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Infrastructure

· 9 checks — DNS, redirects, IPv6, crawlability, URL variants, and domain intelligence rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
91
GRADE
A
FIX
1
REVIEW
3
PASS
5
INFO
0
Probed from Sao Paulo, Brazil
403 Forbidden
Checks
9
5 PASS 3 REVIEW 1 FIX
D
CDN & Delivery
Action
No CDN detected
FIX
No CDN detected
Warning::
No CDN detected
A CDN can significantly improve load times for users around the world by caching content at edge nodes closer to them.
No CDN detected

Consider using a CDN to improve global delivery speed and reduce origin load.

B
Crawlability
no robots.txt, no sitemap
REVIEW
no robots.txt, no sitemap
Info::
No robots.txt found
robots.txt is optional but recommended. It tells search engine crawlers which pages to index.
Info::
No sitemap.xml found
A sitemap helps search engines discover and index your pages more efficiently.

robots.txt is optional but recommended. It tells search engine crawlers which pages to index.

Why this matters

No robots.txt — crawlers fetch /robots.txt and get 404; not breaking but means default crawl behavior with no directives or sitemap reference.

Learn more

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.

Why this matters

No sitemap.xml — Google relies on crawl-graph discovery alone, slowing indexing of deep or fresh URLs.

Learn more

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

robots.txt No robots.txt found

No robots.txt found

This is fine for most sites — a missing robots.txt allows all crawling by default.

sitemap.xml No sitemap found

No sitemap found

Adding a sitemap helps search engines discover your pages.

B
URL Variants
www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS
REVIEW
www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS
Critical::
HTTP version does not redirect to HTTPS
Got: HTTP 403 Expected: 301 redirect to HTTPS

www / non-www

403https://www.mdpi.com/
200https://mdpi.com/

HTTP → HTTPS

403http://mdpi.com/

HTTP version does not redirect to HTTPS

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

Certificate validity

243
days left
0d 30d 60d 90d+

Recommended actions

  • 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
2 A records, 22 ms lookup
PASS
2 A records, 22 ms lookup
Info::
Resolves to 2 IPv4 address(es)
Got: 2.18.20.138, 2.18.20.135
Info::
Has 2 IPv6 (AAAA) record(s)
Got: 2600:1419:6a00:11::211:2f08, 2600:1419:6a00:11::211:2f06
Info::
2 nameserver(s) configured
Got: duke.ns.cloudflare.com, tia.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: 22 ms
Got: 22 ms
A2.18.20.138, 2.18.20.135
AAAA2600:1419:6a00:11::211:2f08, 2600:1419:6a00:11::211:2f06
CNAME
NSduke.ns.cloudflare.com, tia.ns.cloudflare.com
MX
10 mail.mdpi.com
TXT
MS=7983DA5502DEB40953AE07AF7287CD4DA1D92273
MS=ms22287815
anthropic-domain-verification-0gqk0p=F7Zo1HH7mxxuCicADqZIVVoxw
atlassian-domain-verification=B8vS1pMclo3CtNoM1lEBx67CaALcw0VrjLBCUcyidI3VnIvUEC...
google-site-verification=5HGq1F7H_WX_Q3Qf85UZh5dEVC0fS5UeSizLzGTyw40
teamtailor-domain-verification=a283d2897d2a3994d80f17065454404b
SPF v=spf1 mx include:spf.mdpi.com include:25322191.spf10.hubspotemail.net include:s...
yahoo-verification-key=puT8WI8WEun8VA7UT6avJY4Ck+DwplIauEM9YJmzOB4=
CAALookup not available with standard resolver
Resolved in 22 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
0 redirect(s), 60 ms total
PASS
0 redirect(s), 60 ms total

https://mdpi.com

60 ms · HTTP/1.1 FINAL

#URLStatusTimeProtocolServer
1https://mdpi.com40360 msHTTP/1.1
A+
IPv6 Readiness
IPv6 reachable (2 ms)
PASS
IPv6 reachable (2 ms)
Info::
IPv6 is configured and reachable at 2600:1419:6a00:11::211:2f08, 2600:1419:6a00:11::211:2f06
Got: 2 ms connect
IPv6 Ready
AAAA Records 2600:1419:6a00:11::211:2f08, 2600:1419:6a00:11::211:2f06 Connection Reachable (2 ms)
A+
Domain Intelligence
mdpi.com — via Network Solutions, LLC, 22 years, 7 months old
PASS
mdpi.com — via Network Solutions, LLC, 22 years, 7 months old
Info::
Domain registered until May 12, 2034 (8 years, 2 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: Network Solutions, 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.
Domain expiry

2860 days

May 12, 2034

SSL certificate

243 days

Issued by DigiCert Inc

Domain age

22 years, 7 months

Registered December 19, 2003

DNSSEC

Not enabled

Protects against DNS spoofing

Hosting

Unknown

2600:1419:6a00:11::211:2f08

Registrar

Network Solutions, LLC

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 Network Solutions, LLC
Created December 19, 2003 (22 years, 7 months ago)
Expires May 12, 2034 (8 years, 2 months)
Last Updated May 12, 2024
Name Servers duke.ns.cloudflare.com, tia.ns.cloudflare.com
DNSSEC Not enabled
Hosting
IP Address 2600:1419:6a00:11::211:2f08
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 70 ms — DNS, TCP, TLS, TTFB, content transfer breakdown
PASS
DNS Lookup DNS Lookup — time to resolve the domain name to an IP address.
9 ms
TCP Connect TCP Connect — time to establish a TCP connection to the server.
1 ms
TLS Handshake TLS Handshake — time to complete the HTTPS encryption handshake.
5 ms
Time to First Byte Time to First Byte — how long the server takes to respond with the first byte of data.
70 ms
Total Time Total request time from DNS lookup through full response.
70 ms

Connection waterfall

DNS Lookup 9 ms TCP Connect 1 ms TLS Handshake 5 ms Server Processing 56 ms Content Transfer 0 ms
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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