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Infrastructure

· 9 checks — DNS, redirects, IPv6, crawlability, URL variants, and domain intelligence rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
75
GRADE
C
FIX
1
REVIEW
4
PASS
4
INFO
0
Probed from Madrid, Spain
303 HTTP 303
Checks
9
4 PASS 4 REVIEW 1 FIX
F
Redirect Chain
Action
4 redirect(s), 551 ms total
FIX
4 redirect(s), 551 ms total
Warning::
4 redirects before reaching final URL
Each redirect adds latency. Try to minimize the chain to 1 hop.
Info::
WWW normalization redirect
Info::
Uses 302 (temporary) redirect
If permanent, use 301 instead.
Got: https://idp.nature.com/authorize?response_type=cookie&client_id=grover&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Fnature
Info::
Redirect overhead: 551 ms total
Got: 551 ms
Info::
Cross-domain redirect detected

https://www.nature.com

73 ms · HTTP/1.1

303

https://idp.nature.com/authorize?respons...

86 ms · HTTP/1.1

302

https://idp.nature.com/transit?redirect_...

34 ms · HTTP/1.1

302

https://www.nature.com/nature?error=cook...

74 ms · HTTP/1.1

301

https://www.nature.com?error=cookies_not...

284 ms · HTTP/1.1 FINAL

#URLStatusTimeProtocolServer
1https://www.nature.com30373 msHTTP/1.1Oscar Platform 0.2157.0
2https://idp.nature.com/authorize?respons...30286 msHTTP/1.1
3https://idp.nature.com/transit?redirect_...30234 msHTTP/1.1
4https://www.nature.com/nature?error=cook...30174 msHTTP/1.1Oscar Platform 0.2157.0
5https://www.nature.com?error=cookies_not...200284 msHTTP/1.1Oscar Platform 0.2157.0

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

If permanent, use 301 instead.

Why this matters

302 (Found) is for genuinely temporary redirects — if this redirect is permanent, switch to 301 to preserve SEO equity.

Learn more ▾

Search engines treat 302 as temporary, keeping the original URL indexed and not transferring full link equity to the destination. Use 301 (Moved Permanently) for permanent redirects (HTTP→HTTPS, www-vs-non-www, URL restructures).

Source: Google Search Central

B
DNS Records
4 A records, 24 ms lookup
REVIEW
4 A records, 24 ms lookup
Info::
Resolves to 4 IPv4 address(es)
Got: 151.101.0.95, 151.101.64.95, 151.101.128.95, 151.101.192.95
Info::
No IPv6 (AAAA) records
Warning::
CNAME record at zone apex
A CNAME at the zone apex can break MX and NS records. Use ALIAS/ANAME or A records instead.
Got: geo-gcp.cdn.springernature.io
Info::
No NS records found
Info::
No MX records — email not configured via DNS
Info::
CAA records not checked
CAA record lookup requires a specialized DNS resolver. This check will be available in a future update.
Info::
No SPF record found in TXT records
SPF helps prevent email spoofing. Add a TXT record starting with 'v=spf1'.
Info::
DNS resolution time: 24 ms
Got: 24 ms
A151.101.0.95, 151.101.64.95, 151.101.128.95, 151.101.192.95
AAAA—
CNAMEgeo-gcp.cdn.springernature.io
NS—
MX—
TXT—
CAALookup not available with standard resolver
Resolved in 24 ms

A CNAME at the zone apex can break MX and NS records. Use ALIAS/ANAME or A records instead.

Why this matters

CNAME at the apex (example.com) breaks every other apex record (MX, TXT, NS) — DNS-protocol violation per RFC 1034.

Learn more ▾

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.

Why this matters

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'.

Why this matters

Without SPF, receiving servers can't validate sending IPs — your domain is easier to spoof in phishing.

Learn more ▾

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)

C
IPv6 Readiness
Action
No IPv6 support
REVIEW
No IPv6 support
Info::
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
Crawlability
robots.txt present, sitemap with 38833 URLs
REVIEW
robots.txt present, sitemap with 38833 URLs
Info::
robots.txt is present
Got: 2640 bytes
Info::
sitemap.xml is present
Warning::
sitemap.xml contains invalid XML
Search engines may not be able to parse the sitemap. Fix XML validation errors.
Info::
sitemap.xml contains 38833 entries
Info::
Sitemap index with 38833 child sitemaps
Info::
robots.txt references sitemap

Search engines may not be able to parse the sitemap. Fix XML validation errors.

