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Google Dork Cheat Sheet

Google Dork Cheat Sheet

Google Dorks Cheat Sheet for OSINT Researchers & Investigators

Basic Search Operators

  • "exact phrase" - Search for exact phrase in quotes
  • "John Smith" AND "New York" - Find pages containing both exact phrases

Wildcard and Proximity

  • * - Wildcard for unknown words
  • AROUND(X) - Find terms within X words of each other
  • "cyber * attack" - Find variations like “cyber security attack”

Boolean Operators

  • AND / + - Both terms must be present
  • OR / | - Either term can be present
  • NOT / - - Exclude specific terms
  • () - Group terms for complex queries

Advanced Site-Specific Operators

Site Targeting

  • site:example.com - Search within specific domain
  • site:*.gov - Search all government sites
  • site:linkedin.com "John Smith" - Find LinkedIn profiles
  • site:reddit.com - Search Reddit posts and comments

File Type Searches

  • filetype:pdf - Find PDF documents
  • filetype:doc - Find Word documents
  • filetype:xls - Find Excel spreadsheets
  • filetype:ppt - Find PowerPoint presentations
  • filetype:txt - Find text files
  • filetype:log - Find log files
  • ext:sql - Alternative syntax for file extensions

URL Structure Searches

  • inurl:admin - Find URLs containing “admin”
  • inurl:login - Find login pages
  • inurl:config - Find configuration files
  • allinurl:admin panel - All terms must be in URL

Title and Text Searches

  • intitle:confidential - Find pages with “confidential” in title
  • allintitle:secret document - All terms must be in title
  • intext:password - Find pages containing “password” in text
  • allintext:classified information - All terms must be in page text

OSINT-Specific Techniques

People Intelligence (PEOPINT)

  • "John Smith" site:linkedin.com - Find LinkedIn profiles
  • "John Smith" + "email" + "@gmail.com" - Find email addresses
  • "John Smith" + "phone" + "555" - Find phone numbers
  • "John Smith" site:facebook.com - Find Facebook profiles
  • "John Smith" site:twitter.com - Find Twitter profiles
  • "John Smith" + "resume" filetype:pdf - Find resumes

Company Intelligence

  • site:company.com filetype:pdf - Find company documents
  • "Company Name" + "employee" + "email" - Find employee emails
  • "Company Name" + "org chart" OR "organizational chart" - Find org charts
  • "Company Name" + "annual report" filetype:pdf - Find annual reports
  • site:company.com inurl:careers - Find job postings

Location Intelligence (GEOINT)

  • "address" + "city, state" + "zip code" - Find specific addresses
  • "GPS coordinates" + "latitude longitude" - Find GPS data
  • site:maps.google.com "location name" - Find Google Maps data
  • "street view" + "address" - Find street view images

Technical Intelligence (TECHINT)

  • site:github.com "company name" - Find company repositories
  • "API key" + "company name" - Find exposed API keys
  • "database" + "company name" + "leak" - Find data breaches
  • "config" + "password" + "database" - Find configuration files

Vulnerability and Security Research

Exposed Files and Directories

  • intitle:"Index of" password - Find directory listings with passwords
  • intitle:"Index of" "backup" - Find backup file directories
  • intitle:"Index of" "config" - Find configuration directories
  • intitle:"Index of" "log" - Find log file directories

Login Pages and Admin Panels

  • inurl:admin intitle:login - Find admin login pages
  • inurl:wp-admin - Find WordPress admin panels
  • inurl:phpmyadmin - Find phpMyAdmin interfaces
  • intitle:"admin panel" OR "control panel" - Find control panels

Database and System Information

  • intext:"sql syntax near" OR intext:"syntax error has occurred" - Find SQL errors
  • intext:"Warning: mysql_connect()" - Find MySQL connection errors
  • intitle:"phpinfo()" "PHP Version" - Find PHP info pages
  • intext:"Server at" intext:"Apache" - Find Apache server info

Credentials and Sensitive Data

  • intext:"username" intext:"password" filetype:log - Find credentials in logs
  • "password" filetype:txt site:pastebin.com - Find passwords on Pastebin
  • "BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY" filetype:key - Find private keys
  • "api_key" OR "apikey" filetype:json - Find API keys in JSON files

Social Media and Communication

Social Media Profiles

  • site:linkedin.com/in/ "John Smith" - LinkedIn profiles
  • site:twitter.com "John Smith" - Twitter profiles
  • site:facebook.com "John Smith" - Facebook profiles
  • site:instagram.com "John Smith" - Instagram profiles

