SAFE URL SHORTENING

• US 20120047577A1
• Filed: 08/23/2010
• Published: 02/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Costinsky, Poul A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,381,276 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/067 using one-time keys cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for generation of one-time passwords H04L9/0863
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/108 when the policy decisions are valid for a limited amount of time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A safe URL shortening service creates a short URL from any valid long URL. At resolution time, the service determines if the resulting URL points to a known bad, known good, or unknown site. Depending on the determination results, the service may redirect a user to the target site, block redirection, or present a warning page that allows the user to manually activate the target link.

Claims

1. A method executed at least in part in a computing device for providing safe Uniform Resource Locator (URL) shortening, the method comprising:

receiving a target URL;

transforming the target URL to a short URL;

at resolution time, performing a safety check on the target URL; and

if the target URL determined to be a safe URL, providing the short URL to a user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

if the target URL is determined to be an unsafe URL, redirecting the user to a block page.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

if a safety status of the target URL is undetermined, enabling the user to manually select between refusing to access the target URL and accessing the target URL.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling one of a website and an application to call a safe URL shortening service application programming interface (API) and create a short URL when a user posts it.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

enabling integration of the URL shortening service into one of the website and the application by calling another URL shortening service API and using an API key generated for each logged in user.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing account throttling by restricting resolution of the short URL to a predefined number over a preset period for users in a restriction list.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

temporarily storing associated with a user while the user is logged in to the short URL.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the stored information includes at least one from a set of:

a click count for each link, a referral URL, a browser type of the user, an operating system of the user, a time/date of login, and a location of the user.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving input from the user; and

configuring at least one of a type of stored information and a duration of storage based on the received input.

10. A computing device for providing safe Uniform Resource Locator (URL) shortening, the computing device comprising:

a memory;

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor executing a URL shortening service, wherein the URL shortening service is configured to;

receive a target URL;

transform the target URL to a short URL;

at resolution time, perform a safety check on the target URL; and

if the target URL determined to be a safe URL, provide the short URL to a user, else

redirect the user to a block page with an option for the user to manually access the target URL.

11. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the URL shortening service is further configured to store statistical information associated with the user'"'"'s interactions with the target URL.

12. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the URL shortening service is further configured to enable users to one of opt out and configure a type of information to be stored.

13. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the URL shortening service is further configured to at least one from a set of:

associate users with anonymous identifiers, provide password for the stored information, and delete the stored information after a predefined period.

14. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the URL shortening service is further configured to employ data partitioning across a plurality of storage nodes to mitigate a size of the stored information.

15. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the data partitioning includes data fields comprising URL−

URL hash, User−

Hash (user name+login source), URL visit−

(URL hash+visit date/time), and URL usage statistics−

URL hash pairs.

16. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the URL shortening service is further configured to generate the short URL by employing one of:

using an alphanumeric base, applying a hash function, using a randomly generated number, and using a user provided key.

17. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the target URL includes descriptive attributes representing at least one from a set of:

a data hierarchy, a command structure, a transaction path, and session information.

18. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon for providing safe Uniform Resource Locator (URL) shortening, the instructions comprising:

receiving a target URL;

transforming the target URL to a short URL employing one of;

using an alphanumeric base, applying a hash function, using a randomly generated number, and using a user provided key;

at resolution time, performing a safety check on the target URL;

if the target URL determined to be a safe URL, providing the short URL to a user, else

redirecting the user to a block page with an option for the user to manually access the target URL;

providing account throttling by restricting resolution of the short URL to a predefined number over a preset period for users in a restriction list.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein a URL shortening service providing the safe URL shortening is integrated with a web service login mechanism.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the URL shortening service is further configured to employ data partitioning across a plurality of storage nodes for storing collected statistical information with a {userhash, urlhash} table serving as an index.