Why this matters

An unparseable sitemap is silently ignored by Google — the URLs it advertises are never queued for crawl.

Learn more ▾

Google's sitemap parser is strict about XML validity. A single unescaped `&` or unclosed tag invalidates the whole file. Run your sitemap through a validator (Search Console's Sitemaps report flags it) and fix the offending entry. Most generators escape correctly; mistakes usually come from manually-written entries.

Source: sitemaps.org / Google Search Central

robots.txt 200 OK
Size 2640 B Sitemaps referenced 4 User-agents img2dataset, GPTBot, meta-externalagent, omgili, *, CCBot, GoogleOther, YouBot, cohere-ai, Claude-Web, Amazonbot, anthropic-ai, Bytespider, ClaudeBot, FacebookBot, ImagesiftBot, omgilibot, ChatGPT-User, Applebot-Extended, Google-Extended, PerplexityBot, Diffbot, FriendlyCrawler Blocking No — crawling allowed
User-agent: *
Sitemap: https://www.nature.com/sitemap.xml
Sitemap: https://www.nature.com/subjects/sitemap.xml
Sitemap: https://www.nature.com/naturecareers/sitemapindex.xml
Sitemap: https://www.nature.com/latest-news/sitemap.xml
Disallow: /search
Disallow: */1000$
Disallow: /*/*/*/pf/
Disallow: /*.otmi$
Disallow: /*/*/*/*/otmi/
Disallow: /*/*/*/*/fp/
Disallow: /protocolexchange/labgroups/
Disallow: /naturecareers/jobs/search
Disallow: /webcasts/*
Disallow: /*draft=*
Disallow: /*foxtrotcallback=*
Disallow: /*origin=*
Disallow: /my-account
Disallow: /*proof=t%2Btarget%3D\*
Disallow: /*proof=*
Disallow: /*/figures
Disallow: /*/tables
Disallow: /*/schemes
Disallow: /*/structures
Disallow: /*/metrics
Disallow: /platform/contextual
Disallow: /articles/*.ris
Disallow: /nature-index/article-api/
Disallow: /nature-index/articles/saudi-arabia
Disallow: /nature-index/articles/saudi-arabia-altmetric
Disallow: /nature-index/city-maps/
Disallow: /nature-index/country-outputs-api/
Disallow: /nature-index/country-suggestion
Disallow: /nature-index/country-suggestion/news-archive
Disallow: /nature-index/global-city-map/data
Disallow: /nature-index/institution-outputs-api/
Disallow: /nature-index/institution-suggestion
Disallow: /nature-index/institution-suggestion/news-archive
Disallow: /naturecareers/session-img/
Disallow: /naturecareers/jobsrss/
Disallow: /nature-index/annual-tables/export/
Disallow: /nature-index/country-outputs/export/
Disallow: /nature-index/country-territory-research-output/export
Disallow: /nature-index/institution-outputs/export/
Disallow: /nature-index/institution-research-output/export
Disallow: /nature-index/news/archive/search/by-country
Disallow: /nature-index/news/archive/search/by-institution
Disallow: /nature-index/annual-tables/2021/academic-normalized
Disallow: */platform/disqus*
Disallow: */cas-redirect/*
User-Agent: Amazonbot
Disallow: /
User-Agent: anthropic-ai
Disallow: /
User-Agent: Applebot-Extended
Disallow: /
User-Agent: Bytespider
Disallow: /
User-Agent: CCBot
Disallow: /
User-Agent: ClaudeBot
Disallow: /
User-Agent: FacebookBot
Disallow: /
User-Agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /
User-Agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /
User-Agent: GoogleOther
Disallow: /
User-Agent: PerplexityBot
Disallow: /
User-Agent: YouBot
Disallow: /
User-Agent: meta-externalagent
Disallow: /
User-Agent: ImagesiftBot
Disallow: /
User-Agent: cohere-ai
Disallow: /
User-Agent: Diffbot
Disallow: /
User-Agent: FriendlyCrawler
Disallow: /
User-Agent: img2dataset
Disallow: /
User-Agent: omgili
Disallow: /
User-Agent: omgilibot
Disallow: /
User-Agent: Claude-Web
Disallow: /
User-Agent: ChatGPT-User
Disallow: /
sitemap.xml 200 OK
Type Sitemap Index URLs 38833 entries Valid XML No
Child Sitemaps:
B
TLS Certificate Expiry & Recommendations
69 days until leaf cert expires — 3 issues to address
REVIEW

