Is ubuntutimes.co.za safe?
http://ubuntutimes.co.za/
Coveragepartial5 of 6 applicable core capabilities
Ubuntu Times is a young South African news site with a paid subscription model and no detected security threats, but its operator identity is only partly disclosed.
Ubuntu Times presents itself as a digital news publication covering South African politics, business, sports and lifestyle, and it sells paid subscriptions alongside its editorial content. The technical picture is clean: the saved TLS check found a valid encrypted connection and the browser threat feed returned no threat warning. The domain is only 148 days old, and the captured page shows no operator postal address, so the business behind the publication is not fully verifiable. There is no evidence of malware, phishing, fake-shop mechanics or payment fraud, and no adverse user reports were found. On that basis the site sits in the Low Risk band rather than Safe: it is not dangerous, but its youth and incomplete operator disclosure mean visitors should treat it as an unproven outlet.
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Where this site sits
- Dangerous1–20
- High Risk21–44
- Moderate Risk45–69
- Low Risk70–84
- Safe85–100
The score combines saved evidence strength and analysis quality. Coverage is reported separately.
01 · Investigation Brief
Investigation Brief
Ubuntu Times presents itself as a digital news publication covering South African politics, business, sports and lifestyle, and it sells paid subscriptions alongside its editorial content. The technical picture is clean: the saved TLS check found a valid encrypted connection and the browser threat feed returned no threat warning. The domain is only 148 days old, and the captured page shows no operator postal address, so the business behind the publication is not fully verifiable. There is no evidence of malware, phishing, fake-shop mechanics or payment fraud, and no adverse user reports were found. On that basis the site sits in the Low Risk band rather than Safe: it is not dangerous, but its youth and incomplete operator disclosure mean visitors should treat it as an unproven outlet.
A subscription news outlet with a South African contact footprint
The site describes itself as a digital news publication and offers paid content through a subscription model. Its own terms state that subscription pricing can change at any time, with at least 30 days' notice of any price increase to existing subscribers, and that continued use of paid services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the new pricing. That is a standard subscription clause, not a hidden auto-renewal trap, and the page also carries 'Buy now!' calls-to-action pointing to its own domain.
Contact details are published on the site's own domain: a legal email address at legal@ubuntutimes.co.za and a South African phone number, +27 75 206 9899. The site also links out to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter for its social presence. These are normal signals for a small publication, though they do not by themselves prove the business is registered or established.
Clean technical checks, but a young domain and no postal address
The saved technical checks are clean. The browser threat feed returned no threat warning, and the saved TLS check found a valid encrypted connection, so there is no evidence of malware, phishing or an insecure connection on the captured page. The only saved antivirus analysis is from February 1, 2023, which predates the domain's current registration on May 31, 2026, so it describes an earlier owner's site and counts neither for nor against this one.
The operator side is less complete. The registrable domain is 148 days old, and no operator postal address is visible on the captured page. A young domain with no postal address is not proof of a scam, but it does mean the publication's ownership and history cannot be independently confirmed from the evidence reviewed. The site's claim to be a fast-growing publication is therefore unverified rather than disproven.
Why the score is 72
The saved checks found no material threat, but the evidence was not strong enough for the highest Safe tier. Coverage remains separate so missing sources cannot be mistaken for clean results.
02 · Security Evidence
Security evidence
Antivirus Engines
1/ 90
detectionsSaved analysis from February 1, 2023 - stale
Analysis predates the current registration
The saved antivirus analysis is from February 1, 2023, which is before this domain's current registration, so its 1 detection describes an earlier owner's site and were not counted for this one. They are listed below for audit.
