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Is ycombinator.com a Scam? Security Check Results - Y Combinator Reviews

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Is ycombinator.com Safe? Security Analysis for Y Combinator

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

TechnologyUnited Stateslarge
ReactJavaScriptGoogle AnalyticsGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle Maps API+4 more
Analyzed 9/6/2025Completed 3:09:15 AM
68
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Y Combinator is a premier startup accelerator that funds and mentors early-stage startups, providing them with capital, expert guidance, and access to a vast network of investors and founders. The website reflects a strong market position with a large portfolio of successful companies and a well-established brand in the technology sector. The target audience primarily consists of startup founders and investors seeking early-stage funding and support. The business model revolves around equity investment and community building, supported by exclusive deals and a private social network for founders.

Detected Technologies

ReactJavaScriptGoogle AnalyticsGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle Maps APIAlgolia SearchViteEmotion (CSS-in-JS)React Router

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Y Combinator maintains a competitive advantage through its extensive mentorship program, experienced partners, and a large, active alumni network. The company leverages its investor database and exclusive software deals to provide startups with significant fundraising and operational advantages. The website content and structure emphasize transparency, community, and founder-first principles, reinforcing trust and credibility. Partnerships with educational platforms like Startup School and community sites like Hacker News further strengthen its ecosystem.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website employs HTTPS with strong SSL configuration and uses modern security best practices such as nonce attributes in scripts to mitigate injection risks. However, explicit security headers like Content-Security-Policy and security.txt files for vulnerability disclosure are not evident. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected. The absence of clear security and incident response policies and contact channels represents an area for improvement. Overall, the security posture is strong but could benefit from enhanced transparency and formalized policies.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement and publish a comprehensive privacy policy and cookie consent mechanism to improve privacy compliance.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Y Combinator

Description:

Y Combinator created a new model for funding early stage startups. Four times a year they invest in a large number of startups.

Key Services:
Startup fundingMentorshipFounder networkingInvestor accessPrivate social network for foundersExclusive software deals
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
ReactJavaScriptGoogle AnalyticsGoogle Tag ManagerGoogle Maps APIAlgolia SearchViteEmotion (CSS-in-JS)React Router
Frameworks:
ReactRails (backend context indicated)
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
90/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of nonce attributes in scripts
  • No visible vulnerable libraries

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsGoogle Tag Manager
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

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 multimedia

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

70/100
Score

Missing Content-Security-Policy header

HIGH

Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

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
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

30/100
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 security contact information

HIGH

NIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels

No vulnerability reporting mechanism

MEDIUM

Clear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure

📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

75/100
Score

DMARC not enforcing

MEDIUM

DMARC policy is set to "none"

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:mailgun.org a:rsweb1-36.investorflow.com include:_spf.createsend.com include:servers.mcsv.net -all
DNS Lookups:5/10
Policy:-all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:google(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:k1(1296-bit rsa)
Selector:s1(1440-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:none
Subdomain Policy:none
Aggregate Reports:dmarc-reports@ycombinator.com
Forensic Reports:dmarc-reports+f@ycombinator.com

🏆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 39 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

SSL certificate uses 256-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

Domain Delete Lock Not Enabled

LOW

Domain can be deleted without additional verification

DMARC Policy Set to None

LOW

DMARC is configured but not enforcing any policy

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
20 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
low(194 days)
Protection Level
basicDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:3.174.113.16, 3.174.113.110, 3.174.113.70, 3.174.113.38
Name Servers:
ns-1411.awsdns-48.org
ns-1914.awsdns-47.co.uk
ns-225.awsdns-28.com
ns-556.awsdns-05.net
MX Records:
20: alt2.aspmx.l.google.com
10: aspmx.l.google.com
30: aspmx4.googlemail.com
20: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com
SOA:Serial: 1, TTL: 86400s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:152ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:mailgun.org a:rsweb1-36.investorflow.com include:_spf.createsend.com include:servers.mcsv.net -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 using modern web technologies including React, Rails backend, and Vite for asset bundling. It integrates Google Analytics and Tag Manager for analytics and tracking, and uses Algolia for search functionality. The site is well-optimized for performance and mobile responsiveness, with good SEO practices evident in meta tags and Open Graph data. Accessibility features are present but could be further enhanced. The technical infrastructure supports a fast, reliable user experience with scalable components suitable for a high-traffic, content-rich platform.
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