Infrastructure
· 9 checks — DNS, redirects, IPv6, crawlability, URL variants, and domain intelligence rolled into one auditable list.BTLS Certificate Expiry & Recommendations50 days until leaf cert expires — 3 issues to addressREVIEW
Certificate validity
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 Records2 A records, 8 ms lookupPASS
| A | 162.159.134.42, 162.159.135.42 |
| AAAA | 2606:4700:7::a29f:862a, 2606:4700:7::a29f:872a |
| CNAME | — |
| NS | chad.ns.cloudflare.com, paloma.ns.cloudflare.com |
| MX | 0 plos-org.mail.protection.outlook.com |
| TXT | Foxit-domain-verification=554cf8f493f57f0391b6b6709c0fbf73 MS=ms71193127 Public Library of Science, 415 624 1200 atlassian-domain-verification=KBcW5CfwNLAM/0qR7EQaMQ6EpgX44xvccXJeJ0OcGjQBKxmaTd... atlassian-sending-domain-verification=dadfeefb-1bb8-45b2-8306-8ad0d2d3e4d2 ca3-87a44bcab6ee4852be6d9eac3d8d49bb figma-domain-verification=7cce239e2730b9b08d37cb244675667a80fcb3270b5fb6f5ae2562... google-site-verification=JlE5EuzC0Q8baR-8PLjIWrI-VB2Y9Bp-8CZSB2PhKMo google-site-verification=VAPTCiihexaJpNUbasuVV-uJ8QmS22icu4cbxxsnVoM google-site-verification=a6YDaJzSVW7_Lu5X_e1HoC6kG7wAtD4vI7WtCpjZjb0 google-site-verification=g9PQGJfRFNffB4MEiJ_b7sA_J94yIXtFsQa0aHT3u5A status-page-domain-verification=pzzg3z65n146 SPF v=spf1 mx a ip4:136.147.136.128 ip4:184.23.159.2 ip4:216.74.38.68 ip4:50.56.130.... |
| CAA | Lookup not available with standard resolver |
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.
A+Redirect ChainNo redirects — direct accessPASS
https://plos.org
42 ms · HTTP/1.1 FINAL
| # | URL | Status | Time | Protocol | Server |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | https://plos.org | 200 | 42 ms | HTTP/1.1 | cloudflare |
A+IPv6 ReadinessIPv6 reachable (2 ms)PASS
A+Crawlabilityrobots.txt present, sitemap with 17 URLsPASS
# START YOAST BLOCK
# ---------------------------
User-agent: *
Disallow:
Sitemap: https://plos.org/sitemap_index.xml
# ---------------------------
# END YOAST BLOCK
- https://plos.org/page-sitemap.xml
- https://plos.org/announcement-sitemap.xm...
- https://plos.org/resource-sitemap.xml
- https://plos.org/inst_partner-sitemap.xm...
- https://plos.org/plos_journal-sitemap.xm...
- https://plos.org/event-sitemap.xml
- https://plos.org/gravityview-sitemap.xml
- https://plos.org/category-sitemap.xml
- https://plos.org/post_tag-sitemap.xml
- https://plos.org/audience-sitemap.xml
- https://plos.org/agreement_type-sitemap....
- https://plos.org/country-sitemap.xml
- https://plos.org/journal-sitemap.xml
- https://plos.org/subject_area-sitemap.xm...
- https://plos.org/article_type-sitemap.xm...
- https://plos.org/journal_characteristic-...
- https://plos.org/event_category-sitemap....
A+URL Variantswww/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPSPASS
www / non-www
Preferred variant: non-www
HTTP → HTTPS
Consistent
A+Domain Intelligenceplos.org — via Cloudflare, Inc., 25 years, 11 months oldPASS
109 days
October 2, 2026
50 days
Issued by Google Trust Services
25 years, 11 months
Registered October 2, 2000
Not enabled
Protects against DNS spoofing
Unknown
2606:4700:7::a29f:862a
Cloudflare, Inc.
Expiry timeline
Recommended actions
- Enable DNSSEC to protect visitors from DNS spoofing
- Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) to block unauthorized domain transfers
DNSSEC protects against DNS spoofing attacks. While not required, enabling DNSSEC adds an additional layer of security. Contact your DNS provider to enable it.
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.
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