Affiliate since: 12/31/1969, Power Rank: 99999999

Personally, I think it depends on the site or program you're using to cloak the links. For example, I believe bitly and tinyurl are really overused today by some of the "get rich quick" type schemes out there. When people see links like these, they may not want to click on them because a lot of them are associated with bad programs.

Second, if the cloaking software or the URL shortener site goes down, so do all of your links. This was mentioned in a recent forum post.

Third, you lose your branding. And this is critical to your success! You want people to know, like and trust you if you want to be successful, and you can lose that trust if you're hiding behind a cloak of any kind.

If you want to "disguise" or shorten your long SFI affiliate link in any way, I would suggest maintaining a blog and using blog post URLs to advertise. This maintains your branding and you'll look a lot more trustworthy to your viewers.
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Personally, I think it depends on the site or program you're using to cloak the links. For example, I believe bitly and tinyurl are really overused today by some of the "get rich quick" type schemes out there. When people see links like these, they may not want to click on them because a lot of them are associated with bad programs.

Second, if the cloaking software or the URL shortener site goes down, so do all of your links. This was mentioned in a recent forum post.

Third,
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Affiliate since: 05/10/2012, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Wayne's 236 other Ask SC answers

A few times I have used link cloaking to hide my URLs – I was not impressed enough to continue using the software.

When using a link cloaking system all of your URLs will be “re-directs” (that means your reader is taken somewhere else rather than URL stated they were going. Some ad sites and social networks refuse to let people use “cloaking” software.

Part of the reason is that it is seen as though you are trying to hide something. And guess what? You are.

Marketers are told to use cloaking systems because that way hackers cannot steal your affiliate ID and collect your leads and commissions by hacking your URL. Listen if a hacker wanted to steal your URL link they will be able to do that even if it is cloaked!

If you need to change your URL to something that will allow you to use your gateways on social networks then the best way to do that is to use a free URL “shorten-er” I use the Google system and it works great even on Facebook, Twitter, U-Tube and many others.

Go to Google search and type in “free URL shortner” It will take you to a page so you can download the system on your computer with the instructions on how to use it.

One other thing I have noticed about the cloaking systems is that once in a while when I am trying to view a link in someone’s email ad, the new page will open and at the top of the page it will proudly state “Cloaked by So-and- so” The website would not open What you are doing is drawing the attention away from your reader by having ads for “cloaking services” being the only thing showing up.

When using a link shortener the above problem never happens. Although your shortened link will have the signature of the service that shortened it.

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A few times I have used link cloaking to hide my URLs – I was not impressed enough to continue using the software.

When using a link cloaking system all of your URLs will be “re-directs” (that means your reader is taken somewhere else rather than URL stated they were going. Some ad sites and social networks refuse to let people use “cloaking” software.

Part of the reason is that it is seen as though you are trying to hide something. And guess
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Affiliate since: 01/14/2013, Power Rank: 627 | Read Sule's 287 other Ask SC answers

This is the type of question which could best be directed to seasoned Webmasters and not to amateurs like most of us Affiliates in SFI. However, let me try to answer it in the plain language through which I understand it. Link cloaking software became useful to protect links from being hijacked by ubiquitous online predators. The main drawbacks to using link cloaking software are as follows.

1. It can only be used effectively by experienced online marketers.

2. Some smart online thief can always find a way around the software.

3. The software does not provide foolproof-all-round protection.

4. Link cloaking is not considered as a very reliable security measure.

5. It becomes more reliable only when combined with encryption like WPA, Wi-Fi Protected Access and suck line encryption.

6. You can not use the software in isolation and expect perfect results.

7. You can only discover if it is ineffective after you have been “hit.”

These are about the major drawbacks I can recollect when you use link cloaking software.

I hope this answer helps?


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This is the type of question which could best be directed to seasoned Webmasters and not to amateurs like most of us Affiliates in SFI. However, let me try to answer it in the plain language through which I understand it. Link cloaking software became useful to protect links from being hijacked by ubiquitous online predators. The main drawbacks to using link cloaking software are as follows.

1. It can only be used effectively by experienced online marketers.

2. Some smart online
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Affiliate since: 12/31/1969, Power Rank: 99999999

Some people use link cloaking software to hide a long URL or to hide an affiliate URL so that visitors will not notice it. The cloaking seems to serve as a ‘mask’ to your actual site.
The cloaked or masked URL will redirect the visitors to a real URL. The drawbacks of using cloaking software are as below:
a. You might have a problem with search engine (SE) regarding a site ranking and content keywords because SE will cover a page( contains no contents) set up by the cloaking webmaster. There is a chance of getting banned by SE for having nothing to be indexed.
b. Your visitors will feel they are being cheated because they will arrive at a different URL rather than at the specific URL seen at their browser’s address bar, even though actually you did not mean that.
c. If the visitors like something shown in a specific page of the site, they cannot bookmark that specific page because they only can bookmark your main domain address. This situation will lead to the visitors to search for a real address so that they can easily remember what the site is about after bookmarking it.

In conclusion, using cloaking software means that a person wants to be invisible at first. This implies that he/she is using a trick to attract someone to his/her site.
It’s better for us to have our own domain. Be sincere and transparent.

