Facebook Gives Ow.ly the Heisman
Facebook temporarily blocked URLs shortened with the Ow.ly domain today. According to the reports, the links, which are used by HootSuite — a web-based Twitter service — possibly in response to a worm distributed in an Ow.ly link.
According to reports, the worm’s shortened URL contains the Facebook query string “?=www.facebook.com/photo.php” which could fool users into thinking they were visiting a Facebook page.
Inside Facebook is reporting that all Ow.ly links on Facebook, legitimate and malicious, temporarily led to Facebook’s blocked abusive site error page.
The URL shortner strategy by spammers is an old technique but seems to work because there are so many shorterners out there these days.
The key for users is to know who is sending you the article so there's a level of trust there. You can also use link preview services or scripts to help with heading nasty spam off at the past.
Have you run into any issues with URL shortners on Facebook?
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