Ecosia (ecosia.org) is a search engine. Revenue generated by the Ecosia search engine goes to environmental sustainability efforts such as planting trees.
DESCRIPTION
The homepage of ecosia.org shows a search box in the top left corner. I would assume for the average user, it wouldn’t be obvious that it is a search engine based on the search box’s location. There was a lot of emphasis on the mission of the site which includes a mission statement and large image that takes up most of the space above the fold. Also above the fold is a button to switch to the Ecosia search engine which would make it the default search engine. 4/17/2024
HISTORY
As of November 2023, ecosia.org has 151.9 million monthly views, according to Similar Web. The Wayback Machine estimates ecosia.org was founded on December 3, 2009. The Internet Archive has saved ecosia.org 56,227 times between December 3, 2009 and December 31, 2023.
Is ecosia.org Safe?
Here, I analyzed ecosia.org for malware and malicious content to check if it was legit or a scam:
I checked ecosia.org on Sucuri, and it returned as a low security risk. Results: Sucuri scan for ecosia.org.
Sucuri says ecosia.org is a low security risk; however, it returned a 403 Forbidden status on the following URLs:
- https://www.ecosia.org/imprint#press
- https://www.ecosia.org/terms-of-service
Security hardening flaws:
Missing security header to prevent Content Type sniffing. Affected pages:
https://www.ecosia.org for Google’s UA
https://www.ecosia.org/imprint#press
https://www.ecosia.org/privacy
https://www.ecosia.org/terms-of-service
I then ran a parasite scan with Unmask Parasites on ecosia.org, and it is suspicious. Results: Unmask Parasites scan for ecosia.org.
Unmask Parasites cites 1 suspicious inline script:
(function(){window._cf_chl_opt={cvId: '2',cZone: "www.ecosia.org",cType: 'managed',cNounce: '81665',cRay: '83e8279c4cfe63...
I also checked ecosia.org on VirusTotal, and it is clean; however, it does have a considerably unfavorable community score. Results: VirusTotal scan for ecosia.org.
URLVoid says ecosia.org passed all blocklist engines. Results: URLVoid scan for ecosia.org.
In conclusion, Sucuri says ecosia.org is a low security risk; however, it returned a 403 Forbidden status on URLs. Unmask Parasites says ecosia.org is suspicious. VirusTotal say ecosia.org isn’t malicious; however, it does have a considerably unfavorable community score. OVERALL GRADE: Relatively Safe.
Links and Profiles
Website: ecosia.org
Instagram: ecosia
Twitter: ecosia