- Malicious
- 1
- Suspicious
- 0
- Total
- 90
| Engine | Finding |
|---|---|
| FortinetMalicious | malware |
All 90 engine results
- Fortinet - malware - Malicious
- 0xSI_f33d - Unrated
- Abusix - Clean
- Acronis - Clean
- ADMINUSLabs - Clean
- AICC (MONITORAPP) - Clean
- AlienVault - Clean
- alphaMountain.ai - Clean
- Antiy-AVL - Clean
- Artists Against 419 - Clean
- AutoShun - Unrated
- Avira - Clean
- benkow.cc - Clean
- Bfore.Ai PreCrime - Clean
- BitDefender - Clean
- Bkav - Unrated
- BlockList - Clean
- Blueliv - Clean
- Certego - Clean
- Chong Lua Dao - Clean
- CINS Army - Clean
- CMC Threat Intelligence - Clean
- CRDF - Clean
- Cyan - Unrated
- CyberCrime - Clean
- Cyble - Clean
- CyRadar - Clean
- desenmascara.me - Clean
- DNS8 - Clean
- Dr.Web - Clean
- EmergingThreats - Clean
- Emsisoft - Clean
- ESET - Clean
- ESTsecurity - Clean
- Feodo Tracker - Clean
- Forcepoint ThreatSeeker - Clean
- Fortra - Unrated
- G-Data - Clean
- Google Safe Browsing - Clean
- GreenSnow - Clean
- Heimdal Security - Clean
- Hoplite Industries - Clean
- IPsum - Clean
- Juniper Networks - Clean
- K7AntiVirus - Clean
- Kaspersky - Unrated
- Lionic - Clean
- Lumu - Unrated
- MalSilo - Clean
- Malwared - Clean
- MalwarePatrol - Clean
- malwares.com URL checker - Clean
- Netcraft - Unrated
- Nucleon - Clean
- OpenPhish - Clean
- PhishFort - Unrated
- Phishing Database - Clean
- Phishtank - Clean
- PREBYTES - Clean
- PrecisionSec - Unrated
- Quick Heal - Clean
- Quttera - Clean
- Rising - Clean
- SafeToOpen - Unrated
- Sangfor - Clean
- Scantitan - Clean
- SCUMWARE.org - Clean
- Seclookup - Clean
- SecureBrain - Clean
- securolytics - Clean
- Snort IP sample list - Clean
- Sophos - Clean
- Spam404 - Clean
- StopForumSpam - Clean
- Sucuri SiteCheck - Clean
- ThreatHive - Clean
- Threatsourcing - Clean
- Trustwave - Clean
- URLhaus - Clean
- URLQuery - Unrated
- Viettel Threat Intelligence - Clean
- VIPRE - Unrated
- ViriBack - Clean
- Virusdie External Site Scan - Clean
- VX Vault - Clean
- Web Security Guard - Clean
- Webroot - Clean
- Xcitium Verdict Cloud - Unrated
- Yandex Safebrowsing - Clean
- ZeroCERT - Clean
Security Scans
Checked against the browser threat feeds available to this scan — no hit.
What we observed
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Visual context from the captured page
Ubuntu Times
What the captured page showed
1 observation- 01
Ubuntu Times
03 · Investigation Story
Investigation story
What the site claims
Home - Ubuntu Times South Africa
What we observed
The page content was captured and checked alongside 76 antivirus results.
What independent research found
The search completed without a material external warning or corroborating report.
What remains unverified
1 of the 6 applicable core capabilities did not complete, so those gaps remain visible in the coverage ledger.
What kind of site and risk is this?
Threat category
No threat category confirmed
Service and business model
Content
Observed behavior
Evidence behind this classification
- 01The site publishes a contact email on its own domain and a South African phone number.
- 02No operator postal address is visible on the captured page.
- 03The registrable domain is 148 days old, so the publication has little track record.
Web research findings
Independent findings for ubuntutimes.co.za, including public complaints, named review sources, registration records, and look-alike-domain evidence. A missing result is shown as unverified, never converted into a clean bill of health.
No independently sourced scam reports or credibility records were found for ubuntutimes.co.za. That is common for new or low-traffic sites and does not clear the site.
Reputation Sources
How this domain rates across independent threat-intelligence and blocklist providers.
04 · Domain & Infrastructure
Domain & infrastructure
The plumbing behind the site — who registered it, how it’s encrypted, where it’s hosted, and where it links out. A valid certificate or a calm server doesn’t mean the business is honest — scam sites pass these checks too. Use this to corroborate the verdict, not to overturn it.
Infrastructure map
How the saved page connected to the wider web.
- Domainubuntutimes.co.za
- Redirects towww.ubuntutimes.co.za
- Hosted byxneeloner Managed Network
- Referencesfonts.googleapis.com · news.google.com
Domain Timeline
- May 31, 2026Domain registered
First appeared in WHOIS records — 4 months old when this review was saved.
