delivery

Varnish (HIT)

PASS

Varnish (HIT)

Site is served via Varnish CDN

Got: via: varnish

CDN cache status: HIT

CDN Detected: Varnish

Provider Varnish Cache Status HIT Evidence via: varnish