Filed under: Security
Bit.ly to begin checking short URLs for malicious code
I'm a fan of just about anything which helps make the web a little safer for my friends, family, and customers. So I was excited to read that Twitter's favorite link shortening service, bit.ly, is working to check every URL they process for malicious code.
With about 40,000,000 links in their database and a firmly-established position as the top short link provider on Twitter, this is great news for anyone who's ever been tricked into clicking some wolf-in-sheep's-clothing URL. According to studies, more than a third of us have been spammed with such links and about 20% report having been targeted by malware.
With about 40,000,000 links in their database and a firmly-established position as the top short link provider on Twitter, this is great news for anyone who's ever been tricked into clicking some wolf-in-sheep's-clothing URL. According to studies, more than a third of us have been spammed with such links and about 20% report having been targeted by malware.
Bit.ly's general manager, Andrew Cohen, said "bit.ly is committed to protecting its users from spam and malware." It's going to be a big job, though, so bit.ly has partnered with Sophos, Verisign, and Websense to get things done. In the end, their efforts will add a small - but welcome - layer of protection to our daily browsing.
Here's hoping more service providers follow their example.
[via Sunbelt]
Sushi Cat is one of the cutest Flash games I've ever run across. You play a blue cat with a major talent for eating and, fortunately for you, every level is filled with delicious sushi! The controls are simple: you aim and drop from the top of the screen using the mouse, trying to hit as much sushi as you can on the way down. Eat enough sushi, and you can go on to the next level.
Your score depends on how much sushi you eat, and which bucket the cat lands in when it finally reaches the bottom of the screen. The more ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
motang said 11:55AM on 12-10-2009
Just barley, considering how popular short urls are, this should have been done a long time ago.
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Jordan Running said 12:23PM on 12-10-2009
They've already begun, actually. Here's a link I had shortened yesterday: http://bit.ly/71k6sm You'll see that it doesn't go straight to the URL, but to a warning page instead. Interestingly, I can't find anything on the linked site that I'd call malicious, nor any way to report a false positive to bit.ly.
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