Infrastructure
· 9 checks — DNS, redirects, IPv6, crawlability, URL variants, and domain intelligence rolled into one auditable list.BDNS Records2 A records, 34 ms lookupREVIEW
| A | 104.18.4.62, 104.18.5.62 |
| AAAA | 2606:4700::6812:43e, 2606:4700::6812:53e |
| CNAME | www.open.ac.uk.cdn.cloudflare.net |
| NS | — |
| MX | — |
| TXT | — |
| CAA | Lookup not available with standard resolver |
A CNAME at the zone apex can break MX and NS records. Use ALIAS/ANAME or A records instead.
CNAME at the apex (example.com) breaks every other apex record (MX, TXT, NS) — DNS-protocol violation per RFC 1034.
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RFC 1034 forbids CNAME alongside other records at the same name. Some DNS providers offer ALIAS / ANAME / flattened-CNAME records that work around this — use those instead. Otherwise apex-level CNAME breaks email (no MX), domain ownership verification (no TXT), and more.
Source: RFC 1034
CAA record lookup requires a specialized DNS resolver. This check will be available in a future update.
Informational: CAA (Certification Authority Authorization) records weren't checked in this scan.
SPF helps prevent email spoofing. Add a TXT record starting with 'v=spf1'.
Without SPF, receiving servers can't validate sending IPs — your domain is easier to spoof in phishing.
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SPF complements DMARC. Both should be published. SPF records list authorized sending IPs (e.g., `v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all` for Google Workspace). After publishing, verify in Google Postmaster Tools or mxtoolbox.
Source: RFC 7208 (SPF)
BCrawlabilityno robots.txt, no sitemapREVIEW
robots.txt is optional but recommended. It tells search engine crawlers which pages to index.
No robots.txt — crawlers fetch /robots.txt and get 404; not breaking but means default crawl behavior with no directives or sitemap reference.
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A minimal robots.txt with `User-agent: * / Allow: / / Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml` covers the basics. Without it, crawlers behave fine but lose the sitemap signal and can't be selectively blocked from crawl-traps.
Source: robotstxt.org
A sitemap helps search engines discover and index your pages more efficiently.
No sitemap.xml — Google relies on crawl-graph discovery alone, slowing indexing of deep or fresh URLs.
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A sitemap accelerates Google's discovery of new and updated content. Most CMSes auto-generate one; static-site frameworks need a build-step plugin. Reference it from robots.txt and submit in Search Console to confirm Google can fetch it.
Source: sitemaps.org / Google Search Central
No robots.txt found
This is fine for most sites — a missing robots.txt allows all crawling by default.
No sitemap found
Adding a sitemap helps search engines discover your pages.
BTLS Certificate Expiry & Recommendations82 days until leaf cert expires — 3 issues to addressREVIEW
Certificate validity
Recommended actions
- Extend HSTS max-age to at least 31536000 (1 year) to meet the preload list criteria
- 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
BCDN & DeliveryCloudflareREVIEW
A+Redirect ChainNo redirects — direct accessPASS
https://www.open.ac.uk
98 ms · HTTP/1.1 FINAL
| # | URL | Status | Time | Protocol | Server |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | https://www.open.ac.uk | 200 | 98 ms | HTTP/1.1 | cloudflare |
A+IPv6 ReadinessIPv6 reachable (17 ms)PASS
A+URL Variantswww/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPSPASS
www / non-www
HTTP → HTTPS
Consistent
A+Domain Intelligenceopen.ac.uk — via No registrar listed. This domain is directly registered with Nominet., hosted on JANET Jisc Services Limited, GBPASS
Unknown
82 days
Issued by Google Trust Services
Unknown
Status unknown
Protects against DNS spoofing
JANET Jisc Services Limited, GB
ASN AS786
137.108.200.89
No registrar listed. This domain is directly registered with Nominet.
Expiry timeline
Recommended actions
- Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) to block unauthorized domain transfers
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.
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