Munich - Services that shorten the length of long web addresses are tremendously helpful - including for spammers. Spam watchers have observed an increasing trend of spam e-mail messages that use the short URL services to turn links into an innocent-looking combination of letters and numbers, warns MessageLabs, a provider of IT security solutions in Germany.
That allows spammers to hide what is behind the link. Clicking on those links can lead to malicious software installing itself instantly on the unsuspecting user's computer.
One decisive factor in the rise in the use of the URL shortening services are platforms like Twitter which require their users to formulate their messages briefly, with no room for long links.
