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Security report for directnic.com

DNC Holdings, Inc. · Technology · United States

Medium risk. 3 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS and GDPR outside view.

Security score

70/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Directnic.com, operated by DNC Holdings, Inc., is an established domain registrar and web hosting provider founded in 2000. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services including domain registration, hosting, email, SSL certificates, website building tools, DNS management, and security services such as cWatch. The website targets business owners and individuals seeking reliable domain and hosting solutions, positioning itself as a trusted and affordable provider with ICANN accreditation and BBB membership. Technically, the site employs modern JavaScript libraries, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and LiveChat for customer engagement and marketing. The infrastructure appears stable with moderate performance and good mobile optimization, though the CMS is custom or not explicitly identified. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced, domain transfer locks, and two-factor authentication support; however, DNSSEC is not enabled and security policy documentation is lacking. Privacy compliance is partial, with a privacy policy present but no cookie consent mechanism detected, which may pose GDPR compliance risks. Overall, the website is professional, trustworthy, and business-focused with room for improvement in security transparency and privacy practices.

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

3 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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.

    • Critical

      Unable to retrieve SSL certificate

      Could not establish secure connection to retrieve certificate information

      What to do: Check if the server is accessible and SSL/TLS is properly configured

  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

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

Keep watching directnic.com

This scan found 13 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.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

€25per month

  • 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
0
Security headers
95
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
Average
70

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

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

Directnic operates in the technology sector as a domain registrar and hosting provider with a medium-sized business footprint. Its competitive advantages include long-standing market presence since 2000, ICANN accreditation, and a broad product portfolio that caters to domain registration, hosting, email, SSL, and security services. Revenue streams likely derive from domain sales, hosting subscriptions, SSL certificates, and value-added services like website builders and security tools. The company targets small to medium business owners and website creators seeking affordable and reliable web presence solutions. Partnerships with ICANN, BBB, and security vendors enhance credibility. The marketing ecosystem includes Google Ads and Facebook retargeting, supporting customer acquisition and retention. Strategic observations suggest a focus on expanding hosting and security offerings while maintaining domain registration leadership.

Security posture

Directnic demonstrates a mature security posture with multiple domain status locks preventing unauthorized transfers or deletions, HTTPS enforced site-wide, and support for two-factor authentication via Google Authenticator and YubiKey. However, the absence of DNSSEC reduces DNS security robustness. No explicit security policy or incident response contact information is published, which limits transparency and may affect customer trust in security incident handling. The lack of a cookie consent mechanism indicates partial privacy compliance, potentially exposing the company to regulatory scrutiny under GDPR. No vulnerable libraries or exposed sensitive data were detected. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be enhanced by publishing formal security policies, enabling DNSSEC, and implementing comprehensive privacy controls.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS integrity and security.
  2. Implement a cookie consent banner to comply with GDPR and other privacy regulations.
  3. Publish a detailed security policy and incident response contact information on the website.
  4. Add security HTTP headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options to enhance protection.
  5. Regularly audit third-party scripts and tracking tools to minimize privacy risks and improve user trust.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
DNC Holdings, Inc.
Description
Directnic makes registering Domain Names fast, simple, and affordable. They offer domain registration, hosting, email, SSL certificates, and related web services.
Key services
Domain registration, Web hosting, Email services, SSL certificates, Website builder, DNS management, Security services (cWatch)
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
jQuery, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, LiveChat, PushStream, Gumby CSS Framework, Font Awesome
Frameworks
Gumby
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
80/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status includes clientDeleteProhibited and transfer locks
  • Two-factor authentication supported (Google Authenticator, YubiKey)
  • Free transfer lock

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Ads
Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel
Marketing tools
Facebook Pixel, LiveChat
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is professionally designed and well-structured
  2. Clear business focus on domain registration and hosting services
  3. Good trust signals including ICANN accreditation and BBB membership
  4. Security features advertised but some improvements possible
  5. No cookie consent mechanism detected, potential GDPR compliance gap
  6. No explicit security policy or incident response contact information found
  7. Use of modern JavaScript libraries and tracking tools
  8. No adult or questionable content present
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern technology stack including jQuery, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, LiveChat, and the Gumby CSS framework. The site is custom-built or uses a proprietary CMS, with no common CMS detected. Performance is moderate with good mobile responsiveness and basic accessibility features. SEO is well addressed with proper meta tags and Open Graph data. Hosting provider is not explicitly identified but DNS is managed via dnsimple.com nameservers. The site uses pushstream for real-time messaging. Technical risks include lack of DNSSEC and missing security headers. The site is well maintained with no broken elements detected.
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

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