por If you are passionate about hacking and the world of cybersecurity, you must learn what Google Dorks is. There is a way to do advanced searches on Google and collect information that is public on the internet. However, not all data rises to the surface with just a simple search. In addition to these common searches, there are advanced operators that you can run on Google to filter the search engine’s information as much as possible. This is called Google Hacking, but it is also known as Google Dorks.
There is a lot of information indexed on the internet and some data could be published in error. Anything that is not indexed is not available to a search engine like Google. This is called the Deep Web. Emails, for example, fall into this category because they are not indexed and, therefore, are not available to everyone who searches for them.
To obtain search results with all the information indexed, which is difficult to find, there are advanced search operators that will allow you to find bugs and vulnerabilities through Google Search. You want to know more? Below we explain what Google Dorks is or, in other words, what dork is
What is Google Dorks?
The term «Google Dorks» comes from the word «dork» which means «idiot» in English. So a “Google Dork” would be someone who has left sensitive and unprotected information posted on the internet. To find these errors, you can use Google’s advanced search and obtain very interesting results. Google Hacking or Google Dorking is one of the most well-known techniques of OSINT either Open Source Intelligence (osint google dorks).
Search Operators for Google Dorks
There are many advanced operators for you to try on the Google search engine. Next, we will mention The most common:
inurl: With this command, you will be able to find all the indexed URLs that contain the keywords that you indicate to the search engine.
intitle: with this you can find all the web pages that, in their title, contain the word you enter after the operator.
if you– With this operator you can find all the results of a particular web page.
intext: with this you can find websites that, in the body, contain the text that you indicate to the search engine.
Remember that you can also use logical operators like «AND«, «OR» either quotation marks to find a term verbatim. Additionally, you can find a list of bugs to explore on the Google Hacking Database.
How to use Google Dorks in cybersecurity?
Now that you know what Google Dorks is, you may be wondering What it can be used for in cybersecurity. This type of advanced search on Google will allow you to find security flaws on indexed sites. That is, it allows you to track confidential data on the web that is public when it should not be. Thus, you could find a database with passwords or vulnerable files on a system.
To mention some of the google dorks examples, if you put in the Google search engine «filetype:xls and intitle:passwords», the engine will show you all the indexed sites that contain Excel files with the word «passwords» in the page title. Although it is unlikely to find something so obvious, Google Hacking works under this logic.
Although hackers black hats can use this technique to find vulnerabilities and exploit them, the intentions of a professional cybersecurity team are very different. The mission of a hacker ethical when using these tools is to fix and report to the respective company the vulnerabilities you find.
This type of intelligence is known as OSINT and involves collect public information without leaving a trace of the investigation. In a cybersecurity audit, it is necessary to verify what sensitive information on a page could be available to anyone and correct it as soon as possible.
What is OSINT?
OSINT or Open Source Intelligence is an information collection technique that is based on obtaining data that is public on the Internet. Therefore, it is always related to what Google Dorks is.
It does not constitute a crime and is also a silent way of investigating the target of an attack. OSINT techniques and tools are used by hackers black hat and white hat. That is, they are used both to carry out attacks and to prevent them.
At the moment, The growing use of social networks has facilitated the collection of information from open sources. People are increasingly posting more personal information on social media and are more connected to each other. This opens up a range of options for cybercriminals, who can use any piece of information to expand their attack surface.
How to protect your information?
Knowing what Google Dorks is will help you do a complete cybersecurity audit. Thanks to this technique, you will know what information about your company is indexed and available to everyone. To avoid this type of failure, a meticulous construction of the website in question is necessary. So that no files and no data are indexed by mistake and at the disposal of hackers malicious
Additionally, have knowledge about what Google Dorks is and do Periodic reviews will help you stay informed about what data has been leaked online. Being aware of this will help you have a more secure system and protect your information.
How to continue learning?
Now that you know what Google Dorks is, you can start practicing. If you want to continue learning and specialize in the world of cybersecurity, It’s time to sign up for our Full Stack Cybersecurity Bootcamp, where you will become an expert in less than 7 months. Sign up now!