Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What does Link By Proxy actually do?
A. When you click a link on a website, the page you just came from is transferred onto the next site. The site you're visiting can use this data to track where visitors are coming from. While there are plenty of useful purposes to this, some site may use this maliciously. If your "Session Identifier" happens to be on the page you came from, there is a potential that this can be used maliciosuly to gain access to your account.

Q How does Link By Proxy help curtail this?
A. The link is first passed to Link By Proxy, which then redirects the user to the destination. By doing this, the "refferer header" will change to one from this site. An example is as follows:

Site:
http://www.example.com/myaccount.php?account=13141516&password=kittensarecool
Wants to link you to:
http://www.maliciousexample.com/

The Malicious site will see this in their server logs:

http://www.example.com/myaccount.php?account=13141516&password=kittensarecool

Of course, this is an "extreme" example, but from that they can obviously gain access to your account -- may it be a simple profile on a website, or worse; your bank account.

By using this service, the following will show in their server logs:

http://www.linkbyproxy.com/?redir=http://www.maliciousexample.com

Obviously, a safer alternative.

Q: I'm a webmaster -- how can I use this service to protect my users?
A. Simple. We are planning on writing add-ons for common bulletin boards like phpBB, Invision Power Board and others.

Please keep an eye on the Integration Page for the latest in integration of scripts.

For now, you can simply add the link below before any links, or in BBCode dynamic generation scripts:

http://www.linkbyproxy.com/?redir=

Q. I'm getting an "Invalid character" message from one of my links?
In an effort to prevent different attacks on sites, Link By Proxy blocks certain characters, as follows:

< > # % ", { } | \ ^ [ ] `

These pages are detectable because the site will send an HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found header along with the notice page.

Q. None of those characters actually occur in my link -- but it is still blocked.
Link By Proxy maintains a set list of "Shock Sites" and other malicious sites that might harm users transferred by us. Of course, it is impossible to protect users from all of these sites, we make the best effort anyway.

Q. Where did this site come from?
A. Master Mind Technologies is our parent company, a software application provider who has also developed several new internet technologies deployed on YouN00b. The site was founded becase as site operators, we understand the risks that are associated with allowing referrer headers to be passed from some sites.

Q. Is there a secure (HTTPS) variant of this site?
A. Currently there is not. We plan to add one when site usage increases. As a newer site, it would be a loss leader to use such a service.

FAQ / LinkShrink

Q. What is LinkShrink?
A. LinkShrink uses a URL translation system, where you can give us a URL to remember, and we give you a plain-jane looking URL in return. The new URL is easier to say over a phone, and shorter. Plus, it masks all of the symbols and letters normally present in a long URL.

Q. Does LinkShrink hide the referrer like LBP Normally does?
A. Yes, because the shorter link still goes through our server, it shows up as LINKBYPROXY.COM on the site it passes to.

Q. I was directed to a site with offensive material, what can you do?
A. We do not have an obligation to monitor, and do not police the links submitted generally. If you have a specific link (or multiple links) that start with http://www.linkbyproxy.com/nav, you can contact us and we will try to resolve the issue.

You may also consider using the link-tracking capability underneath the link creation box on the LinkShrink page.


Frequently Asked Questions Q. What does Link By Proxy actually do? A. When you click a link on a website, the page you just came from is transferred onto the next site. The site you're visiting can use this data to track where visitors are coming from. While there are plenty of useful purposes to this, some site may use this maliciously. If your "Session Identifier" happens to be on the page you came from, there is a potential that this can be used maliciosuly to gain access to your account. Q How does Link By Proxy help curtail this? A. The link is first passed to Link By Proxy, which then redirects the user to the destination. By doing this, the "refferer header" will change to one from this site. An example is as follows: Site: http://www.example.com/myaccount.php?account=13141516&password=kittensarecool Wants to link you to: http://www.maliciousexample.com/ The Malicious site will see this in their server logs: http://www.example.com/myaccount.php?account=13141516&password=kittensarecool Of course, this is an "extreme" example, but from that they can obviously gain access to your account -- may it be a simple profile on a website, or worse; your bank account. By using this service, the following will show in their server logs: http://www.linkbyproxy.com/?redir=http://www.maliciousexample.com Obviously, a safer alternative. Q: I'm a webmaster -- how can I use this service to protect my users? A. Simple. We are planning on writing add-ons for common bulletin boards like phpBB, Invision Power Board and others. Please keep an eye on the Integration Page for the latest in integration of scripts. For now, you can simply add the link below before any links, or in BBCode dynamic generation scripts: http://www.linkbyproxy.com/?redir= Q. I'm getting an "Invalid character" message from one of my links? In an effort to prevent different attacks on sites, Link By Proxy blocks certain characters, as follows: < > # % ", { } \| \ ^ [ ] ` These pages are detectable because the site will send an HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found header along with the notice page. Q. None of those characters actually occur in my link -- but it is still blocked. Link By Proxy maintains a set list of "Shock Sites" and other malicious sites that might harm users transferred by us. Of course, it is impossible to protect users from all of these sites, we make the best effort anyway. Q. Where did this site come from? A. Master Mind Technologies is our parent company, a software application provider who has also developed several new internet technologies deployed on YouN00b. The site was founded becase as site operators, we understand the risks that are associated with allowing referrer headers to be passed from some sites. Q. Is there a secure (HTTPS) variant of this site? A. Currently there is not. We plan to add one when site usage increases. As a newer site, it would be a loss leader to use such a service. FAQ / LinkShrink Q. What is LinkShrink? A. LinkShrink uses a URL translation system, where you can give us a URL to remember, and we give you a plain-jane looking URL in return. The new URL is easier to say over a phone, and shorter. Plus, it masks all of the symbols and letters normally present in a long URL. Q. Does LinkShrink hide the referrer like LBP Normally does? A. Yes, because the shorter link still goes through our server, it shows up as LINKBYPROXY.COM on the site it passes to. Q. I was directed to a site with offensive material, what can you do? A. We do not have an obligation to monitor, and do not police the links submitted generally. If you have a specific link (or multiple links) that start with http://www.linkbyproxy.com/nav, you can contact us and we will try to resolve the issue. You may also consider using the link-tracking capability underneath the link creation box on the LinkShrink page.


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