TLDR: Want to check if a link is working, safe, or hiding sneaky redirects? Visit browserling.com/browse. My team and I run real browsers on virtual machines, letting you test links instantly without risk.
Online Link Checker – What Is It?
An online link checker is a web tool that helps you check if a website link is working or broken in a virtual browser. It can also tell you if a link is safe to visit or if it leads to a harmful site. A link checker can even show where a link really goes, helping you avoid sneaky redirects or scams.
How Does an Online Link Checker Work?
An online link checker opens a website in a virtual browser to see if it's working, safe, or leading somewhere sketchy. It runs right in your browser (no downloads needed) and streams the virtual browser to you via websockets and modern JavaScript. It can be used to check if a link is up or down, detect sneaky redirects, and verify if a download link is safe.
What Are Online Link Checker Use Cases?
Check if a Website is Down
Sometimes websites don't load, but is it just you or is the site really down? An online link checker tells you if the website is offline or if the problem is on your end.
Check if a Link is Safe
Not sure if a link is dangerous? An online link checker lets you open a suspicious URL to in a virtual browser to check for malware, phishing, or scams before you open it in local browser running on your device.
Check if a Link is a Scam
Before you click on a weird-looking link, check if it leads to a phishing site. An online link checker can show you the contents of the URL and tell you if the link is known for scams or fraud.
Verify Download Links
Before clicking a download button, you can make sure if the link actually works and what gets downloaded. An online link checker can confirm if the file is still available or if the link is dead, and tell you the file name and size.
Detect Redirects
Some links secretly send you to a different website than expected. An online link checker shows you where a link really goes before you click.
Monitor Important Links
If you rely on certain websites, you can pair an online link checker with Headless API to monitor them. It alerts you if a site goes down so you can act fast.
See if a Website is Blocked in Your Country
Some websites work in certain countries but not others. An online link checker can be combined with the geo-browsing feature and it lets you see if a site is blocked in different locations.
Test if a Website Works in Another Country
If you run a business, you want to know if international customers can access your site. An online link checker shows if your website loads in different countries (after you select the desired country from the geo-browsing menu).
Check if a Link is on a Blacklist
Some links are flagged by browsers and search engines for spreading malware, spam, or illegal content. An online link checker loads a real browser and you will see if the given URL is blacklisted.
Check if a Website is Slow or Unresponsive
Even if a site isn't fully down, it might load too slowly to use. An online link checker can test how quickly a page is loading.
What is Browserling?
Browserling is an online link checker that lets you open links in real web browsers running on real operating systems. It helps you see if a link is working, check if it's safe, and find out where it really leads. Since it runs in a remote virtual browser, you can test links without risking your own computer.
Who Uses Browserling?
Browserling has now become the online link checker platform of choice for web developers, cybersecurity experts, and IT professionals, and it's used by hundreds of thousands of users around the world every month. Browserling's customers include governments, states, cities, banks, stock exchanges, universities, newspapers, Fortune 100, Fortune 500 companies, and private multi-billion dollar companies.
Happy browsing!