VapURL Creates Self-Terminating Temporary URLs

@Venky:

Does the original url disappear from the site when the vapurl expires?

kftgr

Agree with Venky, not that useful. Might as well create a full page frameset, then removing its content after it expired. Hard to check for expiry after number of use though...

cricket25

@Venky: I don't think the purpose is to prevent the intended recipient from getting back to that page: even if the service temporarily mirrored the page and allowed it to be accessed directly from the short URL, most pages have lots of different indicators for where they are like relative links, logos, etc.

It seems like the real purpose is to obscure people who uncover the link well after the fact. For instance, if someone reads your email a week later and comes across this link in a message, they won't know where it went if it's already "vaporized".

That said, it still seems pretty lame to me: probably some web developer's feeble attempt to do something clever like the Vanish project that LH wrote about a few weeks ago. The most obvious weakness is that anyone who might uncover the shortened URL (in an email, for instance), would probably be able to monitor your web access as well, so there will be no question as to what sites you visit. Unless of course you're using Tor or surfing the Freenet web.

@PickledEgg: I sincerely hope that was sarcasm, otherwise that sort of attitude is very troubling to me. Just because someone could use it for "nefarious purposes" doesn't mean there aren't also legitimate uses for it. See, for instance, pretty much any discussion on Tor or Freenet. As the argument generally goes, people who might want to exploit these technologies for undesirable purposes will almost always have dozens of much more effective techniques at their disposal and so banning them hurts all the people using them legitimately, yet does little damage to the "bad guys".

Also, your use of the term Hacker is inaccurate, you probably meant "Cracker" as in, one who illegally cracks security for malicious purposes. A Hacker is a particular type of clever person, who may or may not use their cleverness to practice cracking.

This sounds like it would be used for nefarious purposes. This site should be banned. Hackers and pirates might use it.

PickledEgg

All I ever see these URL shortening services used for is spam and other malicious purposes. These things are more of a nuisance than they help.

Reimer

I was also hoping that the service would mask the target URL.

/You could have thought of a more creative target URL for your example, Jason?

@Venky: Not just a "hacker minded" person. Any average person will simply use the "Ctrl+D" bookmark capability and thus negate the "self-destruct" - need something more robust!

WattMan

@Venky: I don't think any short URLs actually mask the URL. It's simply there for a redirection without having to type a 50+ character address. This one just happens to let you specify when the the URL gets purged from the database.

@Venky: But maybe it's just a site you don't want associated with yourself.

The site does not hide the original URL.. so not really sure how this will be useful.. send it to someone and hope they don't save the original URL?

At last. "This message will self-destruct" in the hands of the every-man.

Got any paper that can burn after a set amount of time, too?

This actually really cool for some reason.

jslizzle