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Dear PC Doctor,
My friend on Twitter likes to share a lot of cool links. However, he uses some kind of weird URL shortener so I cannot tell where the links will send me until I actually click on the link. I was sent to a few shady websites. While nothing bad has happened to my computer (I trust my friend well enough that he would not send me to a website where I'd get stuck with a virus or spyware) I wish there was a way to find out where the link would send me before I actually clicked on the link.
Thanks, Mary
Dear Mary,
I am going to make your day! There are many websites out there that will convert a short URL into a long URL (wheredoesthislinkgo.com, longurl.org, urlxray.com, and linkpeelr.appsot.com).
However, that is not a very fast way to get it done. Fortunately, there is a Firefox extension that will extend a huge variety of different shortened URLs. Just head to www.longurlplease.com and click Install Firefox Extension. If you are not a Firefox user, you can still use the service. Check out the bookmark also available on the site. Click and drag the “Long URL Please” button to your favorites/bookmark bar in your browser. Whenever you encounter a site or tweet that has a shortened URL, just hit the button in your bookmark bar to extend it.
Good luck! PC Doctor
Until next time… happy computing!
Posted: to Athol Library News on Wed, Jan 9, 2013
Updated: Wed, Jan 9, 2013