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Is softwareadvice.fr a Scam? Security Check Results - SoftwareAdvice France Reviews

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Is softwareadvice.fr Safe? Security Analysis for SoftwareAdvice France

Check if softwareadvice.fr is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

TechnologyFrancelarge
Google Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsDatadogOneTrust Cookie ConsentJavaScript+2 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 5:10:47 AM
69
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

SoftwareAdvice France is a well-established online platform dedicated to helping French businesses find and compare software solutions. Owned by Gartner, Inc., it leverages a strong market position with over 800,000 clients served and more than one million verified user reviews. The platform offers free assistance in software selection, emphasizing transparency and user empowerment without direct sales pressure. Its content is professionally curated, targeting business users in France with a comprehensive catalog of software categories and detailed user feedback. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including Google Tag Manager, Datadog, and OneTrust for cookie consent, hosted likely on AWS infrastructure. The site is mobile-optimized, fast-loading, and SEO-friendly, providing an excellent user experience. Privacy compliance is robust, with clear privacy and cookie policies and GDPR adherence. However, explicit security headers are not evident, and no security.txt file is published, indicating room for improvement in security transparency. From a security standpoint, the site uses HTTPS and implements cookie consent mechanisms, but lacks visible advanced security headers and a dedicated security policy page. The WHOIS data is unavailable, which is common for .fr domains but introduces some uncertainty about domain registration details. Despite this, the association with Gartner and the professional presentation mitigate concerns. Overall, the site demonstrates a mature digital presence with moderate security posture and strong business credibility. Strategically, SoftwareAdvice France should enhance its security posture by publishing a security.txt file, adding security headers, and possibly providing more explicit incident response contact information. These steps would strengthen trust and compliance, supporting its role as a trusted software advisor in the French market.

Detected Technologies

Google Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsDatadogOneTrust Cookie ConsentJavaScriptCSSHTML5

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

SoftwareAdvice France operates as a key player in the software comparison market in France, leveraging Gartner's global brand strength. Its business model focuses on providing free, unbiased software recommendations and user reviews, generating value through affiliate partnerships and vendor listings. The platform targets SMEs and enterprises seeking software solutions, offering extensive category coverage and user-generated content. Its competitive advantage lies in verified reviews and a user-centric approach without direct sales pressure. The company maintains a strong partnership ecosystem, notably with Gartner, enhancing credibility and market reach. Growth indicators include a large user base and extensive software catalog. The site’s multilingual and multi-country presence suggests a scalable model with regional adaptations.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Email Addresses (1)

i*****@softwareadvice.fr

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website exhibits a moderate to good security maturity level. HTTPS is enforced, and cookie consent is properly managed, indicating compliance with privacy regulations. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), and X-Frame-Options reduces defense-in-depth. No security.txt file or dedicated security policy page is found, limiting transparency for vulnerability reporting. There is no evidence of exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries in the HTML source. Incident response is partially addressed via Gartner’s vulnerability disclosure program link. Overall, the security posture is adequate but could be improved by adopting additional security best practices and enhancing incident response visibility.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish a security.txt file at the root domain to facilitate vulnerability reporting.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

SoftwareAdvice France

Description:

Software Advice aide les entreprises en France à trouver les meilleurs logiciels. Comparez les différentes solutions et apprenez-en plus grâce à nos enquêtes et avis d'utilisateurs.

Key Services:
comparaison de logicielsavis utilisateurs vérifiésaccompagnement gratuit dans la recherche de logiciels
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
Google Tag ManagerGoogle AnalyticsDatadogOneTrust Cookie ConsentJavaScriptCSSHTML5
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent mechanism implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of security-related scripts (e.g., OneTrust)

Analytics & Tracking

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

Advertising & Marketing

Marketing Tools:
Datadog
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 in French targeting French businesses.

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

60/100
Score

Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

HIGH

Forces HTTPS connections

Missing X-XSS-Protection header

MEDIUM

Legacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)

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

73/100
Score

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 Policy85% 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:fdspfus.freshemail.io -all
DNS Lookups:1/10
Policy:-all
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:ku8z59h0@ag.dmarcian.com

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

75/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 64 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

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

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:softwareadvice.fr
Issuer:WE1
Valid Until:11/8/2025 (64 days)
SANs:softwareadvice.fr, *.softwareadvice.fr

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

Domain Transfer Lock Not Enabled

MEDIUM

Domain can be transferred without authorization

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
8 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
medium(71 days)
Protection Level
none
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • No domain protection locks enabled

DNS Records

A Records:104.21.96.1, 104.21.16.1, 104.21.64.1, 104.21.48.1, 104.21.32.1, 104.21.80.1, 104.21.112.1
AAAA Records:2606:4700:3030::6815:5001, 2606:4700:3030::6815:6001, 2606:4700:3030::6815:3001, 2606:4700:3030::6815:4001, 2606:4700:3030::6815:7001, 2606:4700:3030::6815:1001, 2606:4700:3030::6815:2001
Name Servers:
alice.ns.cloudflare.com
earl.ns.cloudflare.com
MX Records:
10: mxa-0016aa01.gslb.pphosted.com
10: mxb-0016aa01.gslb.pphosted.com
SOA:Serial: 2382079960, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:47ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:fdspfus.freshemail.io -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 standards, utilizing asynchronous JavaScript loading, Google Tag Manager for analytics and marketing, and OneTrust for cookie consent management. Hosting assets on AWS and using CDN services like imgix ensure fast content delivery. The site is fully responsive with good accessibility features and SEO optimization, including meta tags and structured data (JSON-LD). No CMS is explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary platform. Performance is fast with no broken elements detected. The technical stack supports a scalable and maintainable platform but could benefit from enhanced security configurations and formalized incident response mechanisms.
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