To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about
increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could
provide some clarification.
- We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security
issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware
of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
- Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable
suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are
not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
- We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404
errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight
into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error
pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite
soon.
We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate
your feedback!
Thanks and that is what I have been telling folks.
Question re the algorithms, if an email is marked as spam in a gmail account and contains a goo.gl url does the URL get flagged as a spam URL? If so how many until it is considered spam and what factors go into qualifying what is spammy?
Thanks,
John
On Mon, Jan 10, 2011 at 1:55 PM, Muthu (Google Employee) <mut...@google.com>wrote:
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > your feedback!
Today I sent a newsletter out to about 1900 subscribers. It looks like
I even cannot link to my own web pages as Google has disabled the
links for spam, security or legal reasons. Even linking to my own web
site is considered spam, insezcure or illegal??
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about
> increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could
> provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security
> issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware
> of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable
> suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are
> not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404
> errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight
> into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error
> pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite
> soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate
> your feedback!
I noticed the 3 URLs I mentioned are enabled again. Thanks so much.
It looks like 3 other links that I always use in my monthly
newsletters are still disabled for the same reason. They link to my
contact pages on my web site and to my Facebook business page.
http://goo.gl/FdU0 http://goo.gl/XAZD http://goo.gl/VMnf
So, people cannot contact me anymore through my newsletters and have
to surf to my web site and fill out the contact form.
Anyway, I never thought I would really need a URL shortener. I don't
like these crazy little links that raise suspicion because you don't
know what's behind it.
But who's to blame?
When posting long URLs in e-mails (like in newsletters) the links are
broken in most e-mail clients (especially e-mails in txt format). And
people who try to click a broken link almost always think that the
link is wrong or dead or...
And that's the real issue that should be fixed: making sure that even
the longest URLs/links are clickable and are not broken in e-mail
clients. That's what I want instead of a URL shortener. It would be so
much more transparant too so that anyone can see what the link/URL is.
I don't use the URL shortener to hide links, I want my links to be
clickable in any circumstances. Links should work (if the page exists
of course) and be transparant.
I do know it's extremely difficult to write algorithms that try to
find out the intention of the one using short URLs. Not sure if it'll
be ever possible. Unclickable long URLs harm the reliability of (the
information of) the company or business. But short URLs that do not
work are as harmful as well...
Imho it should be one of your main focuses at Google to fix the issue
about unclickable long URLs in e-mail clients so that we don't need
any URL shorteners for this purpose (it's still beyond my
comprehension why major ICT companies like Google or Microsoft have
not been able to solve this issue but I'm unknowledgeable about such
ICT matters too so, perhaps I'm missing something... ;-)
Anyway, I also appreciate all your efforts to make things work, one
step at a time, with the best intentions because it's not an easy job.
Spammers, hackers &Co have made of the internet kind of a jungle or a
war zone... :-)
All the best to the team
Luc
On 21 jan, 18:01, cosmitec <de.jaeger....@gmail.com> wrote:
> Today I sent a newsletter out to about 1900 subscribers. It looks like
> I even cannot link to my own web pages as Google has disabled the
> links for spam, security or legal reasons. Even linking to my own web
> site is considered spam, insezcure or illegal??
> I'm just confused. In fact, I just noticed ALL the links are disabled
> in my newsletter (for the 1st time).
> Luc
> On 10 jan, 22:55, "Muthu (Google Employee)" <mut...@google.com> wrote:
> > Hi all,
> > To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about
> > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could
> > provide some clarification.
> > - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security
> > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware
> > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> > - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable
> > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are
> > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> > - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404
> > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight
> > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error
> > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite
> > soon.
> > We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate
> > your feedback!
I've just had the exact same problem. I've been using goo.gl for a
while to track links in my personal emails and loved it. Then I hit on
the idea of including a link to see how many people read the company
newsletter online as opposed to their inbox.
5000 emails and 63 clicks later I get the URL disabled message and my
information has also disappeared. Is there anyway of enabling my link
again?
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about
> increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could
> provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security
> issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware
> of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable
> suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are
> not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404
> errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight
> into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error
> pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite
> soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate
> your feedback!
