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Zero Width Shortener VS ShellNewHandler

Compare Zero Width Shortener VS ShellNewHandler and see what are their differences

Zero Width Shortener

Shorten URLs with zero-width characters

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
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Alternatives Is it good?
ShellNewHandler

SourceForge.net: ShellNewHandler details page

Rating
0 reviews
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Alternatives Is it good?
BusinessLOG SOC
A centralized log management and SIEM platform built for compliance, auditing, anomaly detection, and infrastructure visibility. sponsored
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

ShellNewHandler might be a bit more popular than Zero Width Shortener. We know about 2 links to it since March 2021 and only 2 links to Zero Width Shortener.

social mentions
2 vs 2
URL Shortener popularity
100% vs 0%

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Zero Width Shortener
ShellNewHandler
Website zws.im sourceforge.net
Pricing
Open source
—
Listed in
Link Management URL Shortener Branded URLs Online Services +1
Cloud Storage Monitoring Tools File Sharing Website Monitoring +1

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Zero Width Shortener 4 features
ShellNewHandler 0 features
  • Privacy
    The use of zero-width characters makes URLs harder to detect and trace, enhancing privacy.
  • Customization
    Users can embed zero-width characters into URLs, providing a way to customize links without affecting their appearance.
  • Data Concealment
    Zero-width characters can hide information within URLs, making it useful for specific security or data obfuscation applications.
  • No Visual Impact
    The zero-width characters do not alter the visual appearance of the URL, maintaining visual consistency.

Possible disadvantages

  • Compatibility Issues
    Some platforms and applications might not recognize zero-width characters properly, potentially leading to broken links.
  • Security Risk
    The hidden nature of zero-width characters can be exploited for malicious purposes, such as hiding phishing links or malware.
  • Debugging Difficulty
    Identifying problems with URLs containing zero-width characters can be challenging, complicating debugging efforts.
  • Misuse Potential
    Because zero-width characters can be invisible, there’s a risk they could be misused for sneaky or unethical purposes.

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Zero Width Shortener
ShellNewHandler

Overall verdict

  • Zero Width Shortener can be considered 'good' for users seeking to create novel, discreet, or filtered URLs. However, it may not be suitable for all situations, especially if transparency is a priority or if there are concerns about the URL's legitimacy from the recipients' perspective.

Why this product is good

  • Zero Width Shortener (zws.im) is a tool that allows users to create short URLs that contain zero-width characters. This provides a unique way to conceal the URL's destination, making it less obvious at first glance. Such URLs can be useful for novelty purposes, sharing links with a touch of mystery, or bypassing certain filters that scrutinize URLs based on visible text.

Recommended for

  • Tech enthusiasts interested in innovative URL solutions
  • Users looking to share links in a novel way
  • Individuals trying to bypass simple URL filters

Overall verdict

  • ShellNewHandler is a niche, lightweight utility hosted on SourceForge designed to give users more control over the Windows 'New' context menu (the ShellNew menu). It can be considered good for its specific narrow use case, but it is an older, minimally maintained tool that may not suit all users, especially those on modern Windows versions.

Why this product is good

  • Provides direct control over customizing the Windows right-click 'New' menu, allowing users to add or remove file type entries
  • Lightweight and free, without bundled bloatware typical of some other free utilities
  • Simple and focused in scope, making it easy to understand for its specific purpose
  • Open distribution via SourceForge allows transparency and no-cost access

Recommended for

  • Power users who want to declutter or customize the Windows New context menu
  • IT administrators managing standardized desktop environments across multiple machines
  • Users comfortable with older utility-style tools and Windows registry-related tweaks
  • Not recommended for casual users seeking modern, actively supported software with regular updates

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Zero Width Shortener
ShellNewHandler
100% 100%
URL Shortener
0% 0%
0% 0%
Website Monitoring
100% 100%
100% 100%
Link Management
0% 0%
0% 0%
Monitoring Tools
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using Zero Width Shortener and ShellNewHandler. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Zero Width Shortener 2 mentions
ShellNewHandler 2 mentions
  • TikTok tells staff impacted by wildfires to use sick hours if they can't work
    > Google used to watermark internal emails using non-visible Unicode. It would catch people copy-pasting things to the press. How does that even work? I assume the unique identifiers are generated along the lines of https://zws.im but do... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Oda gets sent an IP grabber 1 hour before Runescape DMM tourney
    It works for link shorteners like https://zws.im/ so it will work for ip grabbers too. I don't think I've seen one like that though. Source: over 4 years ago
  • I recently got libreoffice, but now the new option in right click looks like a mess. Can someone help me get rid of them please?
    Use Shell New Handler. Run the portable app and simply untick the items you don't want to appear in your new context menu. Source: about 4 years ago
  • This menu should be easy to add/remove programs to... Who is really creating Access Databases from this menu often enough to keep it here? (Not me!) Is there an easy way to edit this?
    I've always used ShellNewHandler for this. It's a really simple portable utility that allows you to remove most of the items from that menu. Tested it out on Windows 11 and it's still compatible. Source: over 5 years ago

Alternatives to Zero Width Shortener and ShellNewHandler

When comparing Zero Width Shortener and ShellNewHandler, you can also consider the following products.

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