Shortened URLs Can Shorten Your Computer’s Lifespan  |  July 27, 2009  

Coding Horror has hit on the big threat to the World Wide InterWeb posed by the mainstreaming of shortened-URL services. While Jeff Atwood points to the real danger that the Internet will be turned on its head by monetizing the entire web experience, the security threat is obvious as well. The shortened URLs are handy for tracking the readership of your messages, but they also make us more vulnerable to crafty hackers.

When in doubt about a suspicious link, you could at least plug the URL into a Google search rather than the top nav bar and check if Google had already listed the site as infected. Even if it was a hyperlink, you could hover your cursor over the link to see the real URL, and plug that into Google. But with TinyURLs, you don't know where the link leads.

All it takes is for a someone to hack your friend's Twitter account, send out a message that looks comparable to a previous message and include a link to a hacked website. Odds are you, or some of their hundreds of followers, will click.

Vaclav Vincalek
Pacific Coast Informer Blog