Skip to main content

Is bncollege.com a Scam? Security Check Results - Barnes & Noble College Reviews

bncollege.com favicon

Is bncollege.com Safe? Security Analysis for Barnes & Noble College

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

EducationUnited Stateslarge
WordPressAlpine.jsjQueryGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle reCAPTCHA+3 more
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 8:11:09 AM
75
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Barnes & Noble College operates as a leading campus bookstore and retail services provider, delivering both traditional and digital educational solutions to colleges and universities. The company is positioned as an industry leader with a comprehensive portfolio of services including course materials, affordable access programs, ecommerce, and retail marketing. Their target audience includes academic institutions, students, and faculty, with a business model focused on enhancing the campus retail experience and supporting student success. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with modern JavaScript frameworks and integrates analytics and marketing tools such as HubSpot and Google Tag Manager. The site demonstrates good mobile optimization, accessibility, and SEO practices. Security posture is solid with HTTPS, reCAPTCHA, and cookie consent mechanisms, though some security headers could be improved. The absence of WHOIS registration data is a concern but is offset by the professional presentation and external trust signals. Overall, the site reflects a mature digital presence aligned with a large enterprise in the education and retail sectors.

Detected Technologies

WordPressAlpine.jsjQueryGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle reCAPTCHAHubSpotNew Relic Browser monitoringOneTrust Cookie Consent

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Barnes & Noble College holds a strong market position as a trusted partner to educational institutions, offering a broad range of retail and digital education services. Their competitive advantage lies in their integrated solutions that combine physical campus stores with digital platforms and affordable access programs. Revenue streams likely include textbook sales, ecommerce, merchandising, and service contracts with colleges. The company maintains active partnerships and a visible presence on social media and investor relations platforms. Growth indicators include expansion of affordable access programs and continuous enhancement of campus retail experiences. Strategic observations highlight a focus on innovation, customer experience, and data-driven insights to maintain leadership in the campus retail market.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website exhibits a good security maturity level with enforced HTTPS, use of Google reCAPTCHA to protect forms, and a cookie consent mechanism compliant with privacy regulations. However, explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options are not detected, representing an area for improvement. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were identified in the analysis. Compliance with GDPR is indicated by privacy policies and consent banners. Incident response and vulnerability disclosure information are not publicly available, suggesting potential gaps in transparency. Overall, the security posture is adequate for the business type but could benefit from enhanced header configurations and published security policies.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement and enforce Content-Security-Policy and other security headers to mitigate common web vulnerabilities.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Barnes & Noble College

Description:

Barnes & Noble College is more than just a traditional campus bookstore. We deliver an unmatched retail and digital education experience.

Key Services:
Course materials and textbooksAffordable access programsDigital coursewareRetail store managementEcommerce solutionsAthletics merchandisingRetail marketing solutionsResearch and insights
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
WordPressAlpine.jsjQueryGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle reCAPTCHAHubSpotNew Relic Browser monitoringOneTrust Cookie Consent
Frameworks:
WordPress CMSTailwind CSS
Platforms:
Web
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA for forms
  • Cookie consent mechanism via OneTrust
  • No exposed sensitive data detected

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
HubSpot AnalyticsGoogle Tag ManagerNew Relic Browser
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
HubSpotNew Relic
Marketing Tools:
HubSpotOneTrust Cookie Consent
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 is professionally designed and content rich.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

55/100
Score

Missing Content-Security-Policy header

HIGH

Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

Missing X-XSS-Protection header

MEDIUM

Legacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)

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

17/100
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

📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

82/100
Score

Complex SPF record

LOW

Too many include statements can cause lookup limits

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 ip4:198.144.125.249 ip4:199.189.160.25 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:cust-spf.exacttarget.com include:amazonses.com include:us._netblocks.mimecast.com include:aspmx.pardot.com include:mail.zendesk.com include:es._spf.adp.com include:_s pf.caspiomail.com include:445231.spf01.hubspotemail.net -all
DNS Lookups:9/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:selector1(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:fb294f89346f469@rep.dmarcanalyzer.com
Forensic Reports:fb294f89346f469@for.dmarcanalyzer.com

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

95/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 56 days

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:bncollege.com
Issuer:R10
Valid Until:11/3/2025 (56 days)
SANs:bncollege.com, bncollegemarketing.com, college2030.com +11 more

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

85/100
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 Registration Details

Domain Age
29 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
low(120 days)
Protection Level
strongDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:23.185.0.3
AAAA Records:2620:12a:8000::3, 2620:12a:8001::3
Name Servers:
a1-130.akam.net
a10-67.akam.net
a11-65.akam.net
a2-66.akam.net
a20-67.akam.net
a3-66.akam.net
MX Records:
0: us-smtp-inbound-1.mimecast.com
SOA:Serial: 2024123155, TTL: 300s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:105ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 ip4:198.144.125.249 ip4:199.189.160.25 include:spf.protection.outlook.com include:cust-spf.exacttarget.com include:amazonses.com include:us._netblocks.mimecast.com include:aspmx.pardot.com include:mail.zendesk.com include:es._spf.adp.com include:_s pf.caspiomail.com include:445231.spf01.hubspotemail.net -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 a WordPress CMS platform enhanced with modern JavaScript frameworks such as Alpine.js and jQuery. Styling is managed with Tailwind CSS and custom stylesheets. The site integrates multiple third-party services including HubSpot for marketing automation, Google Tag Manager for analytics management, New Relic for performance monitoring, and OneTrust for cookie consent management. Performance is moderate with room for optimization. Accessibility features such as skip links and ARIA labels are present, contributing to a good user experience. The technical stack is robust and supports a large enterprise digital presence, though some technical debt may exist in the form of missing security headers and potential performance improvements.
Analyze Another Website