URL shorten/redirectors

["Rob, grandpa of Ryan, Trevor, Devon & Hannah" <rMslade () shaw ca>]

I've written before about the dangers of the URL shortening/redirecting services 
that have become immensely popular with the rise of Twitter 
 http://blogs.securiteam.com/index.php/archives/1272 

So, I was interested, today, to find the DHS daily report noting an article in the 
Washington Post on the topic:

Purveyors of spam and malicious software are taking full advantage of URL-
shortening services like bit.ly and TinyURL in a bid to trick unwary users into 
clicking on links to dodgy and dangerous Web sites.  The latest to abuse these 
services is the Koobface worm, which targets users of social networking sites like 
Facebook (now spreading via Twitter).  At the same time, URL shortening 
services appear to be fueling a massive ongoing commercial spam campaign.  

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2009/07/spammers_virus_writers_ab
using.html?wprss=securityfix  

All quite true: I've been seeing a ton of it on Twitter in the past few weeks.

Well, all true except the Washington Post part.  That URL doesn't work, and 
searching the Washington Post for terms in the article doesn't find it.  Closest is 
Brian Krebs' blog on the topic:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2009/06/displaying_hidden_web_link
s.html

(That's not the first time I've seen the URL left full, and the article shortened to 
nothing ...)

======================  (quote inserted randomly by Pegasus Mailer)
rslade () vcn bc ca     slade () victoria tc ca     rslade () computercrime org
Code discipline had grown lax among the signal troops of the
German 5th Army ... and one Lieutenant Jaeger was detailed to
stiffen it.  He knew what should be done and issued numerous
orders to do it.  Unfortunately, he had overlooked the
circumstance that the German codebooks did not include his name,
which therefore had to be spelled out letter by letter every time
he affixed it to an order.  This was frequently ... Jaeger was
beloved by his adversaries because he kept them up to date with
code changes, and it was with genuine regret that they saw his
name disappear from the German traffic.
                                    - David Kahn, `The Codebreakers'
http://victoria.tc.ca/techrev/rms.htm 
http://blog.isc2.org/isc2_blog/slade/index.html http://twitter.com/rslade
http://blogs.securiteam.com/index.php/archives/author/p1/
http://twitter.com/NoticeBored
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