Have you ever been duped by a shortened link before? Most of us have, but how do we know what lies beyond it, since its all a bunch of randomly stringed letters and numbers forming a link. Here's a tip on how to prevent yourself from falling for shortened bit.ly link pranks.

Add a + sign at the end of the bit.ly url and instead of it being directed to the link, you will see the dashboard of the details on the link. This way, it'll let you see the full URL and headline of the page, just to get a better grasp of where you will be heading too.

For example, copy and paste this link  for example http://bit.ly/r8BnSZ, and add the + sign to it. http://bit.ly/r8BnSZ+. Press enter and see the dashboard which will show you all the details of the link without making you go to the link.

[@markgurman]