Tweet URLs may be tiny, but they can also be dangerous Twitter and Facebook users clicking a condensed URL have more to fear than a surprise Lemon Party: a hacked micro-URL generator site last month demonstrates that with a little work, millions of links can be redirected to phishing or spam sites. [Consumer Reports Electronics]
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Comments:
@lawnmowerdeth: Of course I searched for it. Thankfully, all I had to do was read the description. That's quite enough information for me.
Finally, I can get more exposure for my website, and much like Jenni of JenniCam, get on Letterman and Diagnosis:Murder.
@lawnmowerdeth: Speaking of "if you dont get this one, dont google it", I present the obligatory xkcd link:
There are also scripts via userscripts.org via Greasemonkey that lengthen and decode the short URLs when viewing online.
Some services have convenient ways of allowing you to preview urls first.
tinyurl allows you to turn on a cookie that automatically cause every url to be previewed before accessing it. [tinyurl.com]
[is.gd] allows you to append a '-' dash character to the url to display a preview.
The methods for preview on other services aren't as convenient, but most have the capability.
I used to google the shortened URL before visiting it, and sometimes the site it referred to would show up and I could decide whether it was worth visiting. I didn't know about these preview services- much better than googling!
@Andy Harrison: Yes, but trusting the preview assumes that those sites are honest (not subverted) themselves.
Tweetdeck has an option that will decode shrunken URLs before sending you off to them. I highly recommend using it if you use the program.
Ironic...? Here's the tweet for this article:
Tweet URLs may be tiny, but they can also ... [] [tinyurl.com]
So that's why Consumerist shortens links too, right? RIGHT?
But seriously. I always check the full URL before I click, and sites that shorten/mask them in any way are annoying to deal with.
Ok, the lemon party reference made me laugh.
DO NOT SEARCH FOR THAT!