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https://independent.co.uk

Infrastructure

· 9 checks — DNS, redirects, IPv6, crawlability, URL variants, and domain intelligence rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
87
GRADE
B
FIX
0
REVIEW
3
PASS
6
INFO
0
Probed from Madrid, Spain
301 Moved Permanently
Checks
9
6 PASS 3 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
URL Variants
www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS
REVIEW
www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS
Critical::
Both www and non-www versions serve content
Got: Both variants return 200 Expected: One variant 301-redirects to the other
Info::
HTTP correctly 301-redirects to HTTPS

www / non-www

200https://www.independent.co.uk/
200https://independent.co.uk/

Inconsistent — duplicate content risk

HTTP → HTTPS

301http://independent.co.uk/ https://independent.co.uk/

Consistent

B
TLS Certificate Expiry & Recommendations
340 days until leaf cert expires — 4 issues to address
REVIEW

Certificate validity

340
days left
0d 30d 60d 90d+

Recommended actions

  • Prefer TLS 1.3 — TLS 1.2 is acceptable but TLS 1.3 removes RSA key exchange and improves latency
  • 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
4 A records, 92 ms lookup
PASS
4 A records, 92 ms lookup
Info::
Resolves to 4 IPv4 address(es)
Got: 151.101.65.184, 151.101.1.184, 151.101.129.184, 151.101.193.184
Info::
No IPv6 (AAAA) records
Info::
2 nameserver(s) configured
Got: lars.ns.cloudflare.com, rihana.ns.cloudflare.com
Info::
1 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: 92 ms
Got: 92 ms
A151.101.65.184, 151.101.1.184, 151.101.129.184, 151.101.193.184
AAAA
CNAME
NSlars.ns.cloudflare.com, rihana.ns.cloudflare.com
MX
1 smtp.google.com
TXT
_globalsign-domain-verification=jJoyi6D96ll9YZVNruVpQ8YkW4d8-s08ldwzHDKOVR
a109d5bf4aaa0ab69555471a9456635c
google-site-verification=YUToiF3Ncn2Iu62-jTvtn7rrbDOsn7ae3MNOyzi8qRI
facebook-domain-verification=romovgbm3nyrpvudi6wheb7kank3yi
ZOOM_verify_pwuRvDk1ZRE0di1JOITDZj
optimise-verify-b0b17e10-b5a6-4449-8458-804aa93c9863
SPF v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:_spf.google.com include:mail.z...
_globalsign-domain-verification=Aj-eZlKNbMBin_FHdOspwcOPmZnu_RkJAoggYqdcf8
google-site-verification=7jSyuxXF8wVTqjz3bvlLiGFkpFtli5tP9gkqVJCmg1s
google-site-verification=Jt42c9XQgclbx43XFiVsB69XfaNRWjAIojnv8u8N0m4
adobe-idp-site-verification=5c874982d9eb77c27639f75fe9649403668793e47bc55164e579...
apple-domain-verification=RM9N27RqIQhlhX0B
MS=ms14560256
google-site-verification=TzSBELtkPBll_xwkxxwqtmosfayfGXNFpwTds4aY5T4
OYvTklSWrIhxrJU0Jd25WG1ccxNvL8tW4Vkeg8wXo4UrZzuD58AXQ/62cTiYXiguwPa+AyPzVCHoQ5dV...
pinterest-site-verification=92994e165e6096c136047a7fa2c22a38
globalsign-domain-verification=zfCNvJt0iTcEchLrE0nrimsdl4h4m4zVTSJYOcrlcJ
ZOOM_verify_y3Lp-IWWQx28ozGnH6HXGA
MS=ms64467317
0ed1fe018a12bf1004ae1e4d9ca9074bfa76d45356
CAALookup not available with standard resolver
Resolved in 92 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
1 redirect(s), 86 ms total
PASS
1 redirect(s), 86 ms total
Info::
Single redirect
Got: https://independent.co.uk → https://www.independent.co.uk/ (301)
Info::
WWW normalization redirect

https://independent.co.uk

4 ms · HTTP/1.1

301

https://www.independent.co.uk/

82 ms · HTTP/1.1 FINAL

#URLStatusTimeProtocolServer
1https://independent.co.uk3014 msHTTP/1.1
2https://www.independent.co.uk/20082 msHTTP/1.1

See the visual redirect chain in the HTTP Probe tab →

A+
Crawlability
robots.txt present, sitemap with 500 URLs
PASS
robots.txt present, sitemap with 500 URLs
Info::
robots.txt is present
Got: 1271 bytes
Info::
sitemap.xml is present
Info::
sitemap.xml is valid XML
Info::
sitemap.xml contains 500 entries
Info::
robots.txt references sitemap
robots.txt 200 OK
Size 1271 B Sitemaps referenced 2 User-agents *, Nutch Blocking No — crawling allowed

User-agent: *

# 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
Disallow: /img/placeholder.gif
# 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: /internal-api/
# 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: /pugpig/
Disallow: /videorequest
Disallow: /api/
Disallow: /api/html/
Disallow: /api/user/
Disallow: /71347885/

# Ignore liveblog pagination and swipe tracking
Disallow: *itm_channel=native
Disallow: *?page=

# Ignore refresh URLs
Disallow: /*ILC-refresh

User-agent: Nutch
Disallow: /

Sitemap: https://www.independent.co.uk/sitemaps/googlenews
Sitemap: https://www.independent.co.uk/sitemap.xml


A+
Domain Intelligence
independent.co.uk — via Nom-IQ Limited t/a Com Laude, 30 years, 7 months old, hosted on Fastly
PASS
independent.co.uk — via Nom-IQ Limited t/a Com Laude, 30 years, 7 months old, hosted on Fastly
Info::
Domain registered until Feb 2, 2027 (9 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: Nom-IQ Limited t/a Com Laude
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: Fastly
Got: AS54113
Domain expiry

204 days

February 2, 2027

SSL certificate

340 days

Issued by GlobalSign nv-sa

Domain age

30 years, 7 months

Registered February 2, 1996

DNSSEC

Not enabled

Protects against DNS spoofing

Hosting

Fastly

ASN AS54113

151.101.1.184

Registrar

Nom-IQ Limited t/a Com Laude

Unlocked 2 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 Nom-IQ Limited t/a Com Laude
Created February 2, 1996 (30 years, 7 months ago)
Expires February 2, 2027 (9 months)
Last Updated October 18, 2022
Name Servers lars.ns.cloudflare.com., rihana.ns.cloudflare.com.
DNSSEC Not enabled
Hosting
IP Address 151.101.1.184
ASN AS54113 (FASTLY - Fastly, Inc., US)
Provider Fastly
Data source: rdap (0.4s)

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 34 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.
0 ms
TLS Handshake TLS Handshake — time to complete the HTTPS encryption handshake.
2 ms
Time to First Byte Time to First Byte — how long the server takes to respond with the first byte of data.
34 ms
Total Time Total request time from DNS lookup through full response.
34 ms

Connection waterfall

DNS Lookup 31 ms TCP Connect 0 ms TLS Handshake 2 ms Server Processing 1 ms Content Transfer 0 ms
A+
CDN & Delivery
Fastly (HIT)
PASS
Fastly (HIT)
Info::
Site is served via Fastly CDN
Got: x-served-by: cache-toj-leto2350051-TOJ
Info::
CDN cache status: HIT
CDN Detected: Fastly
Provider Fastly Cache Status HIT Evidence x-served-by: cache-toj-leto2350051-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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