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Is archive.org a Scam? Security Check Results - Internet Archive Reviews

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Is archive.org Safe? Security Analysis for Internet Archive

Check if archive.org is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

TechnologyUnited Stateslarge
JavaScriptWeb ComponentsLitCloudflare (partial DNS)Apollo
Analyzed 9/6/2025Completed 10:01:18 AM
61
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Internet Archive is a well-established non-profit digital library founded in 1995, providing free universal access to a vast collection of texts, movies, music, and archived web pages through its Wayback Machine. The organization holds a strong market position as a leading digital archive with a large user base and extensive digital content offerings. The website's technical infrastructure leverages modern JavaScript frameworks such as Lit and web components, with partial use of Cloudflare DNS services and Apollo scripts, indicating a mature and modern digital presence. Performance and mobile optimization are good, though accessibility features are basic. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and domain registration protections in place, but DNSSEC is not enabled, representing a minor security gap. No explicit privacy, cookie, or terms of service policies were found in the provided HTML content, which impacts privacy compliance scoring. Overall, the website is trustworthy, professional, and safe for general audiences.

Detected Technologies

JavaScriptWeb ComponentsLitCloudflare (partial DNS)Apollo

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The Internet Archive operates as a non-profit entity focused on digital preservation and universal access to cultural and historical digital content. Its business model centers on providing free access rather than monetization, supported by donations and grants. The organization targets a broad audience including researchers, educators, historians, and the general public. Its competitive advantage lies in its extensive digital collections and the unique Wayback Machine service. The domain age and WHOIS data confirm a consistent and legitimate presence. The lack of visible contact information and formal policies on the main page suggests opportunities to improve transparency and user trust. The organization appears to maintain a focused partnership ecosystem, though no explicit partner domains were identified in the HTML content.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced and domain status flags that prevent unauthorized transfers or updates. Security headers for caching control are present, but additional headers like Content-Security-Policy or Strict-Transport-Security were not detected in the provided content. The absence of DNSSEC is a notable security shortfall. No forms or input fields were found, reducing attack surface from input vulnerabilities. There is no published security policy or incident response contact information visible, which could hinder coordinated vulnerability disclosure and incident handling. Overall, the security posture is good but could be enhanced by enabling DNSSEC and publishing formal security and incident response policies.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC to strengthen DNS security and prevent spoofing.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Internet Archive

Description:

Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library offering free universal access to texts, movies & music, as well as 624 billion archived web pages.

Key Services:
Digital library access to textsMoviesMusicWayback Machine for archived web pages
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
JavaScriptWeb ComponentsLitCloudflare (partial DNS)Apollo
Frameworks:
Lit
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
80/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced (implied by URL and scripts loaded over HTTPS)
  • No caching of HTML to prevent stale content
  • Domain status includes clientTransferProhibited and clientUpdateProhibited

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
analytics.archive.org
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:poor

Advertising & Marketing

Transparency Level:poor

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

40/100
Score

Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration

LOW

Current value: "max-age=15724800"

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

Missing X-Content-Type-Options header

MEDIUM

Prevents MIME type sniffing

Missing X-XSS-Protection header

MEDIUM

Legacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)

Weak Referrer-Policy configuration

LOW

Current value: "no-referrer-when-downgrade"

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

40/100
Score

No Privacy Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

No Cookie Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

No Cookie Consent Banner found

HIGH

GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

Insufficient contact information

MEDIUM

GDPR requires organizations to provide clear contact details

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy0% confidence
Cookie Policy0% confidence

🛡️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: transport

📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

75/100
Score

DMARC not enforcing

MEDIUM

DMARC policy is set to "none"

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 a mx ip4:207.241.224.6/32 ip4:207.241.224.2/32 a:bromkins.net include:spf.braintreegateway.com include:_spf.salesforce.com include:_spf.google.com -all
DNS Lookups:6/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:k2(1416-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:noc@archive.org

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

72/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

1 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

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 Enabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

75/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

DMARC Policy Set to None

LOW

DMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
29 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
none(1923 days)
Protection Level
moderateDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:207.241.224.2
Name Servers:
ns-global.kjsl.com
ns0036.secondary.cloudflare.com
ns0208.secondary.cloudflare.com
ns1.archive.org
ns2.archive.org
ns3.archive.org
MX Records:
100: mail.archive.org
SOA:Serial: 2025090502, TTL: 600s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:32ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 a mx ip4:207.241.224.6/32 ip4:207.241.224.2/32 a:bromkins.net include:spf.braintreegateway.com include:_spf.salesforce.com include:_spf.google.com -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 uses modern web technologies including JavaScript modules, Lit framework, and web components, indicating a contemporary front-end architecture. The presence of multiple modulepreload scripts suggests optimization for loading performance. Hosting and DNS are partially managed via Cloudflare secondary nameservers and easyDNS registrar, providing reliable infrastructure. The site uses no visible CMS, indicating a custom or static site architecture. Performance is moderate with good mobile optimization. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and JSON-LD structured data for enhanced search engine understanding. Accessibility is basic and could be improved. No forms or user input fields were detected, reducing complexity and potential security risks.
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