How to Check Your Website for Vulnerabilities (Free)
Most startups discover they have exposed assets only after something goes wrong. Here is how to find them first.
Most founders assume their website is secure because nothing bad has happened yet. That assumption is exactly what attackers rely on.
Your website is not just the pages your users see. It includes every subdomain you ever created, every API endpoint you exposed, every third party service you connected, and every port your server has open. Each one is a potential entry point.
The good news is you can find most of these exposures yourself in under 15 minutes, for free.
What Does a Website Vulnerability Scan Actually Check?
A proper external scan looks at your infrastructure the same way an attacker would, from the outside, with no special access.
It checks for:
Subdomains you forgot about (old staging environments, abandoned projects, dev servers)
Open ports that should not be publicly accessible
Outdated software versions with known CVEs
Exposed admin panels (WordPress wp-admin, Grafana, phpMyAdmin)
TLS and SSL misconfigurations that weaken encryption
Email security gaps including missing DMARC, SPF, and DKIM records
Cloud storage buckets left publicly readable
Sensitive files accidentally exposed (.env files, backup archives, config files)
Most startups have at least three of these issues without knowing it.
Why Free Scanners Often Miss the Most Important Issues
Generic free scanners run automated checks and return a list of potential findings. The problem is most of those findings are false positives, issues that look dangerous in a report but are not actually exploitable in your specific environment.
A security team wastes hours chasing false positives. A founder with no security background has no way to tell which findings are real.
Proof-based scanning solves this by verifying each finding before reporting it. Instead of flagging a potential issue, it confirms the issue is actually exploitable and shows you the evidence. You get a shorter list of real problems instead of a long list of noise.
How to Run a Free Scan on Your Website
VeilScan offers a free external scan that checks your domain for real, verified vulnerabilities. No agent installation required, no credit card, and results are ready within minutes.
Here is what to do:
Go to veilscan.net/free-scan
Enter your domain name
Sign the rules of engagement (this confirms you have permission to scan your own domain)
Wait for the scan to complete
Review your findings with proof attached to each one
The free scan covers subdomain discovery, port scanning, TLS checks, email security, and exposed service detection.
What to Do With the Results
When your scan completes you will see findings ranked by severity. Start with Critical and High findings first.
Each finding in VeilScan includes:
What was found
Why it matters in plain language
Proof that it is exploitable
Recommended fix
You do not need a security background to act on these results. The report is written for founders and engineering teams, not for security analysts.
How Often Should You Scan?
Running one scan is a good start but your attack surface changes every time you deploy new code, spin up a new service, or add a subdomain. New vulnerabilities are discovered in software libraries daily.
The startups that stay secure scan continuously, not just once a year before a compliance audit.
A one-time scan tells you where you stand today. Continuous monitoring tells you the moment something changes.
Quick Answer
You can check your website for vulnerabilities by running a free external scan that tests your subdomains, open ports, TLS configuration, email security, and exposed services for real, verified issues. VeilScan does this automatically with no installation required and delivers proof-backed results within minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to scan my own website? Yes. Scanning infrastructure you own or have written permission to test is completely legal. VeilScan requires you to sign a rules of engagement document before scanning to confirm ownership.
How long does a free scan take? Most scans complete within 5 to 15 minutes depending on the number of subdomains and open services discovered.
Do I need to install anything? No. VeilScan is fully external and requires no agent, plugin, or server access. You enter your domain and the scan runs from outside your infrastructure.
What is the difference between a vulnerability scan and a penetration test? A vulnerability scan is automated and runs continuously or on demand. A penetration test involves a human tester manually attempting to exploit findings. VeilScan is a continuous scanner that verifies exploitability, giving you many of the benefits of a pentest at a fraction of the cost.