BUMP: "Question re the algorithms, if an email is marked as spam in a gmail account and contains a goo.gl url does the URL get flagged as a spam URL? If so how many until it is considered spam and what factors go into qualifying what is spam?"
On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 8:19 AM, si...@maximonsolutions.com <
si...@maximonsolutions.com> wrote: > I've just had the exact same problem. I've been using goo.gl for a > while to track links in my personal emails and loved it. Then I hit on > the idea of including a link to see how many people read the company > newsletter online as opposed to their inbox.
> 5000 emails and 63 clicks later I get the URL disabled message and my > information has also disappeared. Is there anyway of enabling my link > again?
> On Jan 10, 9:55 pm, "Muthu (Google Employee)" <mut...@google.com> > wrote: > > Hi all,
> > To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > > provide some clarification.
> > - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> > - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> > - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > > soon.
> > We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > > your feedback!
> BUMP: "Question re the algorithms, if an email is marked as spam in a gmail
> account and contains a goo.gl url does the URL get flagged as a spam URL? If
> so how many until it is considered spam and what factors go into qualifying
> what is spam?"
> On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 8:19 AM, si...@maximonsolutions.com <
> si...@maximonsolutions.com> wrote:
> > I've just had the exact same problem. I've been using goo.gl for a
> > while to track links in my personal emails and loved it. Then I hit on
> > the idea of including a link to see how many people read the company
> > newsletter online as opposed to their inbox.
> > 5000 emails and 63 clicks later I get the URL disabled message and my
> > information has also disappeared. Is there anyway of enabling my link
> > again?
> > On Jan 10, 9:55 pm, "Muthu (Google Employee)" <mut...@google.com>
> > wrote:
> > > Hi all,
> > > To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about
> > > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could
> > > provide some clarification.
> > > - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security
> > > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware
> > > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> > > - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable
> > > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are
> > > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> > > - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404
> > > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight
> > > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error
> > > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite
> > > soon.
> > > We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate
> > > your feedback!
> I also sent my newsletter to 4800 people and get the message this URL
> has been disabled.http://goo.gl/VPxJF
> Is it possible to reactivate the link?
> best to the team
> Yaacov
> On Feb 23, 1:53 am, John McIlwraith <mcilwra...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > BUMP: "Question re the algorithms, if an email is marked as spam in a gmail
> > account and contains a goo.gl url does the URL get flagged as a spam URL? If
> > so how many until it is considered spam and what factors go into qualifying
> > what is spam?"
> > On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 8:19 AM, si...@maximonsolutions.com <
> > si...@maximonsolutions.com> wrote:
> > > I've just had the exact same problem. I've been using goo.gl for a
> > > while to track links in my personal emails and loved it. Then I hit on
> > > the idea of including a link to see how many people read the company
> > > newsletter online as opposed to their inbox.
> > > 5000 emails and 63 clicks later I get the URL disabled message and my
> > > information has also disappeared. Is there anyway of enabling my link
> > > again?
> > > On Jan 10, 9:55 pm, "Muthu (Google Employee)" <mut...@google.com>
> > > wrote:
> > > > Hi all,
> > > > To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about
> > > > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could
> > > > provide some clarification.
> > > > - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security
> > > > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware
> > > > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> > > > - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable
> > > > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are
> > > > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> > > > - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404
> > > > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight
> > > > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error
> > > > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite
> > > > soon.
> > > > We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate
> > > > your feedback!
> > > > Regards,
> > > > Google URL Shortener Team
Note, however, the steady stream of reports in this forum from people who created a goo.gl URL and then e-mailed it to a large number of people only to find that some of them reported it as spam. Any large list is likely to include some number who will do that, and then the link is dead for all the rest. You can't retract the e-mail. The spam monitoring process in goo.gl simply makes this tool inappropriate for use in marketing e-mail.
Given the long and steady stream of messages on this subject, it would be my considered opinion that anyone who includes a goo.gl URL in an important mass mailing should not be considered for promotion anytime soon, and anyone who does it twice should be fired without further discussion.
