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https://gulfnews.com

Infrastructure

· 9 checks — DNS, redirects, IPv6, crawlability, URL variants, and domain intelligence rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
93
GRADE
A
FIX
0
REVIEW
2
PASS
7
INFO
0
Probed from Madrid, Spain
200 OK
Checks
9
7 PASS 2 REVIEW
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
TLS Certificate Expiry & Recommendations
79 days until leaf cert expires — 5 issues to address
REVIEW

Certificate validity

79
days left
0d 30d 60d 90d+

Recommended actions

  • Extend HSTS max-age to at least 31536000 (1 year) to meet the preload list criteria
  • Add includeSubDomains to the HSTS directive
  • Add the preload directive and submit to hstspreload.org once max-age + includeSubDomains are in place
  • 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
5 A records, 35 ms lookup
PASS
5 A records, 35 ms lookup
Info::
Resolves to 5 IPv4 address(es)
Got: 104.18.93.198, 104.18.91.198, 104.18.90.198, 104.18.92.198, 104.18.94.198
Info::
No IPv6 (AAAA) records
Info::
4 nameserver(s) configured
Got: edns1.ultradns.biz, edns1.ultradns.org, edns1.ultradns.com, edns1.ultradns.net
Info::
2 mail exchanger(s) configured
Info::
CAA records not checked
CAA record lookup requires a specialized DNS resolver. This check will be available in a future update.
Info::
SPF record present in TXT
Info::
DNS resolution time: 35 ms
Got: 35 ms
A104.18.93.198, 104.18.91.198, 104.18.90.198, 104.18.92.198, 104.18.94.198
AAAA—
CNAME—
NSedns1.ultradns.biz, edns1.ultradns.org, edns1.ultradns.com, edns1.ultradns.net
MX
10 gulfnews-com.mail.protection.outlook.com
20 gulfnews-com.mail.protection.outlook.com
TXT
as=1275656779
"google-site-verification=iOz-Weafo2NTPEO9p4wZ4vSTwRCr59497xniVVZ1KCI"
j5uePGVPGgTYc8znxjAUWxZOFdGDx/sWnsg7mtudahcwIEqvCGQz0RlS+pk2x4adLvXQ593ggj2gXd/P...
"google-site-verification=epnGqcypPlVq7gMhAS68Tv85_Y9_TFCnecL2wLXv4GE"
SPF v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com ip4:194.170.193.80 ip4:83.110.73.200 i...
globalsign-domain-verification=04E7363D1C215B6F859A4C735FFC590B
_globalsign-domain-verification=kvLIBT0bvnAQl_vG6R6zO0dJX8hndxL-mH-lGSIWZP
globalsign-domain-verification=993d9778e0411224a35bb752e0cc4d45
globalsign-domain-verification=F94C066781A709B881445D76CFAAFE99
zoho-verification=zb20117785.zmverify.zoho.com
globalsign-domain-verification=89F85D74D63FC86244D1C8F703D60512
globalsign-domain-verification=2d5b3bb82718544db0f262a1510752ef
_globalsign-domain-verification=ygQUIrWlZYvYYbl3CVCGcmoaMYa_eCxV-FHRwyIVY2
CAALookup not available with standard resolver
Resolved in 35 ms

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+
Redirect Chain
No redirects — direct access
PASS
No redirects — direct access
Info::
No redirects — direct access
Got: https://gulfnews.com

https://gulfnews.com

110 ms · HTTP/1.1 FINAL

#URLStatusTimeProtocolServer
1https://gulfnews.com200110 msHTTP/1.1cloudflare
A+
Crawlability
robots.txt present, sitemap with 46 URLs
PASS
robots.txt present, sitemap with 46 URLs
Info::
robots.txt is present
Got: 1951 bytes
Info::
sitemap.xml is present
Info::
sitemap.xml is valid XML
Info::
sitemap.xml contains 46 entries
Info::
Sitemap index with 46 child sitemaps
Info::
robots.txt references sitemap
robots.txt 200 OK
Size 1951 B Sitemaps referenced 2 User-agents *, Googlebot, Googlebot-Mobile, AmazonAdBot Blocking No — crawling allowed
User-agent: *
Disallow: /ajaxservlet
Disallow: /*gulfnews.AjaxPageLayout.ot
Disallow: /*gulfnews.FormPageLayout.ot
Disallow: /advanced-search*
Disallow: /sport/football/match-centre
Disallow: /sport/data/match
Disallow: /sport/data/league
Disallow: /sport/data/team
Disallow: /sport/data/player
Disallow: /sport/cricket/match-centre
Disallow: /sport/motorsport/results
Disallow: /search*
Disallow: /addOutlookToCalendar
Disallow: /guides/event-search-page
Disallow: /*token*
Disallow: /*articleTypeSuffix*
Disallow: /*returnTo*
Disallow: /*code*
Disallow: /*g-recaptcha-response*
Disallow: /*generatorName*
Disallow: /*categories*
Disallow: /*articleId*
Disallow: /cmlink/
Disallow: /polopoly_fs/
Disallow: /*.svg$

