Skip to main content

Is placeholder.vc a Scam? Security Check Results - Placeholder Reviews

placeholder.vc favicon

Is placeholder.vc Safe? Security Analysis for Placeholder

Check if placeholder.vc is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

TechnologyUnited Statessmall
SquarespaceTypekit FontsGoogle FontsJavaScriptCSS3+1 more
Analyzed 9/6/2025Completed 6:34:31 AM
62
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Placeholder is a New York City-based venture capital firm specializing in investments in decentralized information networks incentivized by tokens. The firm has a strong market position with over 75 early-stage investments since 2017, managed by named partners and supported by a research team. The website provides detailed portfolio information and a regularly updated blog authored by team members, reflecting a focus on thought leadership and community engagement. Technically, the site is built on Squarespace CMS, leveraging modern web technologies and fonts, with good mobile optimization and moderate performance. Security posture is strong with HTTPS and HSTS enabled, though privacy compliance could be improved by adding cookie consent mechanisms and terms of service. Overall, the site projects professionalism and trustworthiness, with no signs of blocking or WAF interference.

Detected Technologies

SquarespaceTypekit FontsGoogle FontsJavaScriptCSS3HTML5

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The firm targets blockchain startups and investors interested in decentralized networks, operating a venture capital business model focused on early-stage funding. Its competitive advantage lies in deep domain expertise and a broad portfolio of notable blockchain projects. The firm maintains an active content strategy through blogs and social media, enhancing its market presence. The partnership ecosystem includes well-known figures in crypto venture capital. Growth indicators include continuous blog updates and portfolio expansion. The absence of direct contact details suggests a controlled communication approach, typical for investment firms.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Email Addresses (1)

u*****@domain.com

Physical Addresses (1)

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS and HSTS headers, reducing risks of man-in-the-middle attacks. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. However, the lack of a published security policy, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure reduces transparency and preparedness perception. Privacy compliance is partial due to missing cookie consent mechanisms. The site does not appear to use tracking or analytics services that could raise privacy concerns. Overall, the security posture is good but could benefit from enhanced transparency and compliance documentation.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement a cookie consent banner to comply with GDPR and other privacy regulations.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Placeholder

Description:

Placeholder is a venture capital firm based in New York City that invests in decentralized information networks incentivized by a token.

Key Services:
Venture capital fundingResearch on decentralized networksPortfolio support
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
SquarespaceTypekit FontsGoogle FontsJavaScriptCSS3HTML5
Frameworks:
Squarespace CMS
Platforms:
Squarespace Hosting
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • HSTS enabled
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No visible vulnerable libraries

Analytics & Tracking

Tracking Level:minimal
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Transparency Level:poor

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is a professional venture capital firm site focused on decentralized networks.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

35/100
Score

Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration

LOW

Current value: "max-age=15552000"

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

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

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
emailphone

🛡️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

70/100
Score

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 include:_spf.google.com ~all
DNS Lookups:1/10
Policy:~all

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

62/100
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 52 days

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

2 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

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

No DMARC Record

MEDIUM

DMARC policy not configured

DNS Records

A Records:198.49.23.145
Name Servers:
ns1.iwantmyname.netDNS only
ns2.iwantmyname.netDNS only
ns3.iwantmyname.netDNS only
ns4.iwantmyname.netDNS only
MX Records:
1: aspmx.l.google.com
5: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
5: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
10: alt3.aspmx.l.google.com
10: alt4.aspmx.l.google.com
SOA:Serial: 2024071800, TTL: 3600s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:88ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 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 is hosted on Squarespace, a reliable and secure platform, using modern web standards including HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. It employs Typekit and Google Fonts for typography. The site loads scripts asynchronously to improve performance and uses preconnect hints for resource optimization. Mobile responsiveness is good, though navigation menus appear minimal. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and structured data in JSON-LD format. No major technical debt or outdated technologies were detected. Opportunities exist to improve accessibility and add more interactive features to enhance user engagement.
Analyze Another Website