How We Check Sites
We check every listed site with the same automated test and publish the result with the date of the check. We do not accept payment for scores.
Each check loads the home page and records what a visitor would run into: whether the connection is encrypted, whether you are sent to another domain, which advertising networks load, how many outside script hosts the page pulls in, how old the domain is and whether the site publishes DMCA and terms pages.
How the safety score is calculated
Every site starts at 100. We subtract points for each finding below. The score never goes under 0.
| Finding | Points |
|---|---|
| No HTTPS | −25 |
| Redirects to another domain | −15 |
| Pop-under ad network | −20 |
| Each other ad network (max 15) | −5 |
| More than 15 third-party script hosts | −10 |
| Domain younger than 1 year | −15 |
| Domain 1–3 years old | −5 |
| No DMCA and no terms page | −10 |
| Flagged for malware or phishing | −60 |
Labels
75–100: Low risk. 50–74: Some risk. 0–49: High risk. A site we could not reach is "Not rated".
Ranking
Lists of alternatives are ordered by 60% safety score and 40% popularity. Popularity comes from third-party traffic estimates and is only used for ordering.
Limits
An automated check is not a security audit. It cannot see what happens after you sign up or pay, and sites can change after we check them. We re-check every site about every 30 days.
Who writes the text
Summaries are drafted by software from the measured data only, then checked automatically so that every number matches the check. Some pages are edited by hand.