- Oct 26, 2026Saved security review — Rated Low Risk
This saved scan found no material threat, but the evidence was not strong enough for the highest Safe tier.
Contact Verification
Saved contact details can help identify the operator. Their presence supports traceability; it does not prove the business is trustworthy.
- No operator postal address visible on the captured page.
- Contact email on the site's own domain (legal@ubuntutimes.co.za).
- Phone number listed (+27 75 206 9899).
- Links to 3 social profiles.
Domain & Encryption
Redirect Chain
- 1301http://ubuntutimes.co.za/
- 2200https://www.ubuntutimes.co.za/
Server Reputation
Referenced Domains
Outbound domains this page links to or loads resources from. Each links to its own security scan.
05 · Evidence Ledger
Evidence ledger
- Antiviruspartial
- Browser threat feedcomplete
- Page contentcomplete
- Analysiscomplete
- Visual evidencecomplete
The conclusion is supported by the evidence saved with this report.
Technical threat
unknownMalware, phishing, credential theft and hostile infrastructure.
No confirmed evidence in this dimension.
Operator / customer risk
unknownComplaints, withdrawals, business conduct and commercial traps.
The registrable domain is 148 days old, so the publication has little track record. · No operator postal address is visible on the captured page.
Source coverage and freshness
Status shows whether usable evidence was saved; finding shows what that evidence observed.
| Source | Result | Completion | Finding | Freshness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antivirus | 1 of 90 engines flagged | Limited | Adverse | stale fallback · analysed Feb 1, 2023 |
| Browser protection | No browser threat-list match | Completed | No adverse finding | this scan · Oct 26, 2026 |
| Page content | Page fetched · HTTP 200 | Completed | No adverse finding | this scan · Oct 26, 2026 |
| Visual evidence | 1 visible observation saved with the page capture | Completed | No adverse finding | this scan · Oct 26, 2026 |
| Independent research | The search completed without a material external finding | Completed | No adverse finding | this scan · Oct 26, 2026 |
- Antivirus
- Result1 of 90 engines flagged
- CompletionLimited
- FindingAdverse
- Freshnessstale fallback · analysed Feb 1, 2023
- Browser protection
- ResultNo browser threat-list match
- CompletionCompleted
- FindingNo adverse finding
- Freshnessthis scan · Oct 26, 2026
- Page content
- ResultPage fetched · HTTP 200
- CompletionCompleted
- FindingNo adverse finding
- Freshnessthis scan · Oct 26, 2026
- Visual evidence
- Result1 visible observation saved with the page capture
- CompletionCompleted
- FindingNo adverse finding
- Freshnessthis scan · Oct 26, 2026
- Independent research
- ResultThe search completed without a material external finding
- CompletionCompleted
- FindingNo adverse finding
- Freshnessthis scan · Oct 26, 2026
07 · Safety FAQ
Safety FAQ
Common questions, answered directly from the scan data above — so the answers reflect the saved verdict and evidence in this report.
Is ubuntutimes.co.za a scam or is it safe?
Is ubuntutimes.co.za safe to use?
Has ubuntutimes.co.za been flagged by antivirus engines?
Is ubuntutimes.co.za on any phishing or malware blacklists?
How old is the ubuntutimes.co.za domain?
Does ubuntutimes.co.za have a valid SSL certificate?
Where is ubuntutimes.co.za hosted?
How often is the ubuntutimes.co.za report updated?
08 · Final Verdict
Final verdict
Ubuntu Times is a young South African news site with a paid subscription model and no detected security threats, but its operator identity is only partly disclosed.
Ubuntu Times presents itself as a digital news publication covering South African politics, business, sports and lifestyle, and it sells paid subscriptions alongside its editorial content. The technical picture is clean: the saved TLS check found a valid encrypted connection and the browser threat feed returned no threat warning. The domain is only 148 days old, and the captured page shows no operator postal address, so the business behind the publication is not fully verifiable. There is no evidence of malware, phishing, fake-shop mechanics or payment fraud, and no adverse user reports were found. On that basis the site sits in the Low Risk band rather than Safe: it is not dangerous, but its youth and incomplete operator disclosure mean visitors should treat it as an unproven outlet.
09 · Community
Community
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