Twitter Blocks Malicious Links In Tweets

[Peaches]

Twitter blocks malicious links in tweets

But TinyURL and Bit.ly offer easy workaround

Robert McMillan

Twitter has introduced a feature to prevent users from posting links to malicious websites, althuogh security experts warn that it can be easily circumvented.

The feature was first noticed by Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer with security company F-Secure. When someone tries to post a link to a malicious website, Twitter pops up a short notification saying "Oops! Your tweet contained a URL to a known malware site," and, after a few seconds, deletes the post.

Twitter is using Google's Safe Browsing API to check for malicious links, a Google spokesman confirmed on Monday.

F-Secure says it's recommended that Twitter start doing this because the site "is increasingly targeted by worms, spam and account hijacking", according to Hypponen's blog post. A month ago, technology entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki's account was misused to post a link to a malicious website. In recent weeks users have been hit with links to fake, and sometimes malicious, 'rogue' security software.

details pcadvisor - http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/securityadvisor...d=120411&sa