How to Tell if a Link is Spam

Being on the internet can bring experiences that we all share, one such experience is the sketchy link. It may be through email, social media or a website, but you know you shouldn’t click on that link that says something like “I lol’d so hard when I looked at this [thisisthesuspiciouslink].”

How can you tell if a link is spam and will indeed send your PC to the 7th layer of hell (virus infection)? It’s not always easy, but here are some clues:

1. Check the link address by hovering the cursor over the link. If the address is suspicious looking or does not go where it says it’s going to go, then it is probably spam.

2. Put the link into a safety check service like URL Void that search online databases of corrupt links.

3. Google search the link and see if it pulls up spam or blocked sites.

4. Just don’t click it! Seriously, there is no value worth exploring an unknown link.

Common sense is one of the most powerful tools in combating online infections, viruses and baddies. If you get a message from someone who usually never messages you, and it is very uncharacteristic with a link in it, simply reply back to the person and ask them if they really sent the link.

Don’t click the link until you get a response back from the person that it is an OK destination. If you do not hear from the sender, it’s safe to assume that it is a terrible link that will cause zombification of your entire computer system! Or simply something awful like bloatware search bars that slow down the computer ridiculously and offer 0 value.

Written by: Jophiel Silvestrone

Jophiel Silvestrone has written 326 posts in the Tech Blog.

Jophiel grew up on a ranch in Paradise Valley, Montana near Chico Hot Springs. Working on the ranch instilled work ethic and self motivation. Filled with this drive, Jophiel started mowing the local school's yards twice a month throughout the summers, at the age of 12. He moved to Billings in 2004, where he has been deeply involved in the local business community ever since. A serial entrepreneur, Jophiel has ran multiple businesses in our local community. The first business, a janitorial and carpet cleaning company, founded in 2005, has employed over 50 locals. Moving on to the media industry, Jophiel and several partners founded Green Directory Montana in the spring of 2007. Green Directory's sustainability ranking software awarded points based on sustainable or "green" actions. These points counted towards a business's total "Green Score," which in turn ranked them against other businesses in their category and throughout the entire site. It also featured a limited edition print version distributed annually. A business acquisition allowed Jophiel to focus on new projects, and a few close business colleagues and Jophiel started Rocky Mountain Mr. & Ms. Magazine, a lifestyle publication for men and women in the Magic City. After a year and a half at the helm of RM3 Magazine, the business was purchased. He now runs a web development company SkyPoint Studios and fathers his son Jaoquin, who plays football, basketball, soccer, and is learning snowboarding from his dad. Recently, has expanded to locations in Havasu, Arizona & Vegas. SkyPoint Studios is a market leader in both Billings & Havasu and Jophiel is working on building that same level of market dominance in Vegas. Specialties: Extensive experience in online and offline business. Especially savvy at WordPress, and operate several sites, one example is the blog: skypointwebdesignbillingsmontana.com/tech-blog. Check out skypointwebdesignbillingsmontana.com for the latest projects from SkyPoint Studios.