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https://mentalfloss.com

Infrastructure

· 9 checks — DNS, redirects, IPv6, crawlability, URL variants, and domain intelligence rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
87
GRADE
B
FIX
1
REVIEW
3
PASS
5
INFO
0
Probed from Singapore, Singapore
301 Moved Permanently
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.

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.mentalfloss.com/
200https://mentalfloss.com/

Inconsistent — duplicate content risk

HTTP → HTTPS

301http://mentalfloss.com/ https://www.mentalfloss.com/

Consistent

B
TLS Certificate Expiry & Recommendations
31 days until leaf cert expires — 3 issues to address
REVIEW

Certificate validity

31
days left
0d 30d 60d 90d+

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 Records
2 A records, 197 ms lookup
PASS
2 A records, 197 ms lookup
Info::
Resolves to 2 IPv4 address(es)
Got: 44.241.188.24, 35.83.190.225
Info::
No IPv6 (AAAA) records
Info::
4 nameserver(s) configured
Got: ns-127.awsdns-15.com, ns-1355.awsdns-41.org, ns-1783.awsdns-30.co.uk, ns-856.awsdns-43.net
Info::
5 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: 197 ms
Got: 197 ms
A44.241.188.24, 35.83.190.225
AAAA
CNAME
NSns-127.awsdns-15.com, ns-1355.awsdns-41.org, ns-1783.awsdns-30.co.uk, ns-856.awsdns-43.net
MX
1 aspmx.l.google.com
5 alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
5 alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
10 aspmx3.googlemail.com
10 aspmx2.googlemail.com
TXT
MS=ms12917153
bpjjzh8yhgm6n0y9437fbz52gs9j0lph
brevo-code:25bd81de5f53ea7ec3c6b9f3e71ef018
facebook-domain-verification=8p8k8s86fzfb5d2g2zq15818aj4u62
google-site-verification=Cl1nAqp5GlOLDdnSAS1Dg2wyIVilb76SZ9B43NKBFls
google-site-verification=PwHgWMzA1M9ET0l3j0Rla5nCyb02HTa1oLSN5OXUVaQ
google-site-verification=fgC5-DxY6HvFT8fM0SiUAhdq8SDSuE1zvW0HpdlwdgA
google-site-verification=g19BQLQaGVGFsp9S--Nux-0AjT79KfOYJdpjnEKsA9c
google-site-verification=y-SZX1wXDfAt3K_CF7Fl9gbGYUpxXQ96TY7zGK14oSQ
google-site-verification=z4YHNPYC5G4ehxb4caJGpn3jv1vGdOVgZYa1EGw8j-Q
v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:postmaster@solarmora.com, mailto:dmarc@solarmora....
SPF v=spf1 include:aspmx.sailthru.com include:_spf.google.com include:mail.zendesk.c...
yahoo-verification-key=lyoqSKYVgsjW3xJbQlCFP/nMpIN/jC4gtPPkVLfh+OY=
CAALookup not available with standard resolver
Resolved in 197 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), 777 ms total
PASS
1 redirect(s), 777 ms total
Info::
Single redirect
Got: https://mentalfloss.com → https://www.mentalfloss.com/ (301)
Info::
WWW normalization redirect
Info::
Redirect overhead: 777 ms total
Got: 777 ms

https://mentalfloss.com

724 ms · HTTP/1.1

301

https://www.mentalfloss.com/

53 ms · HTTP/1.1 FINAL

#URLStatusTimeProtocolServer
1https://mentalfloss.com301724 msHTTP/1.1redirector-service
2https://www.mentalfloss.com/20053 msHTTP/1.1CloudFront

See the visual redirect chain in the HTTP Probe tab →

A+
Crawlability
robots.txt present, sitemap with 1648 URLs
PASS
robots.txt present, sitemap with 1648 URLs
Info::
robots.txt is present
Got: 3434 bytes
Info::
sitemap.xml is present
Info::
sitemap.xml is valid XML
Info::
sitemap.xml contains 1648 entries
Info::
robots.txt references sitemap
robots.txt 200 OK
Size 3434 B Sitemaps referenced 3 User-agents *, Claude-Web, Google-Extended, FacebookBot, GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Twitterbot Blocking No — crawling allowed
# Allow all search engines to crawl
User-agent: *
Allow: /

# AI Crawlers
User-agent: GPTBot
Allow: /
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /
User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Allow: /
User-agent: ClaudeBot
Allow: /
User-agent: Claude-Web
Allow: /
User-agent: PerplexityBot
Allow: /
User-agent: Google-Extended
Allow: /

# Disallow Parameters
# GA traffic source parameters
User-agent: *
Disallow: */?*utm_source=*
Disallow: */?*utm_campaign=*
Disallow: */?*utm_medium=*
Disallow: /*?source=*
Disallow: */?*utm_content =*
Disallow: */?*utm_newsbreak=*