Use any of the large number of other tools that don't filter spam if you have to. Better yet, set up a real short URL on your own server and take no risk at all. Or just blow me off, your replacement can figure it out.
> Please get the URL activated again. It is not spam, and it has been > sent to all e-mail subscribers. I will be fired on this coming Monday > if you don't reactivate it. Please get it back
-- ---------------------------------------------------------- Sign up now for Quotes of the Day, a handful of quotations on a theme delivered every morning. Enlightenment! Daily, for free! mailto:twis...@whidbey.com?subject=Subscribe_QOTD
For photography, web design, hosting, and maintenance, visit Van's home page: http://www.domainvanhorn.com/van/ -----------------------------------------------------------
> Note, however, the steady stream of reports in this forum from people
> who created a goo.gl URL and then e-mailed it to a large number of
> people only to find that some of them reported it as spam. Any large
> list is likely to include some number who will do that, and then the
> link is dead for all the rest. You can't retract the e-mail. The spam
> monitoring process in goo.gl simply makes this tool inappropriate for
> use in marketing e-mail.
> Given the long and steady stream of messages on this subject, it would
> be my considered opinion that anyone who includes a goo.gl URL in an
> important mass mailing should not be considered for promotion anytime
> soon, and anyone who does it twice should be fired without further
> discussion.
> Use any of the large number of other tools that don't filter spam if you
> have to. Better yet, set up a real short URL on your own server and take
> no risk at all. Or just blow me off, your replacement can figure it out.
> > Please get the URL activated again. It is not spam, and it has been
> > sent to all e-mail subscribers. I will be fired on this coming Monday
> > if you don't reactivate it. Please get it back
> --
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> Sign up now for Quotes of the Day, a handful of quotations
> on a theme delivered every morning.
> Enlightenment! Daily, for free!
> mailto:twis...@whidbey.com?subject=Subscribe_QOTD
> For photography, web design, hosting, and maintenance,
> visit Van's home page:http://www.domainvanhorn.com/van/ > -----------------------------------------------------------
> I also used shortener and posted link to my bands FB fan page. > Worked for couple of hours and than ...404 > http://goo.gl/BLuRB
> Weird thing is that it works from my computer but not on anyone > else's.
> On Mar 28, 6:15 pm, yaacov <yaacovkr...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi,
> > I also sent my newsletter to 4800 people and get the message this URL > > has been disabled.http://goo.gl/VPxJF
> > Is it possible to reactivate the link?
> > best to the team
> > Yaacov
> > On Feb 23, 1:53 am, John McIlwraith <mcilwra...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > BUMP: "Question re the algorithms, if an email is marked as spam in a > gmail > > > account and contains a goo.gl url does the URL get flagged as a spam > URL? If > > > so how many until it is considered spam and what factors go into > qualifying > > > what is spam?"
> > > On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 8:19 AM, si...@maximonsolutions.com <
> > > si...@maximonsolutions.com> wrote: > > > > I've just had the exact same problem. I've been using goo.gl for a > > > > while to track links in my personal emails and loved it. Then I hit > on > > > > the idea of including a link to see how many people read the company > > > > newsletter online as opposed to their inbox.
> > > > 5000 emails and 63 clicks later I get the URL disabled message and > my > > > > information has also disappeared. Is there anyway of enabling my > link > > > > again?
> > > > On Jan 10, 9:55 pm, "Muthu (Google Employee)" <mut...@google.com> > > > > wrote: > > > > > Hi all,
> > > > > To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > > > > > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > > > > > provide some clarification.
> > > > > - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > > > > > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not > aware > > > > > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> > > > > - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely > disable > > > > > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms > are > > > > > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> > > > > - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as > 404 > > > > > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > > > > > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative > error > > > > > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out > quite > > > > > soon.
> > > > > We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really > appreciate > > > > > your feedback!
> > > > > Regards, > > > > > Google URL Shortener Team
> I also used shortener and posted link to my bands FB fan page. > Worked for couple of hours and than ...404 > http://goo.gl/BLuRB
> Weird thing is that it works from my computer but not on anyone > else's.