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Some people use link cloaking software to hide a long URL or to hide an affiliate URL so that visitors will not notice it. The cloaking seems to serve as a ‘mask’ to your actual site.
The cloaked or masked URL will redirect the visitors to a real URL. The drawbacks of using cloaking software are as below:
a. You might have a problem with search engine (SE) regarding a site ranking and content keywords because SE will cover a page( contains no contents) set up by the cloaking webmaster.
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Affiliate since: 08/26/2012, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Dr Sudhanshu's 155 other Ask SC answers

Cloaked redirection is usually implemented by registrars and free URL redirection services by creating a dummy web page with a feature known as "frames". When your visitors type in your domain name, that dummy web page loads. The dummy web page is basically an empty page, with only the title of your site, supplied by you, possibly some meta tag information (also supplied by you), and either a "frame" or "iframe" (inline frame) that loads the real page from your website.

In general, frames are problematic beasts laden with usability, linking and search engine issues

1.usability

Contingent upon how the recorder has actualized the redirection office, and how you have coded your own particular site, it is conceivable that by utilizing shrouded redirection, your guests might never again have the capacity to bookmark individual pages on your site. Regardless of the fact that they explore to a page they like, and attempt to put the connection into their "Top choices" ("top picks" in US English), all they will be doing is bookmarking your primary area address.

Doubtlessly some of you are believing that it doesn't generally make a difference, since they have bookmarked your site in any case. Reconsider. One month down the line, when they click the bookmark and wind up at your principle page, they won't recollect why they place it in their top picks in any case since the page won't have the recognizable substance that drove them to bookmark it. They'll basically erase the bookmark and proceed onward. Driving clients to a page they would prefer not to go is pointless.

2. Connections to Your Website

Joined with the issue of bookmarking is the issue of how different locales are going to connection to your pages. In the event that you have convincing substance on your webpage, numerous sites will need to connection to the definite page that they discovered valuable. Website admins are more ingenious than your normal client, so they won't be fulfilled by the location they see in their program location bar: one look and they will understand that your webpage has outlines. They will then search for the genuine, right URL to the particular page they need to connection to and utilize that.

In the event that your inside connections to different pages on your website are coded so they indicate your genuine location at your free web host, then sites that connection to those pages will likewise point their connections in the same way, that is, not at your area name, yet with your genuine URL.

This is an issue on the grounds that when you change web has, you will lose each one of those connections indicating at your website.

3. Web search tools

Your site is additionally unrealistic to execute and in addition it could in the internet searchers. Some piece of the issue is that regardless of the fact that there are connections from different locales guiding specifically toward your area, driving the web crawler robots to your website, those connections will indicate the sham site page set up by your space name recorder. This is an issue, on the grounds that, in the event that you will review, that sham page has no substance for web crawlers to file.

As I said in an alternate article on web search tool positioning, in place for your website to rank well for specific words or expressions, those words or expressions need to be exhibit on your site.

When you utilize shrouded area redirection, all your substance is connected with your free web host's URL, not your own.
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Cloaked redirection is usually implemented by registrars and free URL redirection services by creating a dummy web page with a feature known as "frames". When your visitors type in your domain name, that dummy web page loads. The dummy web page is basically an empty page, with only the title of your site, supplied by you, possibly some meta tag information (also supplied by you), and either a "frame" or "iframe" (inline frame) that loads the real page from your website.

In
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Affiliate since: 12/31/1969, Power Rank: 99999999

Hello, Alvin Johnson.

Excellent question.

This is an advanced Advertising and Marketing issue that can be understood only through practical experience. It requires having a first hand knowledge of:

1. The Inner working of cloaking Software of Shortening URLs

2. How to use properly the SFI Gateways

3. How to track and code your Advertising and Marketing Campaigns.

I personally experienced the following just very recently.

The Major drawback of cloaking software will appear very clearly when you want also to use a tracking code to monitor your advertising and marketing efforts. We all know how this tracking is vital in helping to know what is working, what is not working and how to get the best results for our advertising budget.

When the cloaking software is combined with the tracking code,

first, it significantly slows down page loading;

second, it will create to many redirecting;

third, in many case, it will prevent the proper display of the page being advertised.

This will create a highly negative effect on any prospect. The vast majority of those prospects will not wait very long for a page to load, when you are using email marketing or SOLOs

In practical terms, the click ratio of your advertising campaign will be very low. That will also affect the rate of conversion.

In other words, it would be a waste of time, efforts and money. The advertising and marketing efforts would not be successful.

In conclusion, when you want to track your Advertising and Marketing campaign, it better not to use cloaking software.

I hope this answer your question

Good luck to you. Aim at achieving Greatness in 2015

Good luck to everybody.
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Hello, Alvin Johnson.

Excellent question.

This is an advanced Advertising and Marketing issue that can be understood only through practical experience. It requires having a first hand knowledge of:

1. The Inner working of cloaking Software of Shortening URLs

2. How to use properly the SFI Gateways

3. How to track and code your Advertising and Marketing Campaigns.

I personally experienced the following just very recently.

