(Source: MARKETWIRE)Websense, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN), a global leader in integrated Web, data and email security solutions, today announced that bit.ly -- a leading URL shortening service for Web 2.0 sites and for micro-blogging services like Twitter and Tweetdeck -- will leverage the Websense(R) ThreatSeeker(R) Cloud to analyze and categorize the Web sites and content behind millions of shortened bit.ly URLs created daily to protect end users from emerging Web 2.0 threats.

The carrier-grade Websense ThreatSeeker Cloud is a security-as-a-service that delivers Web, data and email security intelligence to third-party solution providers like bit.ly and others, through the proven cloud-based infrastructure that powers all Websense content security products, including on-premise and security-as-a-service Web security gateway, email security and data loss prevention solutions. This infrastructure is used and trusted across millions of users and billions of transactions daily.

"bit.ly is one of the largest sharing services on the Web, with millions of shortened URLs created every day," said Andrew Cohen, bit.ly's general manager. "A large part of our success is due to the trust users have in our service and we work hard to earn that trust by warning our users about spam and malicious content."

bit.ly URL shortening service use continues to increase exponentially. In October, the company shortened more than two billion links, helping to enable communication on the Web, through services like Twitter and Facebook and in email and instant messaging. By the end of the year bit.ly plans to begin processing millions of existing and newly created shortened links through the Web API of the Websense ThreatSeeker Cloud daily.

"With the Websense security-as-a-service API powering our security intelligence, we will be able to better serve our customers and enable their use of Web 2.0 social media technology while protecting them from the latest threats," Cohen added.

In the cloud, Websense will conduct full content analysis for the IP sources, Web sites and Web content behind bit.ly links, including categorization and reputation analysis of the URL, property type, lexical and search reputation, history, age, geography, neighboring properties and more.