> On Mar 28, 6:15 pm, yaacov <yaacovkr...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi,
> > I also sent my newsletter to 4800 people and get the message this URL > > has been disabled.http://goo.gl/VPxJF
> > Is it possible to reactivate the link?
> > best to the team
> > Yaacov
> > On Feb 23, 1:53 am, John McIlwraith <mcilwra...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > BUMP: "Question re the algorithms, if an email is marked as spam in a > gmail > > > account and contains a goo.gl url does the URL get flagged as a spam > URL? If > > > so how many until it is considered spam and what factors go into > qualifying > > > what is spam?"
> > > On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 8:19 AM, si...@maximonsolutions.com <
> > > si...@maximonsolutions.com> wrote: > > > > I've just had the exact same problem. I've been using goo.gl for a > > > > while to track links in my personal emails and loved it. Then I hit > on > > > > the idea of including a link to see how many people read the company > > > > newsletter online as opposed to their inbox.
> > > > 5000 emails and 63 clicks later I get the URL disabled message and > my > > > > information has also disappeared. Is there anyway of enabling my > link > > > > again?
> > > > On Jan 10, 9:55 pm, "Muthu (Google Employee)" <mut...@google.com> > > > > wrote: > > > > > Hi all,
> > > > > To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > > > > > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > > > > > provide some clarification.
> > > > > - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > > > > > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not > aware > > > > > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> > > > > - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely > disable > > > > > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms > are > > > > > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> > > > > - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as > 404 > > > > > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > > > > > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative > error > > > > > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out > quite > > > > > soon.
> > > > > We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really > appreciate > > > > > your feedback!
> > > > > Regards, > > > > > Google URL Shortener Team
> I also used shortener and posted link to my bands FB fan page. > Worked for couple of hours and than ...404 > http://goo.gl/BLuRB
> Weird thing is that it works from my computer but not on anyone > else's.
> On Mar 28, 6:15 pm, yaacov <yaacovkr...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi,
> > I also sent my newsletter to 4800 people and get the message this URL > > has been disabled.http://goo.gl/VPxJF
> > Is it possible to reactivate the link?
> > best to the team
> > Yaacov
> > On Feb 23, 1:53 am, John McIlwraith <mcilwra...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > BUMP: "Question re the algorithms, if an email is marked as spam in a > gmail > > > account and contains a goo.gl url does the URL get flagged as a spam > URL? If > > > so how many until it is considered spam and what factors go into > qualifying > > > what is spam?"
> > > On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 8:19 AM, si...@maximonsolutions.com <
> > > si...@maximonsolutions.com> wrote: > > > > I've just had the exact same problem. I've been using goo.gl for a > > > > while to track links in my personal emails and loved it. Then I hit > on > > > > the idea of including a link to see how many people read the company > > > > newsletter online as opposed to their inbox.
> > > > 5000 emails and 63 clicks later I get the URL disabled message and > my > > > > information has also disappeared. Is there anyway of enabling my > link > > > > again?
> > > > On Jan 10, 9:55 pm, "Muthu (Google Employee)" <mut...@google.com> > > > > wrote: > > > > > Hi all,
> > > > > To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > > > > > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > > > > > provide some clarification.
> > > > > - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > > > > > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not > aware > > > > > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> > > > > - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely > disable > > > > > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms > are > > > > > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> > > > > - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as > 404 > > > > > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > > > > > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative > error > > > > > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out > quite > > > > > soon.
> > > > > We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really > appreciate > > > > > your feedback!
> > > > > Regards, > > > > > Google URL Shortener Team
On Monday, January 10, 2011 3:55:54 PM UTC-6, Muthu (Google Employee) wrote:
> Hi all,
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > your feedback!
Hello dear Google Employees & ShortURL users, *and sorry for double posting...but this is crucial for better security:*
This is for your service *goo.gl* <http://goo.gl/> , could you please forward it to the correct person:
For security reasons it would be vital if you added the following features to this service:
-not automaticaly forward to the longURL, but ask the user previously & previously show a preview of the actual URL the shortURL is forwarding to. -as well as a screen shot of the actual website (behind the shortURL)
-also an automatic malware site filter that blocks malware sites and prevents creating shortURLs that refer to malware sites.
