TinyURL is a service that shortens long URLs for easier sharing on social media and forums. It was created in 2002 to simplify web browsing, but it can also pose security risks and cause malfunctions.
A TinyURL is a link to a website that uses a Universal Resource Locator (URL) shortening service to make the URL shorter while still connecting to the intended website. These types of URLs are often used for message publishing services such as various forms of social networking that may only allow a few characters per message. They are also common on forums and similar websites where people want to link to various other web pages easily. Using a TinyURL service, a long URL can be significantly shortened, making it easier to memorize, write, post on another website and use it in another way.
The original TinyURL website was created in 2002 to allow people to connect to websites, such as news networks and forums, without having to type long URLs. A URL is the web address used by most users to browse the Internet and find the website they are looking for. URLs typically take the form of a web address, such as http://www.wisegeek.com, which establishes a text address that people can remember and which is converted into an Internet Protocol (IP) address by computer networks to actually direct a user to the appropriate website. One major problem with using URLs, however, is that they can get quite long and difficult to remember, write down, or post to other pages.
A TinyURL is a web address that has been significantly shortened to allow someone to access your website without having to type in the full address. It basically works by creating a secondary link, usually using something like http://www.tinyurl.com followed by a specific identifier for the intended web page. When someone types the TinyURL link, it will quickly redirect the user’s web browser to the page with the full URL. This type of service is especially useful for some news groups and similar types of websites that may have extremely long URLs when referring to a specific article or page on the site.
One of the main potential disadvantages of using TinyURLs is that it requires an additional process to get a user to the desired website. There is already a potential for error in the basic use of URLs as a network system needs to process that URL and change it to the desired IP address that the network can actually recognize. By adding an extra step, switching from a TinyURL to the real URL, there is another opportunity for the system to malfunction. If the TinyURL service doesn’t work, none of the links will work. There is also a potential security issue of someone accessing the TinyURL system and improperly redirecting addresses.
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