Google hacking involves using advanced operators in the Google search engine to locate specific strings of text within search results. Some of the more popular examples are finding specific versions of vulnerable Web applications. The following search query would locate all web pages that have that particular text contained within them. It is normal for default installations of applications to include their running version in every page they serve, for example, "Powered by XOOPS 2.2.3 Final".
The following search query will locate all websites that have the words "admbook" and "version" in the title of the website. It also checks to ensure that the web page being accessed is a PHP file.
intitle:admbook intitle:Fversion filetype:php
One can even retrieve the username and password list from Microsoft FrontPage servers by inputting the given microscript in Google search field:
"#-Frontpage-" inurl:administrators.pwd
or filetype:log inurl password login
Devices connected to the Internet can be found. A search string such as inurl:"ViewerFrame?Mode=" will find public web cameras.
Another useful search is following intitle:index.of followed by a search keyword. This can give a list of files on the servers. For example, intitle:index.of mp3 will give all the MP3 files available on various servers.
Advanced operators
There are many similar advanced operators which can be used to exploit insecure websites:
| Operator | Purpose | Mixes with Other Operators? | Can be used Alone? | Web | Images | Groups | News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| intitle | Search page Title | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| allintitle | Search page title | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| inurl | Search URL | yes | yes | yes | yes | not really | like intitle |
| allinurl | Search URL | no | yes | yes | yes | yes | like intitle |
| filetype | specific files | yes | no | yes | yes | no | not really |
| allintext | Search text of page only | not really | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| site | Search specific site | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | not really |
| link | Search for links to pages | no | yes | yes | no | no | not really |
| inanchor | Search link anchor text | yes | yes | yes | yes | not really | yes |
| numrange | Locate number | yes | yes | yes | no | no | not really |
| daterange | Search in data range | yes | no | yes | not really | not really | not really |
| author | Group author search | yes | yes | no | no | yes | not really |
| group | Group name search | not really | yes | no | no | yes | not really |
| insubject | Group subject search | yes | yes | like intitle | like intitle | yes | like intitle |
| msgid | Group msgid search | no | yes | not really | not really | yes | not really |
