Shortened URLs were incredibly convenient… until they weren’t. It was great to have the option to post shortened links so they’d fit well within Twitter’s 140-character limit and didn’t look too messy when you shared them on other sites. They’re also useful for tracking clicks. The problem is, scammers and spammers also see the value in shortening their phishing and spammy links.

Hundreds of thousands of people are probably duped into clicking these shortened URLs on a daily basis, resulting in accounts getting hacked or compromised.

Good thing there’s something like the LongURL now to help sort things out. In case you’re unsure of a shortened link that someone you know has posted or has sent you, then you can run it through LongURL first to expand it and see if it’s legit or not. It’s compatible with many URL-shortening sites, like bit.ly and TinyURL, and works exactly as you’d expect. All you have to do is paste the shortened link into the form and hit ‘expand.’ It’s as easy as that.

[via Red Ferret]