Skip to content
carlosgruezoficial

carlosgruezoficial

I Trust General

Primary Menu
  • News General
  • Car & Mechanical
  • Business & Finance
  • Health & Fitness
  • Home & Design
  • Technology
  • About Us
    • Advertise Here
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sitemap
  • Home
  • What Is Google Dorking and How Hackers Use It to Hack Websites
  • General

What Is Google Dorking and How Hackers Use It to Hack Websites

By Krystal K. Lindahl 3 years ago

Table of Contents

Toggle
  • What Is Google Dorking?
  • How Hackers Use Google Dorking to Hack Websites
  • Most-Used Google Dorking Operators
  • Is Google Dorking Illegal?
  • How to Protect Your Site From Google Hacking
  • Become a Google Power User With Google Dorking
      • Subscribe to our newsletter

Google is the encyclopedia of the internet that carries the answer to all your questions and curiosity. After all, it is just a web index to find images, articles, and videos, right?

Well, if you think so, you are turning a blind eye to the untapped potential of the behemoth search engine’s crawling capabilities. This side of Google is lesser-known to the average user but propelled effectively by bad actors to hijack websites and steal sensitive data from companies.

Here, we’ll address how security professionals and hackers use Google as an effective reconnaissance tool to access sensitive data, hijack websites, and more.


What Is Google Dorking?

Google dorking or Google hacking is the technique of feeding advanced search queries into the Google search engine to hunt for sensitive data such as username, password, log files, etc., of websites that Google is indexing due to site misconfiguration. This data is publicly visible and, in some cases, downloadable.

A regular Google search involves a seed keyword, sentence, or question. But, in Google dorking, an attacker uses special operators to enhance search and dictate the web crawler to snipe for very specific files or directories on the internet. In most cases, they are log files or website misconfigurations.

How Hackers Use Google Dorking to Hack Websites

Google dorking involves using special parameters and search operators called “dorks” to narrow down search results and hunt for exposed sensitive data and security loopholes in websites.

MAKEUSEOF VIDEO OF THE DAY

The parameters and operators direct the crawler to look for specific file types in any specified URL. The search results of the query include but are not limited to:

  • Open FTP servers.
  • A company’s internal documents.
  • Accessible IP cameras.
  • Government documents.
  • Server log files containing passwords and other sensitive data that can be leveraged to infiltrate or disrupt an organization.

Most-Used Google Dorking Operators


allintext operator example

Although there are tons of operators and parameters that one can apply to a search query, it only takes a handful of them to serve the needs of a security professional. Here are a few commonly used queries:

  1. inurl: Dictates the crawler to search for URLs that contain a specified keyword.
  2. allintext: This parameter searches for user-specified text in a webpage.
  3. filetype: This parameter tells the crawler to look for and display a specific file type.
  4. intitle: Scrapes for sites containing specified keywords in the title.
  5. site: Lists all the indexed URLs for the specified site.
  6. cache: When paired with the site parameter, this one displays the cached or older version of a website.
  7. Pipe operator (|): This logical operator will list results that contain either of two specified search terms.
  8. Wildcard operator (*): This is a wildcard operator that searches for pages that contain anything connected to your search term.
  9. Subtract operator (-): This eliminates unwanted results from your search.

Is Google Dorking Illegal?

While it may seem intimidating, Google dorking will not land you behind bars, given you are only using it to refine your search results and not infiltrate an organization.

It is a necessary evil and, in fact, an encouraged practice amongst power users. Keep in mind that Google is tracking your searches all the time, so if you access sensitive data or search with malicious intent, Google will flag you as a threat actor.

In case you are carrying out a pen test or hunting for bug bounty, ensure that you are fully authorized and backed by the organization. Otherwise, if you get caught, things can take a turn for the worst, and one can even slap you with a lawsuit.

How to Protect Your Site From Google Hacking


robots file example

As a webmaster, you have to set up specific defensive countermeasures to tackle Google Dorking. A very straightforward approach would be to add a robots.txt file and disallow access to all sensitive directories. This will keep search engine crawlers from indexing sensitive files, directories, and URLs as you list them.

Adding a robots.txt file to the root directory is a general good practice and essential for the overall security of your website. Learn more about why website security is crucial.

Other ways to mitigate this threat would be to encrypt sensitive data such as usernames, passwords, payment information, etc., and use Google Search Console to remove pages from search results.

Become a Google Power User With Google Dorking

While most of us use Google every day, we hardly ever take advantage of its true potential. You can harness the often-overlooked power of Google dorking ethically to refine your Google-fu and find just about anything on the internet.

With the proper parameters and keywords in place, the answer to all your curiosities and questions will lie at your fingertips, just one keypress away. Learn more about the best tips and tricks to make the most of your Google search.


Google Search Tips Featured

10 Tips and Tricks to Use Google Search More Effectively

Read Next


About The Author

Debarshi Das
(12 Articles Published)

I love breaking things and making things that help me in breaking things. When the screens are off, you can find me on the football ground or battling wits at the local chess club.

More
From Debarshi Das

Subscribe to our newsletter

Join our newsletter for tech tips, reviews, free ebooks, and exclusive deals!

Click here to subscribe

Tags: Amazon Fba Business, Atlanta Business Chronicle'S, Boss Baby Back In Business, Business Administration Degree, Business Attire Women, Business Card Design, Business Cards Templates, Business Casual Dress, Business Casual Outfits, Business Checking Account, Business Credit Card, Business For Sale Near Me, Business Intelligence Platform, Business Lawyer Near Me, Business Loan Calculator, Business Name Ideas, Business Professional Women, Business Spectrum Login, California Business Entity Search, Capital One Spark Business, Carl Weber'S The Family Business, Charlotte Business Journal, Custom Business Cards, Delaware Business Search, Fl Sos Business Search, Florida Business Search, Harvard Business Publishing, Insurance For Small Business, Kelley School Of Business, Maryland Business Express, Maryland Business Search, Moo Business Cards, National Business Furniture, New York Business Search, Ohio Business Gateway, Onedrive For Business, Online Business Ideas, Paramore Misery Business, Risky Business Cast, Small Business Insurance, Spectrum Business Customer Service, Tom Cruise Risky Business, Us Small Business Administration, Verizon Wireless Business, Verizon Wireless Business Login, Virtual Business Address, What Is Business Administration, Women'S Business Casual, Yelp Business Login, Yelp For Business

Continue Reading

Previous Russia attacks Kyiv as U.N. secretary-general visits Ukraine’s capital
Next How to find well reviewed and reputable services – Crazy sexy fun traveler
June 2025
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« Apr    

Archives

  • April 2025
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • December 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • December 2016

Categories

  • Business & Finance
  • Car & Mechanical
  • General
  • Health & Fitness
  • Home & Design
  • Lifestyle
  • News General
  • Technology

Recent Posts

  • Outdoor Living Spaces That Balance Beauty and Function
  • Stunning Ruby Necklace Designs: A Guide to Choosing the Perfect Piece
  • Green Financing: How SMEs are Changing and Becoming Sustainable
  • 4 Important Services for Home Maintenance
  • Timber And Its Application In House Construction

Fiverr

Fiverr Logo

bl

SeedBL

Seedbacklink

bp

backlinkplacement.com

Copyright © All rights reserved. | Magazine 7 by AF themes.

WhatsApp us