Dork search, also known as advanced search operators or advanced search queries, refers to the use of special keywords and syntax in search engines like Google and Bing to find information that regular searches may not uncover. Dork searches allow users to refine and focus their searches to find very specific data that is not indexed in the normal fashion.
Dorking is an invaluable skill for information security researchers, penetration testers, social engineers, and others who need to find hidden or obscure information online. However, dork search techniques can also be misused by cybercriminals and other malicious actors.
How does dork search work?
Dork search works by taking advantage of advanced search functionality in search engines that allows users to combine keywords with special operators and syntax. For example, on Google you can use operators like “site:”, “intitle:”, “inurl:”, and more to precisely target your searches.
Some examples of Google dork searches:
- “inurl:admin intitle:login” – find admin login pages
- “filetype:pdf inurl:statements” – find PDF financial statements
- “site:example.com intext:password” – find pages on a site that mention passwords
By chaining together multiple search operators and keywords, dork searches can uncover very specific types of information that would be difficult to find otherwise. Things like logins, financial documents, vulnerabilities, passwords, and more can be discovered through creative dorking.
Why is dork search useful?
There are several key reasons why dork search is so useful for information gathering:
- Finds obscure or hidden information – Dorks can uncover pages and content that normal searches don’t find.
- Bypasses login pages – Can sometimes gain access to behind-the-scenes info without needing to login.
- Locates sensitive documents – Financial reports, contracts, legal docs can be found.
- Discovers vulnerabilities – Dorks can reveal unpatched systems, misconfigurations, and other security flaws.
- Gathers context – Understanding technologies, individuals, relationships between entities.
Penetration testers use dorking to gather intelligence and find security holes during engagements. Social engineers leverage dorks to learn about people and companies they target. Security researchers dork search to analyze emerging threats and tools used by hackers.
Examples of dork searches
Here are some examples of effective dork searches and what they are used for:
Finding logins and passwords
- “inurl:/admin intext:username” – Find admin panels with exposed usernames
- “intext:\”sql syntax near\” intext:\”syntax to use near\” ext:php” – SQL injection vulnerabilities
- “inurl:wp-config.php db_password” – WordPress config files with db password
Discovering sensitive documents
- “inurl:/private ext:pdf” – Private PDF documents
- “site:example.com ext:doc intext:confidential” – Confidential Word docs on a site
- “site:example.com inurl:/reports intitle:Financial” – Financial reports
Finding vulnerabilities
- “site:example.com intext:Warning: phpinfo()” – phpinfo() exposures
- “site:example.com ext:log intext:error” – Error logs
- “site:example.com inurl:temp ext:xls” – Temp Excel files
Gathering context
- “site:linkedin.com intext:\”at example\” intext:\”IT manager\”” – Profiles of IT mgrs
- “site:crunchbase.com example” – Company profiles on Crunchbase
- “site:reddit.com example” – Discussions about the company
Most useful Google dork operators
Google supports a number of advanced search operators that are extremely useful for dorking. Some of the most powerful include:
Operator | Description |
---|---|
site: | Limits results to the given site or domain |
inurl: | Finds pages with the keyword in the URL |
intitle: | Matches pages with the term in the title tag |
intext: | Locates keywords within page content |
filetype: | Limits to specified file type – pdf, xls, ppt, etc. |
Chaining these together with keywords allows you to get very precise with searches. For example, to find Excel spreadsheets with the word “budget” on a site:
“site:example.com inurl:/spreadsheets filetype:xls intext:budget”
Other search engines for dorking
While Google is the most popular for dorking, other search engines support advanced operators as well:
- Bing – “ip:” for IP addresses, “feed:” for RSS feeds, “hasfeed:” for pages with feeds.
- DuckDuckGo – Supports many Google dork operators like “site:”, “inurl:”, “intitle:”.
- Yandex – “mime:”, “ext:”, and “fileext:” to find files by type.
Each search engine will have some unique operators, so it’s helpful to review the advanced search documentation for those you want to leverage.
Tools for dork automation
Manually searching for dorks can be tedious. To automate the process, there are various tools available:
- Google Hacking Database – Massive archive of pre-made dorks to search.
- GitHub Dorks – Finds sensitive data in GitHub code repositories.
- Dorkbot – Python tool to automate Google dorking through Tor.
- DorksEye – Multi-threaded tool that scans through dork lists quickly.
The key benefit of automation tools is that they can run hundreds or thousands of dork queries quickly and aggregate the results. This saves a huge amount of manual searching time.
Ethical considerations
While dorking can uncover obscured information, it also raises some ethical concerns:
- May gain unauthorized access to non-public info.
- Exposes sensitive data like passwords, docs, logs, etc.
- Enables social engineering and targeted attacks.
- Bypasses login access controls.
- Can violate terms of service on search engines.
Dork searchers should carefully evaluate whether it’s appropriate to access the discovered information. Just because a vulnerability or sensitive document is publicly accessible via a search doesn’t necessarily mean it’s ethical to exploit it.
Minimizing dork search risks
If leveraging dorks, it’s important to take steps to minimize risks:
- Only target your own sites/accounts or with explicit permission.
- Avoid downloading or sharing any discovered sensitive data.
- Use search engines like DuckDuckGo that don’t track queries.
- Do not attempt to bypass authorization controls.
- Check search engine terms of service and respect bans on automated dorking.
Following responsible disclosure practices is critical if discovering vulnerabilities on third party sites – notify owners before exposing any issues.
Defending against dork search abuse
On the defensive side, organizations should take measures to reduce dork search risks:
- Properly secure and permission sensitive documents.
- Don’t include confidential names/details in file names.
- Fix any discovered data exposures and misconfigurations.
- Use robots.txt to block automated dorking tools.
- Monitor web logs for suspicious dorking activity.
- Remove unnecessary metadata from documents.
With proper precautions taken, organizations can reduce their exposure to malicious actors abusing dorking techniques.
The future of dork search
Dorking will continue evolving as search engine capabilities grow more advanced. A few key trends to expect:
- More search engines adding advanced operators for precision searching.
- Automation will increase through better dorking frameworks and AI/ML.
- Shift from keywords to semantic search capabilities.
- Google may eventually restrict or monitor some abusive dorking tactics.
Overall dorks remain an extremely effective technique for gathering intelligence and uncovering obscured online content. As long as search engines allow advanced operators, dorking will be a valuable skill for security researchers and IT teams.
Conclusion
Dork search provides powerful capabilities to precision mine the vast data indexed by search engines. By mastering search operators, dorking can uncover hidden information to build intelligence on targets, find sensitive documents, discover security flaws, and more. However, it also raises ethical concerns around permission and data privacy. Dorkers should proceed with caution and avoid abusive practices that may expose information without authorization or notification. With responsible use, dorks can be safely harnessed to provide invaluable insight and data exposure awareness.