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Is bitcointalk.org a Scam? Security Check Results - Privacy service provided by Withheld for Privacy ehf Reviews

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Is bitcointalk.org Safe? Security Analysis for Privacy service provided by Withheld for Privacy ehf

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

TechnologyIcelandlarge
PHPMySQLJavaScript
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 2:43:08 PM
62
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

BitcoinTalk.org is a large, well-established online forum dedicated to Bitcoin and cryptocurrency discussions. Founded in 2011, it serves a global audience of cryptocurrency enthusiasts, developers, miners, and traders. The platform offers extensive discussion boards covering Bitcoin technical development, mining, economy, marketplace, alternate cryptocurrencies, and localized language communities. The website is powered by Simple Machines Forum (SMF) software and hosted with Cloudflare DNS services, ensuring reasonable performance and availability. However, the forum uses an older version of SMF and lacks modern security headers and DNSSEC, which could be improved to enhance security posture. The site enforces HTTPS and has a long domain history, supporting its credibility in the cryptocurrency community. Privacy and cookie policies are not found on the main page, indicating potential compliance gaps. Overall, BitcoinTalk.org is a trusted and authoritative community platform but would benefit from updated security and privacy practices.

Detected Technologies

PHPMySQLJavaScript

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

BitcoinTalk.org holds a strong market position as one of the oldest and largest Bitcoin forums globally, attracting millions of posts and users. Its business model is based on providing a free discussion platform for cryptocurrency topics, supported by community moderation. The forum's extensive multilingual subforums indicate a broad international user base. While no direct revenue streams or partnerships are evident from the provided data, the site acts as a critical hub for information exchange and community engagement in the crypto space. The use of privacy protection in WHOIS is justified given the nature of the business and user privacy concerns. The lack of explicit contact information and policies may limit business transparency but is common in community forums.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website enforces HTTPS and uses Cloudflare DNS servers, which provide baseline security and availability. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HSTS, and X-Frame-Options reduces its defense against certain attacks. The forum software version is outdated, potentially exposing the site to known vulnerabilities if not patched. No published security policy or incident response contacts were found, which limits transparency and readiness for security incidents. No signs of exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. Overall, the security posture is moderate but could be significantly improved by adopting modern security best practices and publishing relevant policies.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC to secure DNS queries and prevent spoofing.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Privacy service provided by Withheld for Privacy ehf

Description:

Bitcoin Forum for discussion about Bitcoin ecosystem, technical development, mining, economy, marketplace, alternate cryptocurrencies, and local language communities.

Key Services:
Discussion boards on Bitcoin and cryptocurrenciesTechnical support and development discussionsMarketplace and trading forumsLocalized language forumsAnnouncements and project development
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
PHPMySQLJavaScript
Frameworks:
Simple Machines Forum (SMF) 1.1.19
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

basic

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

basic

Security Assessment

Security Score:
60/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status clientTransferProhibited
  • Use of Cloudflare DNS servers

Analytics & Tracking

Tracking Level:minimal
Privacy Compliance:poor

Advertising & Marketing

Transparency Level:poor

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is a large, active Bitcoin forum with extensive discussion boards.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

60/100
Score

Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration

LOW

Current value: "max-age=2592000"

Missing Content-Security-Policy header

HIGH

Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

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

53/100
Score

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

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 Policy0% 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, banking, health, digital

📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

65/100
Score

No DMARC reporting

LOW

DMARC aggregate reports not configured

No DKIM record found

MEDIUM

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails

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 ip4:52.45.214.107 include:spf.messagingengine.com include:amazonses.com -all
DNS Lookups:2/10
Policy:-all
DMARC Details
Policy:quarantine

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

65/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 38 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

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

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

6 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:bitcointalk.org
Issuer:WE1
Valid Until:10/13/2025 (38 days)
SANs:bitcointalk.org, *.bitcointalk.org

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

80/100
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

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
14 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
none(1387 days)
Protection Level
basicDNSSEC OFF
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • Privacy/proxy registration detected

DNS Records

A Records:172.66.136.238, 172.66.133.20
AAAA Records:2606:4700:10::ac42:8514, 2606:4700:10::ac42:88ee
Name Servers:
amy.ns.cloudflare.com
brad.ns.cloudflare.com
MX Records:
10: in1-smtp.messagingengine.com
20: in2-smtp.messagingengine.com
SOA:Serial: 2381510327, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:114ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 ip4:52.45.214.107 include:spf.messagingengine.com include:amazonses.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 runs on PHP and MySQL backend with Simple Machines Forum (SMF) 1.1.19 as the CMS. JavaScript is used for UI interactions. Hosting leverages Cloudflare DNS services, but no CDN or advanced hosting details are evident. The site uses ISO-8859-1 charset and has basic mobile CSS for small devices, indicating some mobile optimization but not fully modern responsive design. SEO meta tags are present but minimal. The site performance is moderate with no heavy scripts or external analytics detected. Accessibility features are basic, with no ARIA roles or advanced accessibility markup visible. The technical stack is functional but dated, suggesting opportunities for modernization and performance improvements.
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