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Security report for visualstudio.com

Microsoft · Technology · United States

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view and Email security.

Security score

73/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Visual Studio, operated by Microsoft Corporation, is a leading integrated development environment (IDE) and code editor platform designed for software developers and teams. It offers comprehensive development tools, AI-powered coding assistance through GitHub Copilot, and extensive support for multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, and Linux. The website reflects a mature digital presence with rich content, multiple product offerings, and a strong focus on developer productivity and collaboration. The business model includes free downloads, subscriptions, and marketplace extensions, positioning Visual Studio as a market leader in developer tools. Technically, the site is built on WordPress hosted on WP Engine with Microsoft Azure DNS, employing modern web technologies and performance optimizations. Security posture is strong with robust HTTPS configuration, security headers, and privacy compliance mechanisms including GDPR and cookie consent. However, explicit security policies and incident response information are not publicly detailed. Overall, the site demonstrates high professionalism, trustworthiness, and a well-integrated ecosystem aligned with Microsoft's broader cloud and developer services.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of visualstudio.com. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
25/ 100 · Critical
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. GDPR outside view

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

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • 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

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

  2. Email security

    SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.

    • High

      No DMARC record found

      DMARC provides email authentication and reporting

      What to do: Add DMARC record: "v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com"

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

Keep watching visualstudio.com

This scan found 16 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
95
Security headers
70
Email security
65
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
25
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 visualstudio.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
2,156
Employees
0
Customers
2,106
Third parties
50
Weak passwords
15%

818 subdomains affected

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for visualstudio.com.

Select it in the checkout above.

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Technical appendix

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

Business context

Business profile

Visual Studio benefits from Microsoft's extensive market reach and brand recognition, targeting professional developers, enterprises, and educational users. Its integration with GitHub and Azure enhances its competitive advantage by offering seamless cloud and AI capabilities. The business model leverages a mix of free tools, paid subscriptions, and a rich extension marketplace, driving recurring revenue and ecosystem growth. The site’s navigation and content structure support diverse user needs, from beginners to advanced developers. Partnerships with Azure, GitHub, and Microsoft’s partner network strengthen its market position. The presence of multiple language versions and global hosting indicates a worldwide audience. Strategic observations include a focus on AI integration, developer productivity, and enterprise-grade security and governance features.

Security posture

The website exhibits a strong security posture with HTTPS enforced via a valid Microsoft Azure-issued certificate and strict transport security with preload and subdomain inclusion. Security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, X-XSS-Protection, and Feature-Policy are properly configured to mitigate common web vulnerabilities. No known SSL/TLS vulnerabilities like Heartbleed or POODLE are present. However, DNSSEC and CAA records are not enabled, representing potential areas for DNS security enhancement. The absence of a public security policy or incident response page limits transparency in security governance. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure program is evident, which could be improved to foster responsible vulnerability reporting. Privacy compliance is well addressed with cookie consent mechanisms and links to Microsoft’s comprehensive privacy policy. Overall, the site aligns with good security best practices but could enhance transparency and DNS security.

Recommendations

  1. Enable and verify support for modern TLS protocols (TLS 1.2 and TLS 1.3) to ensure secure communications.
  2. Implement DNSSEC and CAA DNS records to strengthen DNS security and certificate issuance control.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and user trust.
  4. Establish and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program including a security.txt file.
  5. Continue to monitor and update privacy and cookie consent mechanisms to maintain compliance with evolving regulations.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with the Avada theme and hosted on WP Engine with Microsoft Azure DNS services. It uses nginx as the web server and integrates multiple JavaScript libraries including jQuery, LazySizes for lazy loading images, MediaElement.js for media playback, and Hammer.js for touch gestures. Performance is optimized with caching headers and resource prefetching. Analytics and monitoring are implemented using New Relic, Microsoft Clarity, and Adobe Target, indicating a mature digital analytics infrastructure. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility considerations. Technical risks are minimal but include the lack of DNSSEC and CAA records and the need to confirm TLS protocol support. The site demonstrates modern web development practices and a robust technical infrastructure supporting a global user base.
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. 84/100Low21 findingsView report
  2. 75/100Medium17 findings · partial scanView report
  3. 84/100Low22 findingsView report
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