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Is gretchenmcculloch.com a Scam? Security Check Results - Gretchen McCulloch Reviews

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Is gretchenmcculloch.com Safe? Security Analysis for Gretchen McCulloch

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

MediaUnited Statessmall
WordPressGoogle FontsJetpackGutenbergJavaScript+1 more
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 4:31:24 AM
60
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Gretchen McCulloch's website serves as a professional platform showcasing her expertise as an internet linguist, author, and podcaster. The site highlights her bestselling book, podcast Lingthusiasm, and various writing contributions, targeting linguistics enthusiasts and the general public interested in internet language. The business model revolves around content creation, consulting, speaking, and book sales, positioning her as a recognized figure in the media and linguistics niche. Technically, the site is built on WordPress.com with modern web technologies and offers good mobile optimization and user experience. Security posture is adequate with HTTPS and domain transfer protections, but lacks DNSSEC and security headers. Privacy compliance is weak due to missing privacy and cookie policies. Overall, the site is trustworthy, professional, and content-rich, but could improve compliance and security practices.

Detected Technologies

WordPressGoogle FontsJetpackGutenbergJavaScriptCSS

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The website reflects a small but influential personal brand in the media sector, leveraging multiple content channels including books, podcasts, and articles. Gretchen McCulloch has a strong market position as a linguistics expert with a bestselling book and recognized podcast. The target audience includes linguistics enthusiasts and internet users interested in language trends. Revenue streams likely include book sales, consulting, speaking fees, and possibly podcast sponsorships. The site integrates with WordPress.com services and social media platforms, indicating a well-connected digital presence. No direct partnerships or subsidiaries are evident from the data.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website employs HTTPS and domain transfer lock status, indicating basic security hygiene. However, the absence of DNSSEC and security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options reduces its defense-in-depth. No incident response or security policies are published, and no vulnerability disclosure or security.txt files are found. Forms are present but no explicit security measures or privacy notices accompany them. Overall, the security posture is moderate but could be enhanced with additional headers, policies, and compliance documentation.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Gretchen McCulloch

Description:

Gretchen McCulloch is an internet linguist who analyzes internet language. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling book "Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language" and co-creator of the Lingthusiasm podcast. She also writes for WIRED and The Toast and contributes to linguistics YouTube series.

Key Services:
Writing and publishing linguistics contentPodcast productionSpeaking engagementsConsulting
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
WordPressGoogle FontsJetpackGutenbergJavaScriptCSS
Frameworks:
WordPress Gutenberg
Platforms:
WordPress.com
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
75/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Domain status clientTransferProhibited

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
WordPress.com Stats
Tracking Level:minimal
Privacy Compliance:poor

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
WordPress.com Stats
Marketing Tools:
Jetpack Subscriptions
Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is a personal/professional site for linguist and author Gretchen McCulloch.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

30/100
Score

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

Missing X-Content-Type-Options header

MEDIUM

Prevents MIME type sniffing

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

58/100
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

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

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

65/100
Score

No DMARC record found

HIGH

DMARC provides email authentication and reporting

No DKIM record found

MEDIUM

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails

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
DMARC Details
Policy:none
MTA-STS Details

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

42/100
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 71 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

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

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

12 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 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

DNS Records

A Records:192.0.78.25, 192.0.78.24
Name Servers:
ns1.wordpress.comDNS only
ns2.wordpress.comDNS only
ns3.wordpress.comDNS only
MX Records:
1: aspmx.l.google.com
5: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
5: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
10: aspmx2.googlemail.com
10: aspmx3.googlemail.com
SOA:Serial: 2005071858, TTL: 300s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:69ms

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 hosted on WordPress.com using the Gutenberg editor and Jetpack plugin, leveraging Google Fonts and standard web technologies like JavaScript and CSS. Performance is moderate with good mobile responsiveness and accessibility basics. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and Open Graph data. The site uses WordPress.com stats for analytics and Jetpack subscriptions for marketing. No major technical debt or outdated libraries are detected. Opportunities exist to improve security headers and privacy compliance to modern standards.
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