Forums and Communities

  • site:reddit.com/r/ "topic" - Search specific subreddits
  • site:stackoverflow.com "company name" - Find technical discussions
  • "John Smith" site:forum.* - Find forum posts by person

Communication Platforms

  • site:discord.com "server name" - Find Discord servers
  • site:telegram.me "channel name" - Find Telegram channels
  • "John Smith" + "Skype" + "username" - Find Skype usernames

Time-Based and Cache Searches

Cached and Archived Content

  • cache:example.com - View Google’s cached version
  • site:archive.org "website.com" - Find archived versions
  • site:web.archive.org "deleted content" - Find deleted web content

Date Range Searches

  • after:2023-01-01 before:2023-12-31 - Search within date range
  • "data breach" after:2024-01-01 - Find recent data breaches

Specialized File and Content Searches

Documents and Reports

  • "quarterly report" filetype:pdf site:sec.gov - Find SEC filings
  • "incident report" filetype:pdf "company name" - Find incident reports
  • "audit report" filetype:pdf - Find audit documents
  • "meeting minutes" filetype:pdf - Find meeting records

Email and Contact Information

  • "@company.com" + "email" - Find company email addresses
  • intext:"email" + "contact" + "@" - Find contact emails
  • "john.smith@" + "company.com" - Find specific email patterns

Phone Numbers and Addresses

  • "phone" + "555-123-4567" - Find phone number references
  • "address" + "123 Main Street" - Find address references
  • "fax" + "company name" - Find fax numbers

Advanced Combination Techniques

Multi-Platform Searches

  • ("John Smith" site:linkedin.com) OR ("John Smith" site:twitter.com) - Search multiple platforms
  • "company name" (site:reddit.com OR site:stackoverflow.com) - Find discussions across platforms

Negative Searches for Filtering

  • "John Smith" -site:linkedin.com -site:facebook.com - Exclude social media
  • "data breach" -news -media - Exclude news articles
  • "company name" -jobs -careers -hiring - Exclude job-related content

Complex Boolean Queries

  • ("API key" OR "secret key") AND ("company name") NOT ("example" OR "test") - Complex credential search
  • (inurl:admin OR inurl:login) AND (intext:password OR intext:username) - Find admin panels with credentials

Industry-Specific Searches

Government and Military

  • site:*.gov "classified" -"declassified" - Find government classified references
  • site:*.mil "personnel" filetype:pdf - Find military personnel documents
  • "FOIA" + "document" + "agency name" - Find FOIA documents

Healthcare and Medical

  • site:*.edu "patient data" OR "medical records" - Find healthcare data
  • "HIPAA" + "violation" + "hospital name" - Find HIPAA violations
  • "clinical trial" + filetype:pdf - Find clinical trial documents

Financial and Banking

  • site:sec.gov "10-K" "company name" - Find SEC 10-K filings
  • "financial statement" filetype:pdf "company name" - Find financial documents
  • "audit" + "bank" + "report" filetype:pdf - Find bank audit reports

Metadata and Hidden Information

Metadata Searches

  • filetype:pdf "metadata" "author" - Find PDF metadata
  • "exif data" + "image" + "location" - Find image metadata
  • "document properties" filetype:doc - Find Word document properties

Hidden Text and Comments

  • intext:"hidden" OR intext:"comment" - Find hidden text
  • "TODO" OR "FIXME" site:github.com - Find code comments
  • "password" + "comment" filetype:html - Find passwords in HTML comments

Best Practices and Tips

Query Optimization

  • Use specific terms rather than generic ones
  • Combine multiple operators for precise results
  • Use quotes for exact phrases
  • Test variations of your queries
  • Respect robots.txt and terms of service
  • Don’t access unauthorized systems
  • Use information responsibly
  • Follow applicable laws and regulations

Documentation and Verification

  • Save search queries and results
  • Verify information from multiple sources
  • Document the date and time of searches
  • Screenshot important findings

Common Search Patterns

Identity Verification

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"John Smith" + "birthday" + "1985"
"John Smith" + "address" + "city"
"John Smith" + "phone" + "email"

Company Research

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site:company.com filetype:pdf
"company name" + "employee" + "directory"
"company name" + "leak" + "data"

Incident Investigation

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"incident" + "date" + "location"
"breach" + "company" + "data"
"hack" + "attack" + "victim"

Asset Discovery

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"company name" + "server" + "IP"
"company name" + "domain" + "subdomain"
"company name" + "network" + "range"

This cheat sheet provides a comprehensive foundation for Google Dorking in OSINT investigations. Remember to always operate within legal boundaries and ethical guidelines when conducting research.

This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.