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Infrastructure

· 9 checks — DNS, redirects, IPv6, crawlability, URL variants, and domain intelligence rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
84
GRADE
B
FIX
2
REVIEW
2
PASS
5
INFO
0
Probed from Amsterdam, Netherlands
301 Moved Permanently
Checks
9
5 PASS 2 REVIEW 2 FIX
D
Redirect Chain
Action
2 redirect(s), 1503 ms total
FIX
2 redirect(s), 1503 ms total
Warning::
2 redirects before reaching final URL
Each redirect adds latency. Try to minimize the chain to 1 hop.
Info::
WWW normalization redirect
Warning::
Redirect overhead: 1503 ms total
Got: 1503 ms
Info::
Cross-domain redirect detected

https://sciencemag.org

679 ms · HTTP/1.1

301

https://www.sciencemag.org/

631 ms · HTTP/1.1

301

https://www.science.org/

193 ms · HTTP/1.1 FINAL

#URLStatusTimeProtocolServer
1https://sciencemag.org301679 msHTTP/1.1Apache/2.4.66 () PHP/7.4.33
2https://www.sciencemag.org/301631 msHTTP/1.1cloudflare
3https://www.science.org/200193 msHTTP/1.1cloudflare

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

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

Certificate validity

186
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
2 A records, 171 ms lookup
PASS
2 A records, 171 ms lookup
Info::
Resolves to 2 IPv4 address(es)
Got: 52.8.62.150, 54.151.119.244
Info::
No IPv6 (AAAA) records
Info::
3 nameserver(s) configured
Got: ns02.aaas.org, ns01.aaas.org, ns03.aaas.org
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: 171 ms
Got: 171 ms
A52.8.62.150, 54.151.119.244
AAAA
CNAME
NSns02.aaas.org, ns01.aaas.org, ns03.aaas.org
MX
TXT
facebook-domain-verification=wg09i5246crh70b536l2hagkr1x0p9
ca3-15e5411404d7491896a4f30f021f6cdb
google-site-verification=G822PgSFgz2vPo3Fu0C9bLXb58t_1knzSqDSspCULwc
google-site-verification=W7u_zrZknuKuot7tAWIfvwVkgjrL6gxpRwQIyQZElWM
google-site-verification=4cTnldeRolO0LyfYFtFwwqJ2zc1THuMUJO7Iuz7lhAw
CAALookup not available with standard resolver
Resolved in 171 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.

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)

A+
Crawlability
robots.txt present, sitemap with 6 URLs
PASS
robots.txt present, sitemap with 6 URLs
Info::
robots.txt is present
Got: 930 bytes
Info::
sitemap.xml is present
Info::
sitemap.xml is valid XML
Info::
sitemap.xml contains 6 entries
Info::
Sitemap index with 6 child sitemaps
Info::
robots.txt references sitemap
robots.txt 200 OK
Size 930 B Sitemaps referenced 2 User-agents GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, CCBot, Applebot-Extended, *, Google-Extended, anthropic-ai, Twitterbot Blocking No — crawling allowed
Sitemap: https://www.science.org/sitemap_index.xml
Sitemap: https://www.science.org/sitemap-index-1.txt
User-agent: *
Disallow: /action
Disallow: /help
Disallow: /search
Disallow: /feedback
Disallow: /page/account-confirmation-thanks
Disallow: /media
Disallow: /medical-research
Disallow: /servlet/linkout
Disallow: /na101/
Disallow: /na101v1/
Disallow: /na102/
Disallow: /doi/mlt/
Disallow: /pb/widgets
Disallow: /author
Allow: /action/showFeed
Allow: /action/showJournal
Allow: /action/showPublications
Allow: /action/showXml
Allow: /action/showTopic
Allow: /action/showBook
Allow: /action/showCoverImage
Allow: /action/downloadSupplement

User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /

User-agent: anthropic-ai
Disallow: /

User-agent: Twitterbot
Allow: /

User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /

User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /

User-agent: ChatGPT-User
Disallow: /

User-agent: CCBot
Disallow: /

User-agent: Applebot-Extended
Disallow: /


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.sciencemag.org/
200https://sciencemag.org/

Preferred variant: non-www

HTTP → HTTPS

301http://sciencemag.org/ https://www.sciencemag.org/

Consistent

A+
Domain Intelligence
sciencemag.org — via Network Solutions, LLC, 30 years, 5 months old, hosted on AWS
PASS
sciencemag.org — via Network Solutions, LLC, 30 years, 5 months old, hosted on AWS
Info::
Domain registered until Apr 29, 2030 (4 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: 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.
Info::
Hosting: AWS
Got: AS16509
Domain expiry

1384 days

April 29, 2030

SSL certificate

186 days

Issued by Amazon

Domain age

30 years, 5 months

Registered April 28, 1996

DNSSEC

Not enabled

Protects against DNS spoofing

Hosting

AWS

ASN AS16509

52.8.62.150

Registrar

Network Solutions, LLC

Unlocked 3 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 April 28, 1996 (30 years, 5 months ago)
Expires April 29, 2030 (4 years)
Last Updated April 5, 2025
Name Servers ns01.aaas.org, ns02.aaas.org, ns03.aaas.org
DNSSEC Not enabled
Hosting
IP Address 52.8.62.150
ASN AS16509 (AMAZON-02 - Amazon.com, Inc., US)
Provider AWS
Data source: rdap (0.5s)

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 681 ms — DNS, TCP, TLS, TTFB, content transfer breakdown
PASS
DNS Lookup DNS Lookup — time to resolve the domain name to an IP address.
84 ms
TCP Connect TCP Connect — time to establish a TCP connection to the server.
148 ms
TLS Handshake TLS Handshake — time to complete the HTTPS encryption handshake.
298 ms
Time to First Byte Time to First Byte — how long the server takes to respond with the first byte of data.
681 ms
Total Time Total request time from DNS lookup through full response.
681 ms

Connection waterfall

DNS Lookup 84 ms TCP Connect 148 ms TLS Handshake 298 ms Server Processing 150 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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