Bit.ly to begin checking short URLs for malicious code

I'm a fan of just about anything which helps make the web a little safer for my friends, family, and customers. So I was excited to read that Twitter's favorite link shortening service, bit.ly, is working to check every URL they process for malicious code.

With about 40,000,000 links in their database and a firmly-established position as the top short link provider on Twitter, this is great news for anyone who's ever been tricked into clicking some wolf-in-sheep's-clothing URL. According to studies, more than a third of us have been spammed with such links and about 20% report having been targeted by malware.

Bit.ly's general manager, Andrew Cohen, said "bit.ly is committed to protecting its users from spam and malware." It's going to be a big job, though, so bit.ly has partnered with Sophos, Verisign, and Websense to get things done. In the end, their efforts will add a small - but welcome - layer of protection to our daily browsing.

Here's hoping more service providers follow their example.

[via Sunbelt]