# Allow crawling ads
User-agent: *
allow: /ads.txt

# Embedded widget parameters
User-agent: *
Disallow: *?embed*

# Influencers/Affiliate Links parameters
User-agent: *
Disallow: */*a_aid=*
Disallow: /*?partner=*

# Experiments testing team
User-agent: *
Disallow: */*?mm-experiments=*

# Search box param
User-agent: *
Disallow: /*?*s=*

# Apps param
User-agent: *
Disallow: *?app=*

# FB campaigns
User-agent: *
Disallow: *?fbclid=*


# GEO targeting:
User-agent: *
Disallow: /*?setLocale=*
Disallow: *?georedirect=*

# Unknown Parameters
User-agent: *
Disallow: /*?term=*
Disallow: *?ref=*
Disallow: /*?view_source=*
Disallow: /*?view_medium=*
Disallow: /*?initialLeagueId=*



# GA parameters - Generated from Google caching
User-agent: *
Disallow: *_ga_*
Disallow: */?_gl=*

# Generated from Voltax API url
User-agent: *
Disallow: */api/*

# Voltax HTML Unknown crawled urls
User-agent: *
Disallow: */videos/undefinedc_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/undefined
Disallow: */teams/mainNavigationChevron_icon.svg?*
Disallow: */leagues/mainNavigationChevron_icon.svg?*
Disallow: */undefinedc_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/undefined

# Generated from 90min and TBL Monolith
User-agent: *
Disallow: */xposts/
Disallow: */reader/
Disallow: */embed/*
Disallow: */ads/*
Disallow: */editor/*
Disallow: */posts/*/edit$
Disallow: */posts/*/publish$
Disallow: */singlepage/pipe/*
Disallow: */singlepage/uncached_pipe/*
Disallow: */singlepage/epipe/*
Disallow: */reads/*/read$
Disallow: */embed_code
Disallow: */matches/*
Disallow: */es/partidos/*
Disallow: */it/partite/*
Disallow: */de/spiele/*
Disallow: */zh-CN/*
Disallow: */ping
Disallow: */sessions/*
Disallow: */admin/*
Disallow: */management/*
Disallow: */castr
Disallow: */unfeature$
Disallow: */unfeature/*
Disallow: */videos/*
Disallow: */channels/videos/*

# Generated from Mentalfloss WP and Drupal
User-agent: *
Disallow: /_partial/*
Disallow: */amazingfactgenerator/*
Disallow: /_modules/*
Disallow: /subscribe/v3/*
Disallow: /search/*
Disallow: */file/*
Disallow: */node/*
Disallow: /sites/*
Disallow: /longform/*
Disallow: /blogs/*
Disallow: */store/*
Disallow: */us/*
Disallow: */store/*
Disallow: */us/*
Disallow: */HDYK/*
Disallow: /dist/*
Disallow: */shopping/*
Disallow: /trivia/*
Disallow: /worksheets/*
Disallow: /music/*
Disallow: /magazine/*
Disallow: /puzzle/*

# Generated from Fansided WP
User-agent: *
Disallow: */files/*
Disallow: */wp-admin/*
Disallow: */?*utm_newsbreak=*
Disallow: */?*utm_content =*
Disallow: */wp-content/*
Disallow: */wp-includes/*
Disallow: */app/*
Disallow: */embed_code*
Disallow: */{{url/*
Disallow: */v2/*

#Social Media Robots
User-agent: Twitterbot
Allow:*
User-agent: FacebookBot
Allow:*

# Sitemap XML
User-agent: *
Sitemap: https://www.mentalfloss.com/feed-sitemap.xml
Sitemap: https://www.mentalfloss.com/news-sitemap.xml
Sitemap: https://www.mentalfloss.com/sitemap.xml

A+
Domain Intelligence
mentalfloss.com — via GoDaddy.com, LLC, 30 years, 5 months old, hosted on AWS
PASS
mentalfloss.com — via GoDaddy.com, LLC, 30 years, 5 months old, hosted on AWS
Info::
Domain registered until Apr 10, 2027 (11 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: 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: AWS
Got: AS16509
Domain expiry

267 days

April 10, 2027

SSL certificate

31 days

Issued by Let's Encrypt

Domain age

30 years, 5 months

Registered April 9, 1996

DNSSEC

Not enabled

Protects against DNS spoofing

Hosting

AWS

ASN AS16509

44.241.188.24

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 April 9, 1996 (30 years, 5 months ago)
Expires April 10, 2027 (11 months)
Last Updated April 10, 2026
Name Servers ns-127.awsdns-15.com, ns-1355.awsdns-41.org, ns-1783.awsdns-30.co.uk, ns-856.awsdns-43.net
DNSSEC Not enabled
Hosting
IP Address 44.241.188.24
ASN AS16509 (AMAZON-02 - Amazon.com, Inc., US)
Provider AWS
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 698 ms — DNS, TCP, TLS, TTFB, content transfer breakdown
PASS
DNS Lookup DNS Lookup — time to resolve the domain name to an IP address.
100 ms
TCP Connect TCP Connect — time to establish a TCP connection to the server.
199 ms
TLS Handshake TLS Handshake — time to complete the HTTPS encryption handshake.
201 ms
Time to First Byte Time to First Byte — how long the server takes to respond with the first byte of data.
698 ms
Total Time Total request time from DNS lookup through full response.
698 ms

Connection waterfall

DNS Lookup 100 ms TCP Connect 199 ms TLS Handshake 201 ms Server Processing 198 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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