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Is counselling.org a Scam? Security Check Results - The Grove

counselling.org Security Report Summary

counselling.org received a security score of 54 out of 100 in Guard's comprehensive security analysis, classified as "Elevated Risk". This report covers The Grove's website security posture. The Grove operates in the Education industry in United Kingdom.

The Grove Practice is a specialized education provider focused on continuing professional development (CPD) for mental health professionals including therapists, psychotherapists, and counsellors. Their offerings include live and self-study courses, webinars, and conferences primarily delivered online or in London. The website is well-structured, professionally designed, and optimized for SEO, targeting a UK-based audience with a strong emphasis on inclusivity and community. Technically, the site leverages WordPress with modern plugins and integrates Google Analytics, Facebook SDK, and anti-spam measures such as reCAPTCHA and SpamKill. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and form protections, though explicit security headers could be improved. The absence of publicly available WHOIS data limits domain legitimacy verification, but the professional content and branding suggest a legitimate business. Privacy policy and terms of service pages were not detected, indicating an area for compliance improvement.

The security scan identified 31 findings across security headers, SSL/TLS, DNS health, email security, GDPR compliance, and NIS2 compliance analysis modules.

Technologies detected: WordPress, Yoast SEO plugin, Google Analytics (gtag.js), Google Tag Manager, Facebook SDK, reCAPTCHA v3, SpamKill anti-spam, WonderPush push notifications, jQuery 3.6.1, Plyr video player, Infusionsoft (Keap) forms.

About this security scan

Guard performs automated security assessments of websites by analyzing SSL/TLS certificates, HTTP security headers, DNS configuration, email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), GDPR compliance indicators, NIS2 directive compliance, network exposure, and business-context intelligence. Each report provides domain-specific findings, risk scores, and actionable recommendations.

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Is counselling.org Safe? Security Analysis for The Grove

https://www.counselling.org/

Check if counselling.org is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

EducationUnited Kingdomsmall
WordPressYoast SEO pluginGoogle Analytics (gtag.js)Google Tag ManagerFacebook SDK+6 more
Analyzed Completed
54
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

Below Education avg (55)

GDPR-aligned

Data handling

EU

Hosting region

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SEQ SIA
Reg. No. 40203410806 · VAT LV40203410806

AI Summary

The Grove Practice is a specialized education provider focused on continuing professional development (CPD) for mental health professionals including therapists, psychotherapists, and counsellors. Their offerings include live and self-study courses, webinars, and conferences primarily delivered online or in London. The website is well-structured, professionally designed, and optimized for SEO, targeting a UK-based audience with a strong emphasis on inclusivity and community. Technically, the site leverages WordPress with modern plugins and integrates Google Analytics, Facebook SDK, and anti-spam measures such as reCAPTCHA and SpamKill. Security posture is solid with HTTPS and form protections, though explicit security headers could be improved. The absence of publicly available WHOIS data limits domain legitimacy verification, but the professional content and branding suggest a legitimate business. Privacy policy and terms of service pages were not detected, indicating an area for compliance improvement.

Detected Technologies

WordPressYoast SEO pluginGoogle Analytics (gtag.js)Google Tag ManagerFacebook SDKreCAPTCHA v3SpamKill anti-spamWonderPush push notificationsjQuery 3.6.1Plyr video playerInfusionsoft (Keap) forms

9 urgent findings need attention

9 high

  • + 1 more findings in the full report below
Continuous monitoring

Keep counselling.org under constant watch

Guard tracks your live infrastructure daily: certificate expiry, DNS & mail authentication drift, uptime changes, subdomain inventory, and unexpected tracker or content shifts. A full timeline captures every diff so you can prove remediation and spot regressions instantly.

Security drift alerts

Risk score drops, new high-severity issues, and header hardening gaps

Compliance watch

GDPR / NIS2 posture changes with governance evidence snapshots

Infrastructure surface

Unexpected open services, SSL expiry, DNS & email authentication changes

Content & tracker intelligence

Marketing tech shifts, analytics drift, and AI recommendation updates

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Security Headers

7 findings

20/100

GDPR Compliance

2 findings

83/100

NIS2 Compliance

8 findings

17/100

Email Security

4 findings

80/100

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

The Grove occupies a niche in the mental health education sector, offering accredited CPD courses and training that cater to therapists and related professionals. Their business model relies on course fees, webinar sales, and community engagement. The partnership with Teachable for self-study courses expands their digital reach. The company demonstrates strong market positioning through detailed course offerings, endorsements, and testimonials. Growth potential is supported by diverse course topics and a focus on emerging areas like adult ADHD. The lack of direct contact details suggests a preference for controlled communication channels via forms. Overall, The Grove appears to be a focused, small-sized education provider with a clear target audience and a professional online presence.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website employs HTTPS with a good SSL configuration and uses Google reCAPTCHA v3 and SpamKill to protect forms from spam and abuse. However, explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options are not evident in the provided data, which could enhance protection against common web attacks. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected. The site lacks visible incident response or security policy pages, which could be improved to demonstrate security maturity. Overall, the security posture is good but could benefit from additional hardening and transparency.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish a comprehensive privacy policy and terms of service to improve compliance and user trust.

