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<body><div>Tom,<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>If someone mistypes a YOURLS shortener, how is that going to infect them with malware? I'm the only person authorized to make shortcuts in the kgagne.com and gamebits.tv domains. If the site I'm linking them to (such as Computerworld.com or Moo.com) gets hacked, then the user is going to get infected with or without a URL shortener.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>If you're saying the YOURLS software itself could be hacked, how is that argument specific to URL shorteners? I wouldn't advise someone not to have a Twitter account or a WordPress website on the grounds it could be hacked and their brand stolen.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>-Ken</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>On Mon, Oct 8, 2018, at 1:51 PM, Tom Henderson wrote:<br></div>
<blockquote type="cite"><p>Convenience at the price of opaqueness. <br></p><p>Ease of visual transcription for the plausible error of doling
malware.<br></p><p>Like most shortcuts, doesn't do the job if it infects someone. A
simple mistaken keystroke sends someone to the unintended. No one
mistypes stuff, right?<br></p><p>The brand might not be what you intended.<br></p><p>With all due respect,<br></p><p>Tom<br></p><p><br></p><div><br></div>
<div>On 10/08/2018 01:40 PM, Ken Gagne
wrote:<br></div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite="mid:1539020448.485823.1534860696.57112460@webmail.messagingengine.com"><div>I use URL shorteners for a few reasons. A short link:<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<ul><li>is easier to remember and type, without having to look up
the original, long link.<br></li><li>is easier for someone to use if seeing it in a presentation
or a hardcopy handout.<br></li><li>takes up less space in print.<br></li><li>is better branding.<br></li></ul><div><br></div>
<div>However, I create my short links with <a href="https://yourls.org/">YOURLS</a>,
an open-source URL shortener that you install on your own domain
— no integration with (or dependency on) bit.ly, ow.ly, or other
third-party services. Some examples of links I've created in it:<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<ul><li><a href="https://gamebits.tv/dox">gamebits.tv/dox</a>:
my Computerworld article about removing your profile from data
brokers.<br></li><li><a href="http://kgagne.com/moo">kgagne.com/moo</a>:
my referral code for Moo.com.<br></li></ul><div><br></div>
<div>I also used YOURLS to create <a href="https://a2.click">a2.click</a>, a URL shortener with a
frontend that anyone can use — but only if the submitted URLs
match my domain whitelist.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>-Ken<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>On Mon, Oct 8, 2018, at 12:43 PM, Esther Schindler wrote:<br></div>
<blockquote type="cite"><div>Are they still a thing? <br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>I used to use them because they provided some level of
tracking click throughs. That went away.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>I also used to use them back when Twitter counted all the
characters in a URL as part of its 140. That went away too.<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>I’m not sure when/why anyone wants to use these any more…
even before the security vulnerabilites. <br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><blockquote type="cite"><div>On Oct 8, 2018, at 9:04 AM, Tom Henderson <<a href="mailto:thenderson@extremelabs.com">thenderson@extremelabs.com</a>>
wrote:<br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><div><span><span>I can give you
a long list of<span> </span></span></span><a href="http://ow.ly/">ow.ly</a><span><span><span> </span>shortened
URLs that will give you a malware dose the size of
Cincinnati.</span></span><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><span><span>ONE SINGLE
MISTYPED character will send a user into plain hell.</span></span><br></div>
</div>
</blockquote></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>--<br></div>
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</blockquote><div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
</blockquote><div><br></div>
<pre>--
Tom Henderson
ExtremeLabs, Inc.
+1 317 250 4646
Twitter: @extremelabs
Skype: extremelabsinc<br></pre><div>--<br></div>
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