Back to Digital Sherlock: The Art of Info Gathering
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30 min
OSINT: Your Internet Stalking Superpowers (for Good!)
Leverage Google-fu and social media smarts to find what's hiding in plain sight.

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)

OSINT involves collecting information from publicly available sources. It's a powerful way to gather intelligence without alerting the target.

Common OSINT Sources:

  • Search Engines: Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo (using advanced search operators - Google Dorking).
  • Social Media: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
  • Company Websites: 'About Us', 'Careers', 'News' sections.
  • Public Records: Government databases, business registrations.
  • Code Repositories: GitHub, GitLab.
  • DNS Records: Whois lookups, DNSdumpster.
  • Shodan / Censys: Search engines for internet-connected devices.

Effective OSINT requires creativity and persistence.