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Is pressbooks.directory a Scam? Security Check Results - Pressbooks Reviews

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Is pressbooks.directory Safe? Security Analysis for Pressbooks

Check if pressbooks.directory is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

EducationN/amedium
JavaScriptVue.jsInertia.jsAlgolia InstantSearchZiggy (Laravel routes in JS)
Analyzed 9/7/2025Completed 11:52:00 AM
49
Security Score
HIGH RISK

AI Summary

Pressbooks Directory is a specialized educational platform offering a comprehensive catalog of open access books published via the Pressbooks platform. It serves educators, institutions, and self-publishers by providing access to openly licensed content with interactive learning features. The platform is well-positioned in the open educational resources market, leveraging modern web technologies and a user-friendly interface. Technically, the site uses modern JavaScript frameworks and integrates advanced search capabilities, ensuring good performance and accessibility. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and no visible vulnerabilities, though some security headers could be enhanced. Privacy compliance is evident with clear policies and consent mechanisms. Overall, the platform demonstrates a mature digital presence with a focus on education and open content.

Detected Technologies

JavaScriptVue.jsInertia.jsAlgolia InstantSearchZiggy (Laravel routes in JS)

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Pressbooks operates in the education sector, focusing on open educational resources and digital publishing. Its business model includes enterprise networks and self-publisher plans, targeting educational institutions and individual authors. The directory aggregates content from multiple partner networks, indicating a collaborative ecosystem. The platform's growth is supported by curated collections and interactive content, enhancing user engagement. While direct contact information is limited on the directory site, the presence of privacy and terms policies reflects professional governance. The company maintains partnerships with various educational networks, strengthening its market position.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website exhibits a solid security posture with HTTPS enabled and no exposed sensitive data. The use of Laravel framework suggests built-in security features such as CSRF protection. However, explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options are not confirmed and should be implemented to enhance protection. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure information is publicly available, which could be improved to increase transparency. Privacy policies indicate GDPR compliance, but no dedicated security policy or data protection officer contact is found. Overall, the site is secure but could benefit from additional security best practices and transparency.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement and verify Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options headers to strengthen security.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Pressbooks

Description:

The Pressbooks Directory is a free, searchable catalog of over 8,300 open access books published across 205 unique networks using the Pressbooks platform. It enables users to copy, revise, remix, and redistribute openly licensed content. The platform emphasizes accessibility and interactive learning activities.

Key Services:
Open access book publishingEnterprise networksSelf-publisher plansCurated collectionsInteractive H5P learning activities
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
JavaScriptVue.jsInertia.jsAlgolia InstantSearchZiggy (Laravel routes in JS)
Frameworks:
Laravel (implied by Ziggy usage)
Platforms:
Pressbooks publishing platform
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • No visible vulnerable libraries
  • Secure forms with CSRF tokens (implied by Laravel framework)

Analytics & Tracking

Tracking Level:minimal
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Transparency Level:poor

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

50/100
Score

Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

HIGH

Forces HTTPS connections

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, health, digital

📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

40/100
Score

No SPF record found

HIGH

SPF helps prevent email spoofing

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

No email authentication configured

CRITICAL

Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

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

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

52/100
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 80 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

SSL certificate uses 384-bit key, which is considered weak

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:15.156.244.183
Name Servers:
ns-1193.awsdns-21.orgDNS only
ns-1676.awsdns-17.co.ukDNS only
ns-446.awsdns-55.comDNS only
ns-592.awsdns-10.netDNS only
SOA:Serial: 1, TTL: 86400s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:105ms

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

40/100
Score

Service Exposed: SSH

MEDIUM

Port 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

Additional Findings

The site uses a modern tech stack including Vue.js, Inertia.js, and Algolia InstantSearch, indicating a contemporary and responsive user experience. The backend is likely Laravel-based, providing robust routing and security features. Performance is moderate with preloading of CSS and JS assets. The site is mobile optimized and accessible, with semantic HTML and ARIA attributes. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and structured data usage. There is no evidence of heavy advertising or tracking scripts, which benefits privacy and performance. Hosting provider details are not explicit, but the domain uses HTTPS with a valid certificate. Overall, the technical implementation is solid with room for minor improvements in security headers and analytics transparency.
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