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Is a16z.com a Scam? Security Check Results - Andreessen Horowitz Reviews

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Is a16z.com Safe? Security Analysis for Andreessen Horowitz

Check if a16z.com is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

TechnologyUnited Stateslarge
WordPressYoast SEOjQueryMarketo MunchkinGoogle Tag Manager+6 more
Analyzed 9/6/2025Completed 1:58:21 AM
71
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a prominent venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, California, established in 2009. The firm focuses on investing in innovative technology startups and entrepreneurs across multiple sectors including AI, Bio + Health, Consumer, Crypto, Enterprise, Fintech, and more. The website reflects a mature digital presence with professional design, comprehensive SEO, and structured data, targeting founders and innovators in the technology space. Technically, the site is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including various analytics and marketing tools, hosted with reputable providers and employing HTTPS with security headers. Security posture is strong with domain locks and CSP headers, though DNSSEC is not enabled and explicit security policies or incident response pages are absent. Privacy compliance is partially addressed with privacy and cookie policies present, but no active consent mechanism is detected. Overall, the site is trustworthy, professional, and well-maintained, with room for improvement in security transparency and privacy consent mechanisms.

Detected Technologies

WordPressYoast SEOjQueryMarketo MunchkinGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle Analytics (gtag.js)ParselyPlausible AnalyticsFacebook PixelTwitter AdsSimpleBar (custom scrollbar)

🧠AI Business Intelligence

Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The company holds a leading position in the venture capital market, focusing on technology-driven startups. Its business model revolves around funding and supporting innovative founders and entrepreneurs. The firm operates multiple subsidiary domains for specialized investment areas such as crypto and speedrun initiatives. The website's content and structure indicate a clear focus on technology and finance sectors, targeting startups and investors. The presence of extensive marketing and analytics tools suggests a data-driven approach to audience engagement and growth. The firm maintains active social media channels to enhance brand visibility and community engagement. No direct contact information is publicly displayed, which is typical for such firms, relying instead on web forms and social media for communication.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a good security posture with HTTPS enforced and multiple domain status locks preventing unauthorized domain changes. The use of Content-Security-Policy header enhances protection against certain web attacks. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, which could be a potential area for DNS security improvement. No explicit security or incident response policies are published, and no vulnerability disclosure or security.txt files are found, which could be improved to enhance transparency and trust. The absence of an active cookie consent mechanism may pose compliance risks under GDPR. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. Overall, the security posture is strong but could benefit from enhanced transparency and additional security headers.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Andreessen Horowitz

Description:

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, California, investing in bold founders, innovators, and entrepreneurs building the future through technology.

Key Services:
venture capital funding
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
WordPressYoast SEOjQueryMarketo MunchkinGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle Analytics (gtag.js)ParselyPlausible AnalyticsFacebook PixelTwitter AdsSimpleBar (custom scrollbar)
Frameworks:
WordPress
Platforms:
Cloudfront CDN
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

excellent

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status includes clientDeleteProhibited, clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited, serverDeleteProhibited, serverTransferProhibited, serverUpdateProhibited
  • No DNSSEC enabled (potential improvement area)
  • No exposed emails or phone numbers in HTML
  • Use of security headers (CSP)

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsParselyPlausible AnalyticsMarketo Munchkin
Tracking Level:extensive
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Ad Networks:
Twitter AdsFacebook Ads
Tracking Pixels:
Facebook PixelTwitter PixelParsely
Marketing Tools:
Marketo MunchkinParselyPlausible Analytics
Transparency Level:good

Website Quality Assessment

Design Quality:excellent
User Experience:excellent
Content Relevance:excellent
Navigation Clarity:excellent
Professionalism:excellent
Trustworthiness:high

Key Observations

1

Website uses HTTPS with strong security headers.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

75/100
Score

Weak X-XSS-Protection configuration

LOW

Current value: "0"

Missing Referrer-Policy header

LOW

Controls referrer information sent with requests

Missing Permissions-Policy header

MEDIUM

Controls browser features and APIs

Sensitive data may be cached

LOW

Cache-Control header should include "no-store" for sensitive pages

👤GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.

GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment

83/100
Score

No Data Protection Officer mentioned

LOW

Large organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR

Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant

MEDIUM

Privacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy85% confidence
Cookie Policy85% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

2/100
Score

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures

No vulnerability disclosure policy

MEDIUM

NIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure

No security policy documentation found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management

No incident response procedures found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans

No business continuity planning found

MEDIUM

NIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity

No security contact information

HIGH

NIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels

No vulnerability reporting mechanism

MEDIUM

Clear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure

No NIS2 reference found

LOW

Consider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts

Critical sector without clear security compliance

HIGH

Detected sectors: energy, transport, health, digital

📧Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

80/100
Score

Complex SPF record

LOW

Too many include statements can cause lookup limits

No BIMI Record

LOW

BIMI displays brand logos in email clients

No MTA-STS Policy

MEDIUM

MTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery

No TLS-RPT Record

LOW

TLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues

SPF
Sender Policy Framework
DKIM
DomainKeys Identified Mail
DMARC
Domain-based Message Authentication
MX Records
Mail Exchange Records
BIMI
Brand Indicators
MTA-STS
Mail Transfer Agent Security
TLS-RPT
TLS Reporting
DNSSEC
DNS Security
SPF Details
Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:_spf.salesforce.com include:spf.happyfox. com include:mktomail.com include:sendgrid.net ip4:205.201.128.0/20 ip4:198.2.128 .0/18 ip4:199.15.214.45/32 ip4:199.15.214.46/32 ip4:199.15.214.47/32 ip4:199.15. 214.48/32 ip4:199.15.214.49/32 ip4:199.15.214.50/32 ip4:199.15.214.199/32 ip4:19 9.15.214.201/32 ip4:199.15.214.202/32 ip4:199.15.215.77/32 ip4:199.15.215.78/32 ip4:199.15.215.79/32 ip4:199.15.215.80/32 ip4:199.15.215.81/32 ip4:199.15.215.82 /32 ip4:192.254.121.248/32 ip4:148.105.12.0/24 ip4:167.89.98.146/32 ip4:167.89.8 9.46/32 ip4:54.149.36.89/32 ip4:44.236.219.44/32 -all
DNS Lookups:5/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:google(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:k1(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:quarantine
Subdomain Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:21zezn4c@ag.dmarcian.com
Forensic Reports:21zezn4c@fr.dmarcian.com

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

52/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

OCSP Stapling Not Enabled

LOW

OCSP stapling improves performance and privacy

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 62 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Protocol Support

TLSv1.3TLSv1.2TLSv1.1

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

90/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
16 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
low(128 days)
Protection Level
strongDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:75.2.60.5
Name Servers:
ha1.markmonitor.zone
ha2.markmonitor.zone
ha3.markmonitor.zone
ha4.markmonitor.zone
MX Records:
10: aspmx.l.google.com
20: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
30: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
40: aspmx2.googlemail.com
50: aspmx3.googlemail.com

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:_spf.salesforce.com include:spf.happyfox. com include:mktomail.com include:sendgrid.net ip4:205.201.128.0/20 ip4:198.2.128 .0/18 ip4:199.15.214.45/32 ip4:199.15.214.46/32 ip4:199.15.214.47/32 ip4:199.15. 214.48/32 ip4:199.15.214.49/32 ip4:199.15.214.50/32 ip4:199.15.214.199/32 ip4:19 9.15.214.201/32 ip4:199.15.214.202/32 ip4:199.15.215.77/32 ip4:199.15.215.78/32 ip4:199.15.215.79/32 ip4:199.15.215.80/32 ip4:199.15.215.81/32 ip4:199.15.215.82 /32 ip4:192.254.121.248/32 ip4:148.105.12.0/24 ip4:167.89.98.146/32 ip4:167.89.8 9.46/32 ip4:54.149.36.89/32 ip4:44.236.219.44/32 -all

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

100/100
Score

Good Network Security Posture

LOW

No unnecessary services detected on common risky ports

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website is built on WordPress CMS, leveraging Yoast SEO for search optimization and multiple JavaScript libraries including jQuery. It integrates marketing and analytics tools such as Marketo Munchkin, Google Tag Manager, Google Analytics, Parsely, and Plausible Analytics, indicating a sophisticated digital marketing infrastructure. Hosting is supported by Cloudfront CDN for performance optimization. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive images and layouts. Performance is fast with modern web standards. Technical debt appears low with up-to-date libraries and no visible errors. Opportunities exist to enhance DNS security and implement additional security headers. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a professional and scalable web presence.
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