I posted earlier about Bitly, as I heard it might be involved in phishing. After digging deeper, I learned that Bitly is essentially a service for shortening URLs. My understanding is that it's not Bitly itself that's dangerous, but rather the sites to which it redirects. I checked the site I was redirected to, and it was legitimate (the actual Meta site). However, I'm still puzzled about some aspects, especially regarding how 'Medium=dollyredirect' fits into this, as other sites also show a similar structure. I even cleared my cookies from both the original and redirected sites, but I need clarity on this topic.
2 Answers
Exactly! Link shorteners like Bitly aren't dangerous by themselves; it's the unknown factor that can be concerning. If you're ever unsure about where a link leads, use an unshortening tool to preview the real URL. Better safe than sorry!
Bitly is pretty safe to use overall. Many businesses utilize it for their links. The company itself doesn't pose a threat; it's how individuals might misuse it. Always remember, if you click on any untrusted link, you might be led to malicious sites. So it’s good practice to avoid clicking on links that seem sketchy.
So just visiting a site through Bitly is safe as long as I trust the link, right? I mean, it shows the destination before I enter.
Got it! I’m glad the link I used took me to the genuine Meta site, and I didn't download anything suspicious.