Last Updated on April 11, 2026 by Mat Diekhake
ConsumingTech assigns each reviewed domain a Website Trust Grade using its proprietary grading methodology. This system evaluates security signals, reputation indicators, domain legitimacy factors, and editorial risk analysis to determine how safe a website appears at the time of review.
The final grade is assigned by ConsumingTech under its own grading standards. Third-party scan results inform the analysis but do not independently determine the final grade. Instead, these signals are evaluated within a broader framework designed to classify websites consistently across all reviews.
This grading system is designed to help users quickly understand whether a website appears trustworthy, relatively safe, suspicious, or potentially malicious before interacting with it.
How the ConsumingTech Website Trust Grading System Works
To determine a website’s final trust grade, ConsumingTech evaluates multiple grading inputs within its proprietary methodology, including:
- Security scan findings from established vendors
- Reputation signals and blacklist indicators
- Domain legitimacy and transparency signals
- Historical risk indicators and consistency patterns
- ConsumingTech editorial risk analysis
These inputs are evaluated together rather than individually. A single signal does not automatically determine a grade. Instead, ConsumingTech weighs combinations of signals and applies editorial judgment before assigning a final classification.
ConsumingTech applies a multi-signal grading methodology that evaluates numerous signal combinations before assigning a final score and trust grade. The criteria below are general public-facing grading guidelines and do not disclose the full internal weighting framework.
ConsumingTech Website Trust Grades
ConsumingTech uses a 10-point scale that maps each reviewed domain to one of the following trust grades:
10 — Very Safe
9 — Very Safe
8 — Safe
7 — Safe
6 — Relatively Safe
5 — Relatively Safe
4 — Suspicious
3 — Suspicious
2 — Unsafe
1 — Unsafe
These grades represent increasing levels of risk based on ConsumingTech’s evaluation framework.
Very Safe
A Very Safe grade indicates a domain with exceptionally strong cleanliness, reputation, and legitimacy signals across ConsumingTech’s review framework.
These websites typically:
- Show no significant malware detections
- Have minimal or no blacklist flags
- Display strong legitimacy signals
- Demonstrate consistent domain behavior
- Show positive or neutral reputation indicators
Very Safe websites present extremely low apparent risk based on available signals.
See all: Very Safe sites
Safe
A Safe grade indicates a domain with generally clean security signals and no major red flags, though minor concerns or limited data may be present.
These websites typically:
- Show clean or mostly clean scan results
- Have few or no meaningful blacklist detections
- Display reasonable legitimacy signals
- Show no strong indicators of malicious behavior
Safe websites appear trustworthy but may not meet the stricter thresholds required for a Very Safe classification.
See all: Safe sites
Relatively Safe
A Relatively Safe grade indicates a domain that appears usable but has some risk signals or limited trust indicators.
These websites may:
- Show minor scan flags or mixed signals
- Have limited reputation data
- Display incomplete legitimacy indicators
- Show inconsistencies across trust signals
Relatively Safe websites may be usable but require caution.
See all: Relatively Safe sites
Suspicious
A Suspicious grade indicates a domain with notable risk signals or inconsistent trust indicators.
These websites may:
- Trigger multiple warning signals
- Appear on one or more blacklist databases
- Show inconsistent domain legitimacy indicators
- Display behavior associated with risky websites
Suspicious websites should be approached with caution.
See all: Suspicious sites
Unsafe
An Unsafe grade indicates a domain with strong risk indicators or confirmed malicious behavior.
These websites typically:
- Trigger multiple security detections
- Appear on several blacklist databases
- Show strong malicious or scam indicators
- Demonstrate high-risk domain behavior
Unsafe websites present a high apparent risk based on available signals.
See all: Unsafe sites
Important Notes About Website Trust Grades
Website trust grades reflect ConsumingTech’s editorial assessment at the time of review, based on available security, reputation, and legitimacy signals. Grades represent risk analysis, not guarantees, and website conditions may change over time.
A website graded as safe today may change behavior later, and a website flagged as suspicious may improve over time. ConsumingTech updates grades when new signals become available.
The grading system is designed to provide a consistent classification framework to help users evaluate website risk more quickly.