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Those shortened links so popular for micro-blogging platforms such as Twitter can hold hidden dangers, according to MSN's Technolog.
According to Suzanne Choney, one shortened link making the rounds on Twitter takes users who click on it to a fake anti-virus site for "Security Shield" software. Once there, visitors are urged to download anti-virus protection that is actually a malicious worm.
A worm is a sub-class of a computer virus that travels from computer to computer without needing any human help. It takes advantage of file or information transport systems on computers and can result in your own computer sending out hundreds or thousands of copies of itself to all of your contacts, and then to all of their contacts, and so on. This can result in it using up too much system memory and bandwidth, causing servers and computers to stop working.
In this case, the worm appeared a month ago, as well, using Google's URL shortener, "goo.gl".
Shortened links, used because of Twitter's 140-character limit on messages, are not, in themselves, malicious, and blocking the domain can create false positives, according to Adam Wosotowsky, principal researcher at McAfee Labs. Because goo.gl is associated with Google, blocking the domain could be frowned upon by Google, permitting the spammer to keep abusing the site.
At NewMediaPlus, we prefer Bit.ly, which also gives users the ability to customize links and track activity.
Twitter is working to remove the malware links and reset passwords on compromised accounts, according to a company spokesman. If you have found your account posting these links without your knowledge, the best thing to do is change your password. And, of course, if the link shows up in your own Twitter feed, don't click on it.
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