URL shorteners make web addresses that are easy to type and don't get messed up by the way words wrap around each other. The real address is hidden, though. Here's how to keep from getting bad news.
Surely you saw them. Web addresses like http://tinyurl.com/2gj2z3 which, when clicked, take you to a different page on the web. What's the point? Do they come with any risks?
Uniform Resource Locator is what URL stands for. It's a fancy way of saying "web address". But some site names and page names can be very long. Since database-driven sites are becoming more popular, URLs can get very long, and most of them are just computer jargon. When you read them in a print article, you can't type them in, and when they show up in an email or blog post, they often get messed up by word wrapping.
A URL shortener is a web service that takes a long, hard-to-type address and makes it shorter. You should use them in articles that will be printed, classified ads, emails, blog and forum posts, and anywhere else where the full address might get messed up or someone might have to type it in by hand.
But using short URLs has a risk that could make people afraid to use them. The short address hides the real place of travel. This makes it easy for someone to post a message that looks harmless and tells people to click on a link that leads them to a site that puts spyware or something else bad on their computer.
Some services that shorten URLs have tried to solve this problem. TinyURL.com, which is the most well-known service, lets you choose to see the target address before you go there. But you have to know to put "preview" in front of the address or go to the site and set it as a permanent option. People who don't know this are still open to being tricked.
A safe URL shortener wouldn't let you make links to sites you shouldn't visit. It would also always show a preview page, so the user could always see where a link would take them before clicking on it. Internet blacklists are used by xaddr.com to stop it from being used to hide sites that spam advertises. Its preview page has a link to McAfee's Site Advisor, which can be used to check if the destination is safe.
Use a URL shortener the next time you need to write a long web address. But if you want people to trust that clicking on the link won't hurt them, choose a safe one.
