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We all know very well that today, in the 21st century, you can find almost any information you are interested in. Today we will tell you about the 10 best tools that will help you do this.
In today's article, we will tell you about the ten best tools that will help you do this.
I would like to note that most often these tools are used by pentesters or hackers to find possible weak points in the information security system.
And yes, the most difficult thing in this matter is not to find, but to correctly structure the information collected from many different available sources.
Especially for you, my team and I have tested many programs again, studied the characteristics and options, filtered out the unnecessary and presented you with the top 10 best OSINT tools.
But before we proceed directly to the review, we would like to clarify for beginners and remind you what OSINT is and why any tools are needed at all.
What is OSINT (Open Source Intelligence)?
OSINT stands for open source intelligence. This way you can get up-to-date information about companies, organizations and individuals. As a rule, OSINT methods are created on the basis of publicly available information that is collected, used and distributed with the voluntary consent of people and companies.
The Internet is a huge source of data, and as such, it has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage, for example, is that everyone has free access to the Internet and can use it as long as it is not limited by an organization or law. The disadvantages are also obvious: any attacker can use your data.
Why do we need OSINT tools?
Let's say you need to find out something on the Internet. You have two options:
Well, let's move on to our TOP?
1. Google Dorks
People often think of Google as just a search engine used to find text, images, videos, and news. However, it plays a very important role in the world of information technology. Google can also be used as a very useful hacking tool.
Of course, you cannot hack websites directly using Google. But, its huge web crawling capabilities can be of great help in indexing almost anything on any website that contains sensitive information. This could be usernames, passwords, and a lot of other interesting information that you don’t even know about.
The search engine does not just kindly provide us with information upon request. It records what it finds, and you can access all the records if you want.
Google Dorks implements a flexible and easy way to search for information by using certain operators. This method is also known as Google Hacking. Here are some of the operators that Google uses:
The search results are social media posts, ads, websites, images, etc. Search engine operators can easily make the information much closer and more accessible.
2. The Harvester
TheHarvester is a great tool for finding email addresses, usernames, hosts, and domain-related information. The information is taken from various public search engines and PGP key servers.
The tool is a part of the Kali Linux operating system and is very attractive for collecting intelligence information. Ideal for the initial stages of testing/hacking data protection systems.
The Harvester is efficient and easy to operate.
3. Shodan
Shodan is a powerful and efficient search engine.[/B] It is usually used by hackers to view all open resources.
Shodan operates on data from devices and gadgets that are currently connected to the network, and this tool can be accessed from computers, laptops, webcams, and various IoT devices.
Essentially, this tool helps a hacker recognize a target and check it for several vulnerabilities..
Shodan is extremely user-friendly and flexible.
4. Maltego
Maltego is a brainchild of Paterva, which is part of the Kali Linux operating system.[/B] This tool is mainly used by hackers to research targets for information vulnerability.
To use Maltego, you first need to register on the Paterva website. Then you can set up a search engine, or just run it as is to search for the desired target.
Maltego initially has several steps for collecting information from various sources. It gives comprehensive results and displays them in a convenient graphical representation.
5. Metagoofil
Metagoofil can be said to be a tool for collecting information. This program is usually used to obtain metadata from public documents of a particular company or organization.
This tool offers a lot of features like searching and extracting metadata and generating a report of the results.
Once it gets the result, it creates a report with usernames, software versions, and server or specific machine names that will be useful for hackers during the information gathering phase.
6. Recon-Ng
Recon-Ng is another search program built into Kali Linux. It is one of the best OSINT tools of its kind and is ideal for surveillance of a target.
Recon-ng has several built-in modules, which is one of its most powerful features. Also, the program’s methodology is related to the Metasploit project. Those of you who have used Metasploit before definitely know the power of modular tools.
There are some great modules like bing-domain-web and google-site-web. These are used to find additional domains related to the target one. The search result of these domains will remain in the search engines as recorded domains.
