Back in February, I posted about the hidden dangers behind shortened URLs. In the comments, David Needham mentioned the possibility of self-hosted URL shorteners to help make the process more trustworthy for users. To that end, I have some information to share from my latest project. (more…)

This is my first entry in my new “Tips and Tricks” category. Every so often, I will be posting my favorite technology-related advice. If you have a tech question, or if you have a favorite tip, feel free to contact me or leave a comment.

URL shortening tools have really exploded in popularity over the past few years. If you use Twitter or similar sites at all, you have more than likely encountered the use of such tools. Bit.ly and TinyURL are among the most popular URL shorteners. What these tools do is take a long Internet address and make a shorter version of it. For example, instead of posting http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/26/nvidia-optimus-equipped-asus-n61jv-x2-n71jv-x1-hit-the-us/ on their Twitter account, Engadget used the shortened version: http://bit.ly/9ul1to. URL shorteners have been around for awhile, but Twitter and other microblogging sites have accelerated their growth, because users don’t want to waste precious characters for URL’s.

Now, you may be asking, “What’s with the title of this blog entry, then? URL shorteners sound very useful!” That’s true; when used properly, there is nothing inherently wrong with these tools. I use bit.ly myself to shorten the URL’s for my blog posts when I link to them on Twitter. That being said, not everyone has the most wholesome intentions in mind, and URL shorteners can in fact be used for malicious purposes. (more…)