Certificate validity

69
days left
0d 30d 60d 90d+

Recommended actions

  • Add includeSubDomains to the HSTS directive
  • 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+
URL Variants
www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS
PASS
www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS
Info::
www/non-www redirect configured correctly (preferred: www)
Info::
HTTP correctly 301-redirects to HTTPS

www / non-www

200https://www.nature.com/
301https://nature.com/

Preferred variant: www

HTTP → HTTPS

301http://www.nature.com/ → https://www.nature.com/

Consistent

A+
Domain Intelligence
nature.com — via CSC Corporate Domains, Inc., 32 years, 1 months old, hosted on Fastly
PASS
nature.com — via CSC Corporate Domains, Inc., 32 years, 1 months old, hosted on Fastly
Info::
Domain registered until Aug 10, 2026 (4 months remaining)
Info::
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.
Info::
Registrar: CSC Corporate Domains, Inc.
Info::
Hosting: Fastly
Got: AS54113
Domain expiry

1 day

August 10, 2026

SSL certificate

69 days

Issued by Let's Encrypt

Domain age

32 years, 1 months

Registered August 11, 1994

DNSSEC

Not enabled

Protects against DNS spoofing

Hosting

Fastly

ASN AS54113

151.101.120.95

Registrar

CSC Corporate Domains, Inc.

Lock status unknown 6 NS records
Expiry timeline
Today
+1 year
Domain expiry SSL expiry Danger zone (≤30 days)
Recommended actions
  • Renew the domain or enable auto-renewal to prevent accidental expiry
  • Enable DNSSEC to protect visitors from DNS spoofing
Registrar CSC Corporate Domains, Inc.
Created August 11, 1994 (32 years, 1 months ago)
Expires August 10, 2026 (4 months)
Last Updated August 6, 2024
Name Servers pdns1.ultradns.net, pdns2.ultradns.net, pdns3.ultradns.org, pdns4.ultradns.org, pdns5.ultradns.info, pdns6.ultradns.co.uk
DNSSEC Not enabled
Hosting
IP Address 151.101.120.95
ASN AS54113 (FASTLY - Fastly, Inc., US)
Provider Fastly
Data source: rdap (0.3s)

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

A+
HTTP Probe Timing
Total 120 ms — DNS, TCP, TLS, TTFB, content transfer breakdown
PASS
DNS Lookup DNS Lookup — time to resolve the domain name to an IP address.
51 ms
TCP Connect TCP Connect — time to establish a TCP connection to the server.
0 ms
TLS Handshake TLS Handshake — time to complete the HTTPS encryption handshake.
3 ms
Time to First Byte Time to First Byte — how long the server takes to respond with the first byte of data.
120 ms
Total Time Total request time from DNS lookup through full response.
120 ms

Connection waterfall

DNS Lookup 51 ms TCP Connect 0 ms TLS Handshake 3 ms Server Processing 66 ms Content Transfer 0 ms
A
CDN & Delivery
Fastly (MISS, MISS, MISS)
PASS
Fastly (MISS, MISS, MISS)
Info::
Site is served via Fastly CDN
Got: x-served-by: cache-toj-leto2350079-TOJ, cache-toj-leto2350050-TOJ
Info::
CDN cache status: MISS, MISS, MISS
CDN Detected: Fastly
Provider Fastly Cache Status MISS, MISS, MISS Evidence x-served-by: cache-toj-leto2350079-TOJ, cache-toj-leto2350050-TOJ
All checks on this page are automated. Results are estimates - run targeted manual reviews when the score affects a release decision.

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