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Is smashingmagazine.com a Scam? Security Check Results - Smashing Magazine Reviews

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Is smashingmagazine.com Safe? Security Analysis for Smashing Magazine

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

MediaN/amedium
HTML5CSS3JavaScriptGoogle AnalyticsCloudinary (image hosting)+3 more
Analyzed 9/6/2025Completed 9:37:37 PM
70
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Smashing Magazine is a well-established online media platform focused on web design, front-end development, UX, accessibility, and related technologies. It serves a professional audience of developers, designers, and front-end engineers by providing high-quality articles, books, events, workshops, newsletters, and job board services. The website demonstrates a mature digital presence with a professional design, clear navigation, and mobile optimization. The technical infrastructure leverages modern web standards, service workers, and third-party services such as Google Analytics and Cloudinary for media delivery. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforced and standard security headers present, though explicit security policies and incident response information are not publicly disclosed. Privacy and cookie policies are comprehensive and GDPR compliant, supporting user consent mechanisms. Overall, the website is trustworthy and professionally maintained, though the lack of WHOIS data limits domain registration transparency. Strategic recommendations include publishing security policies, vulnerability disclosure mechanisms, and enhancing security contact information to further strengthen trust and compliance.

Detected Technologies

HTML5CSS3JavaScriptGoogle AnalyticsCloudinary (image hosting)Netlify (comments)Service WorkersWeb Fonts (WOFF2)

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Smashing Magazine occupies a strong niche in the web design and development media market, leveraging a content-driven business model with diversified revenue streams including memberships, book sales, workshops, advertising, and job board listings. Its large newsletter subscriber base and active community engagement indicate healthy growth and market relevance. The brand is consistent and trusted within its sector, with partnerships such as its official podcast enhancing its ecosystem. The company targets professionals seeking practical and insightful resources to improve their craft. While the WHOIS data is unavailable, the website's operational maturity and content quality suggest an established entity with a medium-sized organizational footprint.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Email Addresses (1)

a*****@smashingmagazine.com

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website exhibits a solid security posture with HTTPS enabled and multiple security headers implemented, reducing common web vulnerabilities. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the HTML content. Forms are secured with appropriate input types and no signs of insecure data handling were found. However, the absence of a published security policy, incident response plan, or vulnerability disclosure program represents a compliance gap and potential risk in transparency. No security contact emails or abuse channels were identified. Overall, the site is secure for users but could improve its security culture and communication by publishing relevant policies and contact points.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response information on the website.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Smashing Magazine

Description:

Magazine on CSS, JavaScript, front-end, accessibility, UX and design. For developers, designers and front-end engineers.

Key Services:
ArticlesBooksEventsMembershipNewsletterJob BoardPodcastsAdvertising
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
HTML5CSS3JavaScriptGoogle AnalyticsCloudinary (image hosting)Netlify (comments)Service WorkersWeb Fonts (WOFF2)
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
90/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Secure cookies
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Secure forms with proper input types

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google Analytics
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Marketing Tools:
Mailchimp (newsletter subscription)
Transparency Level:good

Website Quality Assessment

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

Key Observations

1

Website is fully accessible with rich content and professional design.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

60/100
Score

Missing Content-Security-Policy header

HIGH

Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

Weak X-XSS-Protection configuration

LOW

Current value: "1"

Weak Referrer-Policy configuration

LOW

Current value: "no-referrer-when-downgrade"

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

68/100
Score

No Cookie Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

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

85/100
Score

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 include:servers.mcsv.net include:spf.mandrillapp.com include:em4186.swell.store -all
DNS Lookups:4/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:k1(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Subdomain Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:22c84bb25c@rua.easydmarc.eu
Forensic Reports:22c84bb25c@ruf.easydmarc.eu

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

65/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 83 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

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

Mixed Content Detected

MEDIUM

1 resources loaded over insecure HTTP

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:*.smashingmagazine.com
Issuer:E8
Valid Until:11/29/2025 (83 days)
SANs:*.smashingmagazine.com, smashingmagazine.com

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

80/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
19 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
low(352 days)
Protection Level
basicDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:3.33.186.135, 15.197.167.90
AAAA Records:2a05:d014:58f:6200::1f6, 2a05:d014:58f:6200::1f5
Name Servers:
dns1.p06.nsone.net
dns2.p06.nsone.net
dns3.p06.nsone.net
dns4.p06.nsone.net
MX Records:
10: alt4.aspmx.l.google.com
10: alt3.aspmx.l.google.com
5: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
5: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
1: aspmx.l.google.com

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:servers.mcsv.net include:spf.mandrillapp.com include:em4186.swell.store -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 built with modern web technologies including HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, with optimizations such as service workers and web font loading strategies. It uses external services like Cloudinary for media hosting and Google Analytics for traffic analysis. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility considerations. Performance is fast with preloading of critical assets and efficient layout. No CMS was explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or static site generator approach. Technical risks are minimal, but ongoing maintenance of third-party dependencies and security headers is recommended to sustain performance and security.
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