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Free Security Tool Detects Malicious URLs On Twitter
Mike Sachoff
Staff Writer
2009-10-13
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
The popularity of embedding shortened URLs into Twitter, Digg and other social media sites is being threatened by hackers who use the anonymity of these URLs to hide malicious websites.
 | | Free Security Tool Detects Malicious URLs On Twitter |  |
AVG Technologies has released a free tool called LinkScanner that can detect the presence of malicious web pages. LinkScanner works by testing the destination of each URL in real time and does not use blacklists that quickly become outdated.
"The problem with shortened links is that they usually don't bear any resemblance to the original URLs, which means that users don't always know what they're clicking," said Roger Thompson, chief research officer at AVG Technologies.
"People click with the intention of going to a specific site, but the link can be easily hacked to send people to a site containing Trojans, spyware, rootkits and other malware instead."
AVG says malicious web pages are the latest way that hackers and spammers deposit malware onto computers in order to steal passwords or recruit computers into botnets.
Computer users can become infected by clicking on a link, viewing an image, or sometimes just hovering their mouse over a banner. To avoid detection, hackers typically infect a specific web page for less than 24 hours before moving on.
About the Author:
Mike is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.
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