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Security report for becomeawritertoday.com

Become a Writer Today · Education · United States

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

73/100

Risk levelMedium

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

Become a Writer Today is a niche educational website offering a comprehensive suite of free writing tools and resources targeted at writers including self-publishing authors, freelance writers, content marketers, and poets. Founded in 2014 by Bryan Collins, a USA Today bestselling author, the site provides living databases of contests, literary magazines, residencies, and conferences, alongside word banks, rhyme finders, and editing sandboxes. The business model leverages affiliate marketing and paid software reviews to monetize its offerings. Technically, the site is built with the Astro framework, hosted behind Cloudflare DNS, and employs modern analytics tools such as PostHog and Plausible with a privacy-conscious approach. The website is fast, mobile-optimized, and SEO-friendly with excellent content quality and user experience.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

5 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. Security headers

    Security headers are instructions your web server sends to every visitor’s browser. Missing ones leave visitors more exposed to attacks such as clickjacking and injected scripts.

    • High

      Missing Content-Security-Policy header

      Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

      What to do: Implement a Content-Security-Policy appropriate for your application

      • ASVS V3.4.3
      • OWASP Secure Headers: OWASP Secure Headers Project recommends Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; form-action 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none';…
  2. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

  3. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • High

      Weak Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1
    • High

      Weak SSL Key Length

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

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching becomeawritertoday.com

This scan found 19 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

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Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
52
Security headers
70
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
73

Not counted

  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Breach exposure

Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.

Dark web exposure

Add-on

Leaked records that mention becomeawritertoday.com, from OffSeq Breach.

No leaked records found

Breach holds no records for becomeawritertoday.com right now. New leaks arrive continuously, so monitoring on Breach alerts you if that changes.

Monitor on Breach (opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

The website holds a strong market position within the writing and educational niche, serving a targeted audience of writers seeking practical tools and submission opportunities. Its competitive advantage lies in the breadth and freshness of its living databases and the integration of multiple writing aids in one platform. Revenue streams appear to be primarily affiliate marketing and software referrals. The founder's reputation and transparent contact channels enhance credibility. The site maintains partnerships with recognized affiliate programs such as Amazon Associates and Awin, supporting its monetization strategy. Growth indicators include regular content updates and a popular newsletter. The ecosystem is well-structured with clear navigation and categorized resources.

Security posture

The site demonstrates a good security posture with HTTPS enforced, domain transfer protections enabled, and no visible sensitive data exposure. The use of privacy-focused analytics tools is a positive indicator. However, the absence of DNSSEC, explicit security headers, and published security or incident response policies are gaps that could be addressed to strengthen security maturity. No vulnerability disclosures or security.txt files were found, indicating limited transparency in vulnerability management. The site lacks a cookie consent mechanism, which may impact GDPR compliance. Overall, the security posture is solid but could benefit from enhancements in policy transparency and technical controls.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Implement standard security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to harden the site against common web attacks.
  3. Add a cookie consent banner or mechanism to comply fully with GDPR and other privacy regulations.
  4. Publish a clear security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and trust.
  5. Consider adding a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Become a Writer Today
Description
Free tools for writers including living databases of writing contests, literary magazines, residencies and conferences, word banks for every mood, an editing sandbox, and a rhyme finder.
Key services
Writing contest databases, Literary magazine submission info, Writing residencies and conferences info, Word banks and rhyme finder tools, Editing sandbox, Writing software reviews, Newsletter subscription
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Astro v7.1.6, Cloudflare DNS, PostHog analytics, Plausible analytics, Partytown for script offloading
Frameworks
Astro
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status clientTransferProhibited and clientUpdateProhibited
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of modern analytics with privacy focus (Plausible, PostHog EU cloud)

Analytics and tracking

Services
PostHog, Plausible
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Tracking pixels
PostHog, Plausible
Marketing tools
PostHog, Plausible
Transparency
basic

Site quality

Design
excellent
User experience
excellent
Content relevance
excellent
Navigation
excellent
Professionalism
excellent
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and tools for writers.
  2. Strong use of structured data and SEO best practices.
  3. No explicit privacy or cookie consent banner detected despite GDPR compliance claims.
  4. No direct company contact emails or phone numbers visible; contact is via form.
  5. Use of modern analytics with privacy focus is a positive indicator.
  6. Affiliate marketing is clearly disclosed and integrated.
  7. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure found.
  8. No explicit security policy or incident response information published.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using the Astro static site generator (version 7.1.6), which supports fast performance and modern web standards. Hosting appears to be via Cloudflare DNS with nameservers indicating Cloudflare usage, contributing to performance and security. The site uses PostHog and Plausible for analytics, both configured with privacy considerations. The use of Partytown script offloading indicates attention to performance optimization. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features. SEO is well implemented with comprehensive meta tags, Open Graph, and JSON-LD structured data. No CMS or dynamic backend detected, reducing attack surface but limiting dynamic content management. Overall, the technical infrastructure is modern, performant, and well-implemented with minor opportunities for security hardening.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 66/100Medium33 findingsView report
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