2.0.5.0

minor

Version 2.0.5.0 resolves shortened links to their real destination before they are checked - a URL expander for anything behind a bit.ly link.

What changed

Detects links hidden behind URL shorteners
Resolves the real destination without following the link or downloading anything
Feeds the true domain into the existing reputation checks
Covers common shorteners such as bit.ly, tinyurl and t.co

A shortened link is a way of showing you a destination without telling you what it is. That is useful for a newsletter, and useful for a scam.

This release resolves them. A URL expander runs as part of the scan: when a link in an email points through a shortener, the extension asks the shortener where it goes - a lightweight request that does not follow the link to its content or download anything - and then runs the result through the checks it already has.