'Don't Click' Attack Strikes Twitter Users

"The exploit's link -- http://tinyurl.com/amgzs6 -- relied on an obscured URL from the TinyURL link-shortening service. The hack was shut down early this afternoon by TinyURL's founder, Kevin Gilbertson, after Twitter users notified him of the attack.

""On my end, I just got some e-mails mentioning it. So once I found that out, I terminated the URL like I do with other abuse instances," Gilbertson told InternetNews.com. He added that he replaced the forward of the URL with a notice that the URL had been terminated and an explanation of TinyURL's terms of service.

"Before the link was blocked, however, it managed to place a major strain on Twitter's infrastructure. At several points, visitors to the service's Web site were greeted by a page saying that the site was over its message capacity. Twitter spokespeople did not return requests for comment."

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