Short URLs are handy for cleaning up long links, but they also hide the true destination. If you want to avoid malware or a phishing scam, blindly clicking that link isn't your best bet—there are ...

Giving bit.ly a try, it certainly looks like it's got potential. After entering in a long URL, bit.ly spits out a short version that can be used to link to a Web page; bit.ly then provides a separate ...