The
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Affiliate since: 02/08/2020, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Michael's 202 other Ask SC answers

Hi Alvin!
The main two drawbacks I know about link cloaking software is that they are full or viruses and they are too prone to hackers. The hackers can break in to steal, change or destroy information. Other affiliate marketers can easily hijack your affiliate links and steal the commissions that rightfully belong to you. If you're promoting affiliate links without hiding your affiliate details, then all a potential thief/hacker has to do is replace your affiliate ID with his own ID while making a purchase. He gets the commission, and you get absolutely nothing! This is a real drawback!
I hope this will help.
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Hi Alvin!
The main two drawbacks I know about link cloaking software is that they are full or viruses and they are too prone to hackers. The hackers can break in to steal, change or destroy information. Other affiliate marketers can easily hijack your affiliate links and steal the commissions that rightfully belong to you. If you're promoting affiliate links without hiding your affiliate details, then all a potential thief/hacker has to do is replace your affiliate ID with his own ID while making
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Affiliate since: 12/31/1969, Power Rank: 99999999

Thanks for this question.

After visiting so many sites I am giving you the most opt one. Its technical in nature basically. I have filtered and would like to present it as follows:

Although network cloaking may add a small sense of security, it is common for people not to realize just how easy it is to discover hidden networks. Because of the various ways an SSID is broadcast, network cloaking is not considered a security measure.

Use encryption, preferably WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), or WPA2. Even WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), while weak and vulnerable, provides more security than hiding the SSID.

There are many programs that are able to scan for wireless networks, including hidden ones, and display their information such as IP addresses, SSIDs, and encryption types.

These programs are capable of "sniffing" out any wireless networks in range by essentially eavesdropping and analyzing network traffic and packets to gather information about those specific networks.

The reason these programs can sniff out the hidden networks is because when the SSID is transmitted in the various frames, it is displayed in cleartext (unencrypted format), and therefore able to be read by anyone who has found it.

An eavesdropper can passively sniff the wireless traffic on that network undetected (with software like Kismet), and wait for someone to connect, revealing the SSID.

Alternatively, there are faster (albeit detectable) methods where a cracker spoofs a "disassociate frame" as if it came from the wireless bridge, and sends it to one of the clients connected; the client immediately re-connects, revealing the SSID. Some examples of these sniffing programs include the following:

Passive:

KisMAC
Kismet
Prads
ESSID-Jack

Active:

NetStumbler
inSSIDer

The downside of passive scanning is that in order to gather any information, a client already connected to that specific network needs to be generating and therefore providing network traffic to be analyzed.

These programs are then able to discover the cloaked networks and their SSIDs through picking through frames of information such as:

Probe request frames:

Probe request frames are sent unencrypted by the client computer when trying to connect to a network. This unprotected frame of information, which can easily be intercepted and read by someone willing, will contain the SSID.

Probe response frames:

In response to the probe request, the requested station will send back a frame of information also containing the SSID as well as other details about the network.

Association request frames:

An association request frame is what begins the process of initializing a relationship between the computer and the access point. Once associated properly, the AP will be able to assign some of its resources to the network interface controller (NIC). Once again, through this process, the SSID is transmitted.


Re-association request frames:

Re-association request frames are transmitted when a NIC notices a stronger signal from another access point and switches over from the previous one. This new access point will then "take over" and handle the data that may still be caught up in the previous session. The request of a new connection to a new beacon signal will of course require the transmission of a new SSID.

Because of these multiple ways the network name is still being broadcast while the network is "cloaked," its not completely hidden from persistent hackers.

Worse, because a station must probe for a hidden SSID, a fake access point can offer a connection.

Programs that act as fake access points are freely available, and include airbase-ng and Karma.

Conclusion:

Though these are technical in nature, the take point is: It is unsafe to use link cloaking software as it is very very prone to attacks by hackers who can get away with all the information stored. Not only that they can use it to their advantage also without our knowledge.
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Thanks for this question.

After visiting so many sites I am giving you the most opt one. Its technical in nature basically. I have filtered and would like to present it as follows:

Although network cloaking may add a small sense of security, it is common for people not to realize just how easy it is to discover hidden networks. Because of the various ways an SSID is broadcast, network cloaking is not considered a security measure.

Use encryption, preferably WPA
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Affiliate since: 12/31/1969, Power Rank: 99999999

The biggest drawback to using link-cloaking software or link-cloaking services (like TinyURL) is that they immediately draw the suspicion of the places where you advertize those links, as well as the suspicion of the people who might use them. To my mind, if you're trying to promote on a site that dislikes SFI links, just link to your own website or blog, give people more information on your site, and link them from there to SFI. There's no sense in annoying a site host.

Affiliate since: 07/13/2014, Power Rank: 99999999 | Read Paul's 84 other Ask SC answers

Hello world :)

In my opinion the biggest drawback is RELIABILITY..

Just imagine what happens when you use cloaking software for some years and then they decide to quit the service ? Or they go to being a PAID service ?

Then ALL urls you created online are not available anymore and a few years of work is gone..

That is my MAIN reason for not using any cloaking software or url shorteners..

Best Regards