User-agent: Googlebot
Disallow: /ajaxservlet
Disallow: /*gulfnews.AjaxPageLayout.ot
Disallow: /*gulfnews.FormPageLayout.ot
Disallow: /advanced-search*
Disallow: /sport/football/match-centre
Disallow: /sport/data/match
Disallow: /sport/data/league
Disallow: /sport/data/team
Disallow: /sport/data/player
Disallow: /sport/cricket/match-centre
Disallow: /sport/motorsport/results
Disallow: /search*
Disallow: /addOutlookToCalendar
Disallow: /guides/event-search-page
Disallow: /cmlink/
Disallow: /polopoly_fs/
Disallow: /*.svg$


User-agent: Googlebot-Mobile
Disallow: /ajaxservlet
Disallow: /*gulfnews.AjaxPageLayout.ot
Disallow: /*gulfnews.FormPageLayout.ot
Disallow: /advanced-search*
Disallow: /sport/football/match-centre
Disallow: /sport/data/match
Disallow: /sport/data/league
Disallow: /sport/data/team
Disallow: /sport/data/player
Disallow: /sport/cricket/match-centre
Disallow: /sport/motorsport/results
Disallow: /search*
Disallow: /addOutlookToCalendar
Disallow: /guides/event-search-page
Disallow: /writers/
Disallow: /demo/
Disallow: /hcl/
Disallow: /cmlink/
Disallow: /polopoly_fs/
Disallow: /*.svg$

User-agent: AmazonAdBot
Allow: /

Sitemap: https://gulfnews.com/sitemap.xml
Sitemap: https://gulfnews.com/news_sitemap.xml
sitemap.xml 200 OK
Type Sitemap Index URLs 46 entries Valid XML Yes
Child Sitemaps:
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: non-www)
Info::
HTTP correctly 301-redirects to HTTPS

www / non-www

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

Preferred variant: non-www

HTTP → HTTPS

301http://gulfnews.com/ → https://gulfnews.com/

Consistent

A+
Domain Intelligence
gulfnews.com — via GoDaddy.com, LLC, 28 years, 4 months old, hosted on Cloudflare
PASS
gulfnews.com — via GoDaddy.com, LLC, 28 years, 4 months old, hosted on Cloudflare
Info::
Domain registered until May 10, 2027 (1 years 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: GoDaddy.com, LLC
Warning::
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.
Info::
Hosting: Cloudflare
Got: AS13335
Domain expiry

328 days

May 10, 2027

SSL certificate

79 days

Issued by Google Trust Services

Domain age

28 years, 4 months

Registered May 11, 1998

DNSSEC

Not enabled

Protects against DNS spoofing

Hosting

Cloudflare

ASN AS13335

104.18.90.198

Registrar

GoDaddy.com, LLC

Unlocked 4 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 GoDaddy.com, LLC
Created May 11, 1998 (28 years, 4 months ago)
Expires May 10, 2027 (1 years)
Last Updated January 20, 2026
Name Servers edns1.ultradns.biz, edns1.ultradns.com, edns1.ultradns.net, edns1.ultradns.org
DNSSEC Not enabled
Hosting
IP Address 104.18.90.198
ASN AS13335 (CLOUDFLARENET - Cloudflare, Inc., US)
Provider Cloudflare
Data source: rdap (0.1s)

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+
HTTP Probe Timing
Total 169 ms — DNS, TCP, TLS, TTFB, content transfer breakdown
PASS
DNS Lookup DNS Lookup — time to resolve the domain name to an IP address.
31 ms
TCP Connect TCP Connect — time to establish a TCP connection to the server.
17 ms
TLS Handshake TLS Handshake — time to complete the HTTPS encryption handshake.
21 ms
Time to First Byte Time to First Byte — how long the server takes to respond with the first byte of data.
136 ms
Total Time Total request time from DNS lookup through full response.
169 ms

Connection waterfall

DNS Lookup 31 ms TCP Connect 17 ms TLS Handshake 21 ms Server Processing 66 ms Content Transfer 34 ms
A+
CDN & Delivery
Cloudflare (HIT)
PASS
Cloudflare (HIT)
Info::
Site is served via Cloudflare CDN (edge: CDG)
Got: cf-ray: 9eff99d85c235169-CDG
Info::
CDN cache status: HIT
CDN Detected: Cloudflare
Provider Cloudflare Cache Status HIT Evidence cf-ray: 9eff99d85c235169-CDG
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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