How to Find the Redir Address

Webmasters sometimes use redirects. For example, if a company website has a long URL, and the company wishes to use another one that is easier to remember, the company can set up a redirect so that when a user types in the shorter URL, it will resolve to the longer URL.



Redirects can also be used maliciously. A user will think he is going to a particular website when he types in a URL, but he will end up at a different location. The hacker then will add a redirect to a popular site domain and then have it resolve to the hacker's own site.

Instructions

1. Download a proxy client to your computer. A popular free debugger proxy is Fiddler (see References). If you already have a telnet application installed on your computer, you can use this utility to find the redir address.

   Alternatively, you can use a web-based tool to find the redir address. InternetOfficer.com offers a free web tool that can be used for this purpose (see References).

2. Enter in the URL you are checking. If you are using Fiddler, run the application and type in the URL in your browser. The application will log your activity and show where the URL is resolving.

   In telnet, open port 80 like this:

   $ telnet example.com 80

   Then type in the rest of the URL you are checking like this:

   GET /directory/page.html HTTP/1.1

   Host: example.com

   Hit enter twice. Telnet will return the redir address.

   Or, if you are using the web tool from Internet Officer, enter in the URL you are checking. It will return the redir information.

3. Read through the resulting information. All three applications will return the information you requested. You will be able to see where the redir address is going.

   For example, if you type in http://www.example.com and it is being redirected to another url, the result would be http://www.reallylongurl.com instead of http://www.example.com

4. Look at your browser's URL bar. In most browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari, the destination of any URL will appear in the browser URL bar once the page loads. So, using the above as an example, if you type in http://www.example.com and it goes to http://www.reallylongurl.com, you will be able to see that in your browser's URL bar.

References

• Fiddler: Fiddler Web Debugger
• Internet Officer: Redirect Checker
• PuTTY.org: Free Telnet Application