Is pdfcandy.com Safe? Security Analysis for PDF Candy
Check if pdfcandy.com is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.
AI Summary
PDF Candy is a well-established online platform offering a comprehensive suite of over 90 PDF tools, including editing, conversion, merging, splitting, compression, and signing. Founded in 2016, it serves a broad audience seeking free and premium PDF processing solutions via both web and desktop applications. The platform has processed billions of files, positioning itself as a leading player in the online PDF tools market. Technically, PDF Candy leverages modern JavaScript frameworks such as Vue.js, integrates with popular APIs like Dropbox and Google, and employs trusted analytics and payment services including Google Analytics and Paddle. The website demonstrates excellent design quality, mobile optimization, and SEO practices, providing a seamless user experience. Security-wise, the site enforces HTTPS, employs domain registration protections, and complies with GDPR by limiting data retention to two hours. However, it lacks DNSSEC and some advanced security headers, and does not publish a security.txt or incident response contacts. Overall, PDF Candy presents a trustworthy, professional, and technically mature service with minor areas for security enhancement.
Detected Technologies
🧠AI Business Intelligence
Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.
Business Intelligence
Market & Strategic Analysis
PDF Candy operates on a freemium business model, offering free access to a wide range of PDF tools with optional paid subscriptions that unlock higher limits and desktop software access. Its market positioning is strong due to the breadth of tools and volume of processed files, appealing to both casual users and professionals. Revenue streams include subscription plans and desktop app sales, with payment processing handled by Paddle. The company maintains active social media presence and transparent policies, enhancing customer trust. The partnership ecosystem includes integrations with Dropbox and Google Drive, facilitating user convenience. Growth indicators include a large user base and continuous tool expansion. Strategic observations suggest focusing on enhancing security disclosures and incident response readiness to further solidify market trust.
Security Posture Analysis
Comprehensive Security Assessment
PDF Candy exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, domain registration protections, and GDPR-aligned data retention policies. The absence of DNSSEC and certain security headers represents moderate risk areas. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. The lack of a published security.txt and incident response contact channels limits transparency for vulnerability reporting. The platform uses secure payment processing via Paddle, which adds to transactional security. Overall, the security culture appears proactive but could benefit from formalizing vulnerability disclosure and incident response mechanisms.
Strategic Recommendations
Priority Actions for Security Improvement
Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
✨Observations
AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.
AI-Enhanced Website Analysis
Business Insights
PDF Candy
Process PDF files with PDF Candy - a free online PDF toolkit. Edit PDF, convert PDF to Word, PDF to JPG, merge and split PDF, compress PDF, etc.
excellent
consistent
Technical Stack
fast
excellent
good
good
Security Assessment
- HTTPS enforced
- No DNSSEC (not enabled)
- Domain status includes clientDeleteProhibited and other EPP protections
- Cookie consent banner present
- Privacy policy states data retention limited to 2 hours in compliance with GDPR
Analytics & Tracking
Advertising & Marketing
Website Quality Assessment
Key Observations
Comprehensive set of PDF tools offered online and via desktop app
🛡️Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.
Security Headers
HTTP security headers analysis
Missing X-Content-Type-Options header
MEDIUMPrevents MIME type sniffing
Missing Content-Security-Policy header
HIGHControls resources the browser is allowed to load
Missing X-XSS-Protection header
MEDIUMLegacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)
Missing Referrer-Policy header
LOWControls referrer information sent with requests
Missing Permissions-Policy header
MEDIUMControls browser features and APIs
Sensitive data may be cached
LOWCache-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
No Cookie Consent Banner found
HIGHGDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies
GDPR Compliance Analysis
🛡️NIS2 Compliance
Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.
NIS2 Compliance
Network & Information Security Directive
No information security framework found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures
No vulnerability disclosure policy
MEDIUMNIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure
No security policy documentation found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management
No incident response procedures found
HIGHNIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans
No business continuity planning found
MEDIUMNIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity
No security contact information
HIGHNIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels
No vulnerability reporting mechanism
MEDIUMClear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure
No NIS2 reference found
LOWConsider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts
📧Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.
Email Security
SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation
DMARC not enforcing
MEDIUMDMARC policy is set to "none"
No BIMI Record
LOWBIMI displays brand logos in email clients
No MTA-STS Policy
MEDIUMMTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery
No TLS-RPT Record
LOWTLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues
SPF Details
DKIM Selectors Found
DMARC Details
🏆SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis.
SSL/TLS Security
Certificate validity and encryption analysis
Weak Protocols Supported
HIGHServer supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1
OCSP Stapling Not Enabled
LOWOCSP stapling improves performance and privacy
Certificate Transparency Not Implemented
LOWCertificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs
Partial SSL/TLS Assessment
LOWCompleted 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints
Protocol Support
OCSP Status
📊DNS Health
DNS configuration and security assessment.
DNS Health
DNS configuration and security assessment
DNSSEC Not Enabled
MEDIUMDNSSEC is not configured for this domain
CAA Records Not Configured
LOWCertificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found
DNS Records
DNSSEC Status
DNS Performance
SPF Analysis
⚡Network Security
Port scanning and network exposure analysis.
Network Security
Port scanning and network exposure analysis
Service Exposed: SSH
MEDIUMPort 22 (SSH) is publicly accessible - SSH - Secure but can be brute-forced
🔧Technical Analysis
Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.
Technical Analysis
Comprehensive security assessment findings