Internet is a fantastic thing that we can use today for anything. However, like almost all good human inventions, it can also harbor many dangers if we are not careful. Unfortunately, there are a lot of undesirables out there that are trying to scam us or attack our computer in some way over the Internet. A tool that is often used is shortened URLs, which can be very dangerous unless you install something on your computer. We tell you which one.
These URLs were born more than 20 years ago as a need for social networks to put long links in fewer characters. Basically, they are "shortened" versions of any URL, so they take up much less space and look better.
Shortened URLs can harbor danger
Anyone who wants to can shorten a URL. All you have to do is go to pages that take care of it for free, such as Ow.ly, Buffer or TinyURL, and these will be the ones that take care of everything. These shortened URLs are also very customizable, since we can edit them almost at will or even create a QR code to share our link in a simpler and more comfortable way.
The problem is that when making this edition and creating the shortened URL what we are doing in the background is "hiding" the real URL and where we will direct the person who clicks on said shortened link. This is precisely what cybercriminals use, who can create these shortened URLs and sneak them into emails or portals that seem real (what is known as phishing). This is because if we hover over the shortened URL we won't see the actual link, and this can expose users to the following:
Malware downloads:
Thanks to these URLs, it is not difficult to hide the download of something that we obviously do not want on our computer. A shortened address in an email or on another portal can lead us to download any type of malware that endangers the security of our data or our equipment.
Phishing or smishing attacks:
Perhaps this is where we are going to find the greatest danger. It is very common to receive emails or messages that seem genuine from recognized entities such as Correos that ask us to give personal data to pay a certain amount of money. With these shortened addresses it becomes much easier to fool people, as we will never know where we are actually accessing.
Spam:
These addresses can also direct us to portals full of Spam or fraudulent advertising, and if we click they can take us to other pages that may not suit us with premium subscriptions, for example.
Avoid them by installing this extension
As much as we are careful with this type of address, it is difficult for us not to fall into one that can damage our equipment. One of the characteristics of this type of URL is precisely that of hiding in very few characters an address that can take us to a site where we fall into some type of scam or phishing , as we have said before. There is a way to avoid it, and a very simple one that will only make us need to install a simple extension for our browser.
This extension recommended by the Office of Internet Safety for Chrome, called Unshorten.link, is one of the best tools that we can use to avoid problems caused by shortened URLs. Thanks to it we can see the full address before clicking on the shortened link. In addition, it also detects if this link may contain any type of malware or if it may be a phishing attempt , so it should be an essential on your computer. Don't think about it and install the extension right away.