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Security report for winscp.net

WinSCP.net · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 2 other checks.

Security score

57/100

Risk levelMedium

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

WinSCP.net operates a well-established, highly reputable freeware software project focused on providing a free SFTP, FTP, SCP, and S3 client for Windows users. The website demonstrates a strong market position with over 244 million downloads and excellent user ratings, supported by multiple awards and positive testimonials. The business model centers on free software distribution with community engagement and support. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including Bootstrap, jQuery, and integrates multiple analytics and advertising services with a GDPR-compliant consent mechanism. Hosting and DNS are managed via Cloudflare, ensuring robust performance and security. Security posture is solid with HTTPS enforced and domain registration consistent with the business history, though explicit security policies and incident response contacts are not published. Overall, the site is professional, trustworthy, and well-optimized for user experience and compliance.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
65/ 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

6 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 Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • 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

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

Keep watching winscp.net

This scan found 24 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

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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
67
Security headers
25
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
20
GDPR outside view
65
Average
57

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

WinSCP.net targets Windows users requiring secure and efficient file transfer and management solutions. The project benefits from a long operational history since 2005, with a strong community presence on platforms like GitHub and SourceForge. Its competitive advantage lies in being a free, open, and feature-rich client supporting multiple protocols and automation capabilities. Revenue streams likely include donations and possibly partnerships, though no direct commercial offerings are evident. The ecosystem includes partnerships with open-source and community platforms. The website's multilingual support and extensive documentation indicate a focus on broad accessibility and user empowerment.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, domain transfer protection, and a comprehensive GDPR-compliant consent management platform. However, it lacks publicly available dedicated security policies, vulnerability disclosure programs, and incident response contacts, which are important for transparency and trust. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. The use of multiple third-party analytics and advertising services is managed with user consent, aligning with privacy regulations. Recommendations include publishing explicit security and incident response policies and enhancing security headers.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy page outlining security practices and commitments.
  2. Implement and publicly disclose a vulnerability disclosure policy and incident response contact information.
  3. Enhance HTTP security headers such as X-Frame-Options and X-Content-Type-Options for improved protection.
  4. Maintain transparency on data retention policies related to analytics and advertising services.
  5. Continue to monitor and update third-party libraries and scripts to avoid vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
WinSCP.net
Description
WinSCP is a popular free file manager for Windows supporting FTP, SFTP, SCP, S3, WebDAV and local-to-local file transfers. It offers a graphical user interface, integrated text editor, scripting and task automation, and is translated into many languages.
Key services
SFTP client, FTP client, SCP client, S3 client, WebDAV client, File management, Scripting and automation
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Bootstrap (modified), jQuery, Slick Carousel, Google Fonts, Google Analytics, Facebook SDK, Google Adsense
Frameworks
Bootstrap
Platforms
Windows (target OS)
Performance
fast
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ClientTransferProhibited domain status
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Consent management platform for GDPR compliance

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Facebook Analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Adsense
Tracking pixels
Facebook Pixel, Facebook SDK
Marketing tools
Facebook SDK
Transparency
good

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 no blocking
  2. Strong presence of user testimonials and awards
  3. Comprehensive privacy and cookie consent mechanisms implemented
  4. No direct contact emails or phone numbers found on main pages
  5. Use of multiple third-party analytics and advertising services with consent
  6. Modern, responsive design with good SEO and accessibility features
  7. Domain is old and well maintained with Cloudflare registrar and DNS
  8. No explicit security or incident response policies published
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern and stable technology stack featuring Bootstrap for responsive design, jQuery for interactivity, and Slick Carousel for UI components. It leverages Google Fonts for typography and integrates Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Facebook SDK for analytics and marketing. Hosting is managed via Cloudflare, providing DNS and CDN services that enhance performance and security. The site is well-optimized for mobile devices and accessibility, with clear navigation and SEO-friendly metadata. No CMS was detected, suggesting a custom or static site architecture, which can reduce attack surface but requires careful maintenance. Overall, the technical infrastructure supports a fast, reliable, and user-friendly experience.
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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