Filed under: Internet, Security, Web services, web 2.0
SHUURL provides a safer way to share short URLs
After the whole clickjacking nightmare on Twitter, some of you might be looking for a better way to shorten (truncate) URLs. One good solution is provided by Shuurl.
You can Shuurl at work in the screenshot above. Not only are users provided with a thumbailed image of the destination page, they're also tagged with Web of Trust-style safety icons. The coding is the same as atraffic signal: green means go, yellow means proceed with caution, and red means stop before you get into trouble.
The thumbnails are small enough to be inobtrusive - which coworkers will welcome if you happen to be sharing content that's a bit on the NSFW side of things.
Shuurl is still fairly new, so some additional features I'd like to see aren't there yet - like a bookmarklet and API access for developers.
If you want to simplify the process, a quick right click of the "shorten" text box and you can add a search keyword for it in your favorite browser for quick truncations.
You can Shuurl at work in the screenshot above. Not only are users provided with a thumbailed image of the destination page, they're also tagged with Web of Trust-style safety icons. The coding is the same as atraffic signal: green means go, yellow means proceed with caution, and red means stop before you get into trouble.
The thumbnails are small enough to be inobtrusive - which coworkers will welcome if you happen to be sharing content that's a bit on the NSFW side of things.
Shuurl is still fairly new, so some additional features I'd like to see aren't there yet - like a bookmarklet and API access for developers.
If you want to simplify the process, a quick right click of the "shorten" text box and you can add a search keyword for it in your favorite browser for quick truncations.
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dj said 5:10PM on 2-18-2009
Your link to the site is missing a 'u'.
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RP said 2:06AM on 2-19-2009
The safety icon -- a tiny lifesaver candy? -- is way too subtle. The link is in red -- which looks like it's dangerous when it's not. Shuurl needs some UI design help.
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Deborah said 8:24AM on 2-19-2009
Here at Web of Trust, we have just discovered Shuurl too. It’s a great idea, and since they are using our rating widget, the ratings are up-to-date and reliable.
Just be careful when clicking on the icon beside the tiny URL, because they have set it up to take you to the actual site, and if it’s rated red, that’s exactly what you want to avoid! Clicking on the tooltip that says “View scorecard” will take you to the actual WOT scorecard for rating details.
Safe surfing,
Deborah
Web of Trust
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