Preview a bitly or tinyURL link

Sometimes you get an email with a link in it that has the form http://bit.ly/RandomLetters or http://tinyURL.com/RandomLetters. There are a number of free services on the internet that enable someone to create a shortened version of an otherwise long URL address. One of these services is available at http://bitly.com. Another is http://tinyURL.com. They both let you check where they are linking to in advance of actually visiting the destination.

To check a "bitly" link in advance:

• Copy the bit.ly url into your browser's address field
• Add a plus sign to the end of it
• Hit Return and you will see the info page that reveals what the real (longer) url is for that shortened version.

You can do the same for a tinyURL link ...

To check a "tinyURL" link in advance, you set your browser up before you click on one:

• Go to the tinyURL preview page at http://tinyURL.com/preview.php
• Follow the instructions to enable previews in your web browser
• Thereafter, every time you click on a tinyURL link, you'll first be taken to a page that shows the complete URL.