Observations

Comprehensive website and business-context analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

The Grove

Description:

The Grove is a centre of excellence for mental health training offering CPD courses for therapists, psychotherapists, and counsellors. They provide practice-based courses conducted on Zoom or in person, focusing on trauma therapy, integrative supervision, couple/relationship therapy, emotional regulation skills, psychosexual therapy, and more. The Grove emphasizes a supportive community, continuous self-improvement, and inclusivity.

Key Services:
CPD mental health training coursesSelf-study coursesLive webinars and eventsTherapist practitioner directoryNewsletter subscription
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
WordPressYoast SEO pluginGoogle Analytics (gtag.js)Google Tag ManagerFacebook SDKreCAPTCHA v3SpamKill anti-spamWonderPush push notificationsjQuery 3.6.1Plyr video playerInfusionsoft (Keap) forms
Frameworks:
WordPress
Platforms:
WordPress CMS
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

excellent

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of Google reCAPTCHA v3 for forms
  • SpamKill anti-spam protection on forms
  • No exposed sensitive data found in HTML

Analytics & Tracking

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

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Facebook Pixel (via Facebook SDK)
Marketing Tools:
Infusionsoft (Keap) for email marketing and formsWonderPush for push notifications
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.

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🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

20/100
Score

Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

HIGH

Forces HTTPS connections

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

Missing X-Content-Type-Options header

MEDIUM

Prevents MIME type sniffing

Missing Content-Security-Policy header

HIGH

Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

Missing X-XSS-Protection header

MEDIUM

Legacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)

Missing Referrer-Policy header

LOW

Controls referrer information sent with requests

Missing Permissions-Policy header

MEDIUM

Controls browser features and APIs

👤GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.

GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment

83/100
Score

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 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

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📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

80/100
Score

DMARC Partial Enforcement

LOW

DMARC only applies to 5% of messages

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 ip4:31.121.193.167 ip4:31.121.193.173 ip4:62.7.106.131 include:infusionmail.com ip4:194.73.205.70 ip4:194.73.205.70 ip4:194.72.45.194 ip4:213.122.23.225 ip4:194.72.45.195 ip4:194.73.205.75 ip4:194.73.205.74 ip4:194.73.205.76 ip4:194.72.45.194 inclu de:spf.sendinblue. com ~all
DNS Lookups:1/10
Policy:~all
DKIM Selectors Found
Selector:mail(1296-bit rsa)
DMARC Details
Policy:quarantine(5% enforcement)
Aggregate Reports:[email protected]

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

57/100
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 35 days

HSTS Not Enabled

MEDIUM

HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) is not configured

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

70/100
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 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
17 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
none(566 days)
Protection Level
noneDNSSEC OFF
Suspicious Indicators Detected
  • No domain protection locks enabled

DNS Records

A Records:77.72.5.67
Name Servers:
ashley.ns.cloudflare.com
neil.ns.cloudflare.com
MX Records:
10: smtp.dsiuk.com
SOA:Serial: 2409711848, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:34ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 ip4:31.121.193.167 ip4:31.121.193.173 ip4:62.7.106.131 include:infusionmail.com ip4:194.73.205.70 ip4:194.73.205.70 ip4:194.72.45.194 ip4:213.122.23.225 ip4:194.72.45.195 ip4:194.73.205.75 ip4:194.73.205.74 ip4:194.73.205.76 ip4:194.72.45.194 inclu de:spf.sendinblue. com ~all

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

20/100
Score

High-Risk Service Exposed: FTP

HIGH

Port 21 (FTP) is publicly accessible - FTP - Often unencrypted file transfer

How does counselling.org compare?

See how counselling.org stacks up against similar websites in the same industry.

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website is built on WordPress with a modern tech stack including Yoast SEO, Google Analytics, Facebook SDK, and advanced anti-spam tools like SpamKill. It uses jQuery 3.6.1 and Plyr for video playback, indicating a multimedia-rich experience. The site is mobile optimized and accessible with good SEO practices including structured data (JSON-LD) and Open Graph tags. Performance is moderate, likely due to multimedia content and external scripts. Hosting provider details are not explicit. The site integrates third-party platforms such as Infusionsoft for marketing and Teachable for course delivery, reflecting a hybrid infrastructure. Technical risks are low but depend on regular updates and security maintenance.
Professional Report

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Optional add-ons

via BREACH

Your order

Full Report
PDF · email delivery · lifetime access
39.90
Total
Incl. 21% VAT
39.90
Already purchased? Enter unlock code
VisaMastercardApple PayGoogle Payvia EveryPay
SEQ SIA
Reg. No. 40203410806 · VAT LV40203410806

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