-the ability to add tags to a shortURL you created yourself (so that you & others can easier find what they are interested in...and see what you want to show to them).
And by the way: since the shortURLs are said to be public, where can I look them up?
Hopefully someone can help. Thank you very much in advance.
*BTW @Google URL Shortener Team: why can anyone find my GMail address in this group...normally it is hidden to protect privacy and prevent abuse because of SPAM???*
Best wishes! SFxoFFx
On Monday, January 10, 2011 10:55:54 PM UTC+1, Muthu (Google Employee) wrote:
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > your feedback!
Please, please remove my address from the mailing list
From: google-url-shortener@googlegroups.com [mailto:google-url-shortener@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of ?????·?????
Sent: 24 May 2012 02:37 AM
To: google-url-shortener@googlegroups.com
Subject: [google-url-shortener] Re: Clarification: 404 errors and spam control
Hello dear Google Employees & ShortURL users,
and sorry for double posting...but this is crucial for better security:
This is for your service <http://goo.gl/> goo.gl , could you please forward it to the
correct person:
For security reasons it would be vital if you added the following
features to this service:
-not automaticaly forward to the longURL, but ask the user previously
& previously show a preview of the actual URL the shortURL is
forwarding to.
-as well as a screen shot of the actual website (behind the shortURL)
-also an automatic malware site filter that blocks malware sites and
prevents creating shortURLs that refer to malware sites.
-the ability to add tags to a shortURL you created yourself (so that
you & others can easier find what they are interested in...and see what you want to show to them).
And by the way: since the shortURLs are said to be public, where can I
look them up?
Hopefully someone can help.
Thank you very much in advance.
BTW @Google URL Shortener Team: why can anyone find my GMail address in this group...normally it is hidden to protect privacy and prevent abuse because of SPAM???
Best wishes!
SFxoFFx
On Monday, January 10, 2011 10:55:54 PM UTC+1, Muthu (Google Employee) wrote:
Hi all,
To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could provide some clarification.
- We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
- Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
- We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite soon.
We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate your feedback!
@ google-url-shortener admin: Why don't you just put all eMail addresses in the BCC field...then anyone could still get the newsletter but the eMails were protected from abuse (SPAM)?
Thank you.
Best wishes!
SFxoFFx
Am Donnerstag, 24. Mai 2012 08:05:21 UTC+2 schrieb jeff:
> Please, please remove my address from the mailing list
> *From:* google-url-shortener@googlegroups.com [mailto:
> google-url-shortener@googlegroups.com] *On Behalf Of *?????·?????
> *Sent:* 24 May 2012 02:37 AM
> *To:* google-url-shortener@googlegroups.com
> *Subject:* [google-url-shortener] Re: Clarification: 404 errors and spam > control
> Hello dear Google Employees & ShortURL users,
> *and sorry for double posting...but this is crucial for better security:*
> This is for your service goo.gl , could you please forward it to the
> correct person:
> For security reasons it would be vital if you added the following
> features to this service:
> -not automaticaly forward to the longURL, but ask the user previously
> & previously show a preview of the actual URL the shortURL is
> forwarding to.
> -as well as a screen shot of the actual website (behind the shortURL)
> -also an automatic malware site filter that blocks malware sites and
> prevents creating shortURLs that refer to malware sites.
> -the ability to add tags to a shortURL you created yourself (so that
> you & others can easier find what they are interested in...and see what > you want to show to them).
> And by the way: since the shortURLs are said to be public, where can I
> look them up?
> Hopefully someone can help.
> Thank you very much in advance.
> *BTW @Google URL Shortener Team: why can anyone find my GMail address **in > this group**...normally it is hidden to protect privacy and prevent abuse > because of SPAM???*
> Best wishes!
> SFxoFFx
> On Monday, January 10, 2011 10:55:54 PM UTC+1, Muthu (Google Employee) > wrote:
> Hi all,
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > your feedback!
