Small businesses are disproportionately targeted by cyber attacks — not because they're high-value targets, but because they're perceived as easy ones. The good news: you don't need an enterprise security budget to protect your website. These five free tools, used together, give you coverage that rivals what large companies pay thousands for.
1. ShieldReport — Comprehensive Website Security Scanner
What it does: ShieldReport scans your website for vulnerabilities across the OWASP Top 10, TLS/SSL configuration, HTTP security headers, DNS hardening, email authentication, open ports, and more. Every finding comes with AI-powered remediation guidance and code-level fixes.
Why it's essential: Most free scanners check one or two things — an SSL certificate here, a header there. ShieldReport runs a full-spectrum security audit in a single scan. During the launch period, every feature is free with no credit card required — including branded PDF reports, scheduled scans, subdomain discovery, and AI-generated remediation.
How to use it: Sign up at shieldreport.co, add your domain, verify ownership, and run a scan. You'll have a comprehensive security report in under 60 seconds.
Where ShieldReport goes further: Unlike point-solution tools, ShieldReport combines external scanning, OWASP testing, DNS analysis, email security checks, and AI remediation in one platform. You get a single report covering everything instead of juggling five different tools.
2. Mozilla Observatory — HTTP Security Header Checker
What it does: Mozilla Observatory analyses your site's HTTP response headers and grades your implementation of security best practices like Content-Security-Policy, Strict-Transport-Security, X-Content-Type-Options, and more.
Why it's essential: Security headers are your first line of defence against cross-site scripting, clickjacking, and MIME-type attacks. They're also one of the easiest security measures to implement — often requiring just a few lines in your web server configuration.
How to use it: Visit observatory.mozilla.org, enter your domain, and review the graded results. Each header gets a pass/fail with an explanation of what it protects against.
Where ShieldReport goes further: ShieldReport includes the same header analysis plus dozens of additional checks — TLS configuration, cookie security, DNS records, OWASP vulnerabilities, and port scanning — all in one report with actionable remediation steps.
3. SSL Labs Server Test — TLS Configuration Analyser
What it does: Qualys SSL Labs tests your server's TLS/SSL configuration in detail, checking certificate chains, protocol support, cipher suite selection, and known vulnerabilities like BEAST, POODLE, and Heartbleed.
Why it's essential: A valid HTTPS certificate doesn't mean your TLS configuration is secure. Weak cipher suites, deprecated protocol versions, and misconfigured certificate chains create attack vectors that SSL Labs identifies.
How to use it: Go to ssllabs.com/ssltest, enter your hostname, and wait for the detailed analysis (it takes 1–2 minutes). Aim for an A or A+ grade.
Where ShieldReport goes further: ShieldReport runs equivalent TLS checks as part of its comprehensive scan, so you get SSL analysis alongside header checks, OWASP testing, and DNS analysis without visiting a separate tool.
4. Have I Been Pwned — Breach Notification Service
What it does: Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) lets you check whether email addresses associated with your business have appeared in known data breaches. You can also set up domain-wide monitoring to get notified when any email address on your domain appears in a new breach.
Why it's essential: Credential reuse is one of the most common attack vectors. If an employee's password was exposed in a breach and they use the same password for work systems, your business is one login away from compromise.
How to use it: Visit haveibeenpwned.com and search your email addresses. For ongoing monitoring, register your domain to get automatic notifications about future breaches.
Where ShieldReport goes further: ShieldReport's dark web monitoring add-on continuously checks breach databases and dark web sources for credentials associated with your domain, integrated directly into your security dashboard.
5. Security Headers — Quick Header Scanner
What it does: SecurityHeaders.com provides a quick, focused scan of your site's HTTP security headers with a letter grade and specific recommendations for each missing or misconfigured header.
Why it's essential: It's the fastest way to check whether your basic security headers are in place. The graded format makes it easy to track progress as you add headers to your configuration.
How to use it: Visit securityheaders.com, enter your URL, and review the grade. Each header is colour-coded — green for present and correctly configured, red for missing.
Where ShieldReport goes further: ShieldReport includes header analysis as part of a much broader security assessment, adds AI-powered remediation with copy-paste code fixes, and tracks your progress over time with scheduled scans.
Building a Security Stack on a Budget
You don't need all five tools running simultaneously. Here's a practical approach:
- Start with ShieldReport — it covers the broadest range of checks in a single scan and gives you a clear picture of your overall security posture.
- Register your domain on Have I Been Pwned — set-and-forget breach monitoring for your team's email addresses.
- Use SSL Labs and Mozilla Observatory as second opinions — they're useful for deep dives into specific areas flagged by ShieldReport.
- Check Security Headers after making changes — quick validation that your header configuration is correct.
The best security tool is the one you actually use. ShieldReport is free during launch — start with a scan and build from there.