7. Check Usernames
As mentioned earlier, finding a username without an OSINT tool is a long and difficult task. So, if you want to get any information about usernames without spending much, then Check Usernames is an ideal solution.
It simply searches for a specific username across over 150 websites at once.
8. TinEye
TinEye is the first reverse image search engine.[/B] All you have to do is submit a picture to TinEye and you will have all the information you need: such as where the picture came from, how it was used, and by whom.
It uses a variety of methods to accomplish its tasks. These include image matching, signature matching, identifying watermarks, and various other data – all to work with pictures, not keywords.
TinEye does not use metadata at all. The program uses neural networks, machine learning, pattern recognition and image identification technologies.
In short, if you are looking for a tool for reverse image search - take TinEye.
9. SpiderFoot[/B]
This is another tool available for both well-known operating systems - Linux and Windows. It was written in Python and works on any virtual platform. A must-have for any intelligence officer, which is used to search for emails, IP addresses, personal and domain names, etc.
The program combines a simple and interactive graphical interface with a powerful command line interface. SpiderFoot receives and collects a wide range of information about the target.
The service does not just collect data, but also studies how it is related to each other. You only need to choose a target according to your needs and requirements.
Moreover, it searches for information on data leaks, vulnerabilities and other useful places. For example, if you punch an email address and it is contained in some password leak - you will know about it.
10. Creepy
This is a geolocation reconnaissance tool.
Creepy collects geolocation information using social networks and various image hosting services that were previously distributed elsewhere.
The Creepy interface consists mainly of two main tabs: Targets and Map View. Basically, it shows the targets on the map by applying a search filter based on the exact location and date.
All these reports are available in CSV or KML format. The program is written in python and comes with packaged binaries for Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, Debian, Backtrack, and also for Microsoft Windows.
Conclusion
In this article, we tried to cover all the basic information regarding the tools used in OSINT. Separately, we note that all the above tools are free.
In today's article, we will tell you about the ten best tools that will help you do this.
I would like to note that most often these tools are used by pentesters or hackers to find possible weak points in the information security system.
And yes, the most difficult thing in this matter is not to find, but to correctly structure the information collected from many different available sources.
Especially for you, my team and I have tested many programs again, studied the characteristics and options, filtered out the unnecessary and presented you with the top 10 best OSINT tools.
But before we proceed directly to the review, we would like to clarify for beginners and remind you what OSINT is and why any tools are needed at all.
What is OSINT (Open Source Intelligence)?
OSINT stands for open source intelligence. This way you can get up-to-date information about companies, organizations and individuals. As a rule, OSINT methods are created on the basis of publicly available information that is collected, used and distributed with the voluntary consent of people and companies.
The Internet is a huge source of data, and as such, it has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage, for example, is that everyone has free access to the Internet and can use it as long as it is not limited by an organization or law. The disadvantages are also obvious: any attacker can use your data.
Why do we need OSINT tools?
Let's say you need to find out something on the Internet. You have two options:
- The first is to independently collect all the relevant information and analyze it. This is long, tedious and labor-intensive.
- The second option is to use tools: they are directly linked to many websites and take just a few seconds to check whether the information you need is present or not.
Well, let's move on to our TOP?
1. Google Dorks
People often think of Google as just a search engine used to find text, images, videos, and news. However, it plays a very important role in the world of information technology. Google can also be used as a very useful hacking tool.
Of course, you cannot hack websites directly using Google. But, its huge web crawling capabilities can be of great help in indexing almost anything on any website that contains sensitive information. This could be usernames, passwords, and a lot of other interesting information that you don’t even know about.
The search engine does not just kindly provide us with information upon request. It records what it finds, and you can access all the records if you want.
Google Dorks implements a flexible and easy way to search for information by using certain operators. This method is also known as Google Hacking. Here are some of the operators that Google uses:
- Intitle - used to search by title.
- Ext - used to search for a specific file extension.
- Inurl - simply helps us to find a specific string specified in the URL.
- Intext - helps you find specific text on a specific page.
