[nycbug-talk] The Security Implications of URL Shortening Services

[Andy Kosela]

Ray Lai <nycbug at cyth.net> wrote:

> http://unweary.com/2009/04/the-security-implications-of-url-shortening-services.html
>
> I post this because some people on this list (*ahem* George) love
> tinyurl. I never understood why there's so much love for these
> services. They introduce latency, obfuscate the target, and add a
> layer of dependency: tinyurl, believe it or not, may go down!
>
> Thoughts?

Good read.  I never really liked those type of "services".  You don't
have to be a mastermind to conclude that such shortened URLs can take
you to a place where you don't want to go to.

"The most obvious risk associated with URL shortening is that it's
difficult to know where the URL will take you, until you click it. The
true destination of the URL is opaque."

Is there a way to check such URLs before clicking on them?

--Andy