Search Engine Discovery

Introduction

Search engine discovery leverages the immense power of search algorithms to extract data that may not be readily visible on websites.

Search Operators

For Google Dorking:

Operator	Operator Description	Example
site:	Limits results to a specific website or domain.	site:example.com
inurl:	Finds pages with a specific term in the URL.	inurl:login
filetype:	Searches for files of a particular type.	filetype:pdf
intitle:	Finds pages with a specific term in the title.	intitle:"confidential report"
intext: or inbody:	Searches for a term within the body text of pages.	intext:"password reset"
cache:	Displays the cached version of a webpage (if available).	cache:example.com
link:	Finds pages that link to a specific webpage.	link:example.com
related:	Finds websites related to a specific webpage.	related:example.com
info:	Provides a summary of information about a webpage.	info:example.com
define:	Provides definitions of a word or phrase.	define:phishing
numrange:	Searches for numbers within a specific range.	site:example.com numrange:1000-2000
allintext:	Finds pages containing all specified words in the body text.	allintext:admin password reset
allinurl:	Finds pages containing all specified words in the URL.	allinurl:admin panel
allintitle:	Finds pages containing all specified words in the title.	allintitle:confidential report 2023
AND	Narrows results by requiring all terms to be present.	site:example.com AND (inurl:admin OR inurl:login)
OR	Broadens results by including pages with any of the terms.	"linux" OR "ubuntu" OR "debian"
NOT	Excludes results containing the specified term.	site:bank.com NOT inurl:login
* (wildcard)	Represents any character or word.	site:socialnetwork.com filetype:pdf user* manual
.. (range search)	Finds results within a specified numerical range.	site:ecommerce.com "price" 100..500
" " (quotation marks)	Searches for exact phrases.	"information security policy"
- (minus sign)	Excludes terms from the search results.	site:news.com -inurl:sports

Google Dorking

Google Dorking, also known as Google Hacking, is a technique that leverages the power of search operators to uncover sensitive information, security vulnerabilities, or hidden content on websites, using Google Search.

Here are some common examples of Google Dorks, for more examples, refer to the Google Hacking Database:

• Finding Login Pages:

  • site:example.com inurl:login

  • site:example.com (inurl:login OR inurl:admin)

• Identifying Exposed Files:

  • site:example.com filetype:pdf

  • site:example.com (filetype:xls OR filetype:docx)

• Uncovering Configuration Files:

  • site:example.com inurl:config.php

  • site:example.com (ext:conf OR ext:cnf) (searches for extensions commonly used for configuration files)

• Locating Database Backups:

  • site:example.com inurl:backup

  • site:example.com filetype:sql