The search results are social media posts, ads, websites, images, etc. Search engine operators can easily make the information much closer and more accessible.
2. The Harvester
TheHarvester is a great tool for finding email addresses, usernames, hosts, and domain-related information. The information is taken from various public search engines and PGP key servers.
The tool is a part of the Kali Linux operating system and is very attractive for collecting intelligence information. Ideal for the initial stages of testing/hacking data protection systems.
The Harvester is efficient and easy to operate.
3. Shodan
Shodan is a powerful and efficient search engine.[/B] It is usually used by hackers to view all open resources.
Shodan operates on data from devices and gadgets that are currently connected to the network, and this tool can be accessed from computers, laptops, webcams, and various IoT devices.
Essentially, this tool helps a hacker recognize a target and check it for several vulnerabilities..
Shodan is extremely user-friendly and flexible.
4. Maltego
Maltego is a brainchild of Paterva, which is part of the Kali Linux operating system.[/B] This tool is mainly used by hackers to research targets for information vulnerability.
To use Maltego, you first need to register on the Paterva website. Then you can set up a search engine, or just run it as is to search for the desired target.
Maltego initially has several steps for collecting information from various sources. It gives comprehensive results and displays them in a convenient graphical representation.
5. Metagoofil
Metagoofil can be said to be a tool for collecting information. This program is usually used to obtain metadata from public documents of a particular company or organization.
This tool offers a lot of features like searching and extracting metadata and generating a report of the results.
Once it gets the result, it creates a report with usernames, software versions, and server or specific machine names that will be useful for hackers during the information gathering phase.
6. Recon-Ng
Recon-Ng is another search program built into Kali Linux. It is one of the best OSINT tools of its kind and is ideal for surveillance of a target.
Recon-ng has several built-in modules, which is one of its most powerful features. Also, the program’s methodology is related to the Metasploit project. Those of you who have used Metasploit before definitely know the power of modular tools.
There are some great modules like bing-domain-web and google-site-web. These are used to find additional domains related to the target one. The search result of these domains will remain in the search engines as recorded domains.
7. Check Usernames
As mentioned earlier, finding a username without an OSINT tool is a long and difficult task. So, if you want to get any information about usernames without spending much, then Check Usernames is an ideal solution.
It simply searches for a specific username across over 150 websites at once.
8. TinEye
TinEye is the first reverse image search engine.[/B] All you have to do is submit a picture to TinEye and you will have all the information you need: such as where the picture came from, how it was used, and by whom.
It uses a variety of methods to accomplish its tasks. These include image matching, signature matching, identifying watermarks, and various other data – all to work with pictures, not keywords.
TinEye does not use metadata at all. The program uses neural networks, machine learning, pattern recognition and image identification technologies.
In short, if you are looking for a tool for reverse image search - take TinEye.
9. SpiderFoot[/B]
This is another tool available for both well-known operating systems - Linux and Windows. It was written in Python and works on any virtual platform. A must-have for any intelligence officer, which is used to search for emails, IP addresses, personal and domain names, etc.
The program combines a simple and interactive graphical interface with a powerful command line interface. SpiderFoot receives and collects a wide range of information about the target.
The service does not just collect data, but also studies how it is related to each other. You only need to choose a target according to your needs and requirements.
Moreover, it searches for information on data leaks, vulnerabilities and other useful places. For example, if you punch an email address and it is contained in some password leak - you will know about it.
10. Creepy
This is a geolocation reconnaissance tool.
Creepy collects geolocation information using social networks and various image hosting services that were previously distributed elsewhere.
The Creepy interface consists mainly of two main tabs: Targets and Map View. Basically, it shows the targets on the map by applying a search filter based on the exact location and date.
All these reports are available in CSV or KML format. The program is written in python and comes with packaged binaries for Linux distributions such as Ubuntu, Debian, Backtrack, and also for Microsoft Windows.
Conclusion
In this article, we tried to cover all the basic information regarding the tools used in OSINT. Separately, we note that all the above tools are free.
