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And if you care that much about the URL you should be able to infer from website.tld/qr that it's a QR code specific URL to track hits.
by lysol 15y ago
And if you care that much about the URL you should be able to infer from website.tld/qr that it's a QR code specific URL to track hits.
- sp332 15y agoBut if it's a redirect, it could send me anywhere. That's what I don't like about it.
- sirclueless 15y agoYou just scanned an unreadable symbol. It could already send you anywhere. Vetting URLs by whether they look like they point at a redirect script seems like overkill.
- sp332 15y agoOh, actually I've never used a QR code reader that didn't show me the URL before letting me decide whether to go there.
- drostie 15y agoEven that's not an absolute assurance, as millions of people who have failed to renew expired domains can attest. And the HTTP status codes have a whole block of redirect codes while just about every web server permits backend proxies. When you visit http://viral.example/ http://viral.example/ it can already send you anywhere; seeing the URL http://viral.example/qr http://viral.example/qr only tells you that you're getting QR-specific content, and still does not tell you what that content is.
- artursapek 15y agoI guess the only problem is people can't recognize familiar URLS if you use a redirect page. If you link to a Facebook event for a concert, for example, people could see the trusted domain before visiting.
- Hoff 15y agoConsider what can be done with a punycode'd URL here, too. Mix a QR with a little punycode and you easily can end up anywhere, even if you do (quickly) review the URL before the jump.
- jodrellblank 15y agoWould you really be worried if AirBNB had a QR code which took you to http://airbnb.com/qr http://airbnb.com/qr because it might be a redirect which could take you anywhere?
- sp332 15y agoCurrently, no. But I would be mad if they sold a redirect to someone else and it took me where I didn't expect. And if that happened often, then I would get more suspicious of redirects over time.
- sirclueless 15y agoHow about the more likely version: http://qrserv.clearcast.com/?adid=239af932e http://qrserv.clearcast.com/?adid=239af932e which redirects to http://airbnb.com/ http://airbnb.com/?
- randallsquared 15y agoI don't much use QR codes, but when I want to go to a URL I got in email, and it looks like that, even if the email otherwise seems legit, I just type in the URL to the real site directly. Clicking on such a link feels like deliberately falling for a phish.