Spammers now using TinyURL in messages

seaeagle

Security Fix - Brian Krebs on Computer and Internet Security - (washin...npost.c

Quote:

A co-worker yesterday forwarded to me a piece of junk e-mail he'd received that used a clever yet simple method for not only getting around spam filters, but also obfuscating the destination Web site.

The hyperlink to the spam site was made with TinyURL, a free Web redirection service that has long helped people shrink overly long Internet addresses into ... well, tiny ones. I've used it countless times in the past to forward links to friends in e-mail or documents when for some reason the link is so long that a line break renders it unusable.

I've expected to see TinyURL links used in spam for some time, but this is the first actual e-mail I've looked at that contains one. Since many e-mail and instant message worms depend on people clicking on links, TinyURL would be a great way to spread malware as well. (rest at link above)

I guess we should all be extra careful about clicking TinyURL links received via email, even those supposedly from friends. If unsure, send an email back to that person asking for confirmation that they did send you the original email.