Has more information been published on why emails from some systems get goo.gl links flagged? MeEmma shows that I only had a few hundred clicks within the hour sending an email containing (2) links. Goo.gl spiked to more than tripple that number before disabling the links. Is it a conflict of tracking code, and is there something I can do to enable these links or dispute?
On Monday, January 10, 2011 3:55:54 PM UTC-6, Muthu (Google Employee) wrote:
> Hi all,
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > your feedback!
> Regards, > Google URL Shortener Team On Monday, January 10, 2011 3:55:54 PM UTC-6, Muthu (Google Employee) wrote:
> Hi all,
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > your feedback!
Thank you for your answers, but Google needs to fix its algorithm and soon. I am trying to teach a course about using Google and to make it easier for the students, I have used the Google URL shortener on the printed workbooks. And lo and behold, we get the message: "*http://goo.gl/AvMcE* – this URL has been disabled. Note that goo.gl short URLs may be disabled for spam, security or legal reasons." That is what is called cutting your nose off to spite your face. Even more amazing, this URL has been used ONCE by one person! My only explanation to myself has to do with I am running the course in Italy (and you know those foreigners; you can't trust them).
It would be nice to get this disabling reversed, but, of course, I can use bit.ly, by reprinting my material. Since I may not get notice of the reversal and will be running a course tomorrow, how do I know what to print?
Thank you for your help.
John
On Monday, January 10, 2011 10:55:54 PM UTC+1, Muthu (Google Employee) wrote:
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > your feedback!
After writing my last response some minutes ago, I realized that all 8 of the links in the course book have to be changed since I cannot trust Google to not sabotage them. YIKES!!
John
On Monday, January 10, 2011 10:55:54 PM UTC+1, Muthu (Google Employee) wrote:
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > your feedback!
I represent a national business that uses Goo.gl to track email marketing links and just had a link sent to an 800,000 person list get disabled. We maintain a clean list and are compliant with CAN-SPAM, so this is very frustrating, as all of our users now can't access our promotion.
Is there anything we can do to expedite the process of getting a URL re-established? I've submitted the form as requested, but since my bad link is in an email, time is of the essence.
I am disappointed and will not use Goo.gl for link shortening/tracking again if this can't be resolved.
On Monday, January 10, 2011 3:55:54 PM UTC-6, Muthu (Google Employee) wrote:
> Hi all,
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > your feedback!
On Monday, January 10, 2011 4:55:54 PM UTC-5, Muthu (Google Employee) wrote:
> Hi all,
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > your feedback!
On Monday, January 10, 2011 4:55:54 PM UTC-5, Muthu (Google Employee) wrote:
> Hi all,
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > your feedback!
Today I sent an email to students at the University and the Goo URL link was disabled. Please can it be reactivated as quickly as possible. I know it was sent to over 7000 students who have registered with the University of Sunderland Students' Union.
On Monday, 10 January 2011 21:55:54 UTC, Muthu (Google Employee) wrote:
> Hi all,
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > your feedback!
I used the following short URL to reach out to my end users. But the URL's has been disabled and my customers are complaining. http://goo.gl/r5BfH http://goo.gl/v0yEF
The URL's were working until a while ago. Can you do something about this quickly. We are having an online event in the next 12 hours and hence would not want our end users to face a dead end in the URL.
Thanks in advance.
On Tuesday, January 11, 2011 3:25:54 AM UTC+5:30, Muthu (Google Employee) wrote:
> To address the recent complaints/comments on this forum about > increasing 404 errors for goo.gl short URLs, we thought we could > provide some clarification.
> - We are fairly aggressive in tackling spam and related security > issues on the goo.gl domain, given the fact that users are not aware > of the long URL destination in advance in most cases.
> - Our spam detection algorithms are automated, and routinely disable > suspicious goo.gl short URLs. We understand that our algorithms are > not perfect and are continually working on refining them.
> - We have thus far displayed all "disabled" goo.gl short URLs as 404 > errors. However, to avoid confusion and to provide greater insight > into this process, we plan to start displaying more informative error > pages instead of generic 404 errors. These changes will roll out quite > soon.
> We (on the team) do read this list regularly, and really appreciate > your feedback!
