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Is sfba.social a Scam? Security Check Results - SFBA.social Reviews

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Is sfba.social Safe? Security Analysis for SFBA.social

Check if sfba.social is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

TechnologyN/asmall
Mastodon 4.4.3Ruby on RailsReactJavaScript ES Modules
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 8:36:39 AM
69
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

SFBA.social is a community-focused Mastodon instance serving the San Francisco Bay Area, providing a decentralized social networking platform within the fediverse. The website presents a professional and consistent brand image with active user engagement, positioning itself as a niche regional social media service. Technically, it leverages Mastodon version 4.4.3 with modern JavaScript frameworks and modules, offering good mobile optimization and user experience. Security posture is moderate with HTTPS implied but lacking explicit security headers and formal security policies. Privacy compliance is basic with a privacy policy present but no cookie consent mechanism or GDPR compliance indicators. WHOIS data is unavailable due to unsupported TLD WHOIS service, limiting domain legitimacy verification. Overall, the site is safe, accessible, and functional with room for improvement in security and privacy transparency.

Detected Technologies

Mastodon 4.4.3Ruby on RailsReactJavaScript ES Modules

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The platform targets general users interested in decentralized social networking within the San Francisco Bay Area community. Its business model is community-driven, likely relying on voluntary support or donations rather than commercial advertising. The site maintains a moderate market position as a regional Mastodon instance with approximately 1.9K active users. External links to Mastodon official resources and open-source repositories indicate alignment with open-source and federated social media principles. No direct business contact information or certifications are provided, which is typical for community-run social platforms. The absence of WHOIS data transparency is a limitation but not uncommon for newer or niche TLDs.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Email Addresses (2)

p*****@fediscience.orgDepartment
d*****@mastodon.onlineTicketmaster

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website enforces HTTPS and uses modern web technologies but lacks visible security headers such as Content-Security-Policy or Strict-Transport-Security in the provided HTML. No explicit incident response or security policies are published. There is no evidence of vulnerability disclosures or security.txt files. The absence of cookie consent mechanisms and limited privacy compliance features suggest gaps in regulatory adherence. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the analyzed content. The security score is moderate, with recommendations to enhance header implementation, privacy controls, and incident response transparency to improve trust and compliance.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement comprehensive security headers including Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

SFBA.social

Description:

A Mastodon instance for the San Francisco Bay Area. Come on in and join us!

Key Services:
Mastodon social networkingFederated social media participation
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
Mastodon 4.4.3Ruby on RailsReactJavaScript ES Modules
Frameworks:
MastodonRails
Platforms:
Fediverse
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

basic

SEO:

basic

Security Assessment

Security Score:
60/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced (implied by URL)

Analytics & Tracking

Tracking Level:minimal
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Transparency Level:poor

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is a Mastodon social network instance for the San Francisco Bay Area.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

75/100
Score

Weak X-XSS-Protection configuration

LOW

Current value: "0"

Weak Referrer-Policy configuration

LOW

Current value: "same-origin"

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
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.messagingengine.com ?all
DNS Lookups:1/10
Policy:?all

🏆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 74 days

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:files.sfba.social
Issuer:R12
Valid Until:11/18/2025 (74 days)
SANs:files.sfba.social, sfba.social

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

60/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

Weak SPF Policy

HIGH

SPF record has permissive policy allowing any server to send email

No DMARC Record

MEDIUM

DMARC policy not configured

DNS Records

A Records:45.79.230.234
AAAA Records:2600:3c01:1::2d4f:e6ea
Name Servers:
ns-1113.awsdns-11.orgDNS only
ns-155.awsdns-19.comDNS only
ns-1943.awsdns-50.co.ukDNS only
ns-720.awsdns-26.netDNS only
MX Records:
10: in1-smtp.messagingengine.com
20: in2-smtp.messagingengine.com
SOA:Serial: 1, TTL: 86400s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:72ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:spf.messagingengine.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 uses Mastodon 4.4.3, a Ruby on Rails-based federated social media platform, with React and modern JavaScript ES modules for frontend interactivity. The site loads multiple JavaScript bundles with integrity hashes, indicating attention to resource integrity. DNS prefetching is used for static assets. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessible navigation. Performance is moderate with no explicit metrics but no blocking or errors detected. SEO is basic with meta tags and Open Graph data present but no JSON-LD structured data found. Hosting provider and CMS details are not explicitly disclosed. Overall, the technical infrastructure is modern and suitable for a community social platform but could benefit from enhanced accessibility and SEO improvements.
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