The phrase “Google dorks” might sound misleading, but it actually refers to a clever way of refining your Google search results. Learn how Google dorking works and look up the relevant dorks in our cheat sheet to get targeted search results. What are Google dorks? Google dorks, or Google hacks, are specific search queries that you type in the Google search. In return, Google presents you with targeted search results. With Google dorks, you can search for key phrases or topics in specific websites, find specific file types, cached versions of web pages, and more. Google dorking, known as Google hacking, is a more efficient way for searching for information online. Without Google dorks, you would need to sift through numerous search results to find the same information. Security researchers and authorized staff that carry out penetration testing sometimes use Google dorking to uncover specific information or vulnerabilities on the web by crafting advanced search queries. While the Google Search Console helps website owners optimize their sites for better search visibility, Google dorking can help to identify potential security risks or sensitive information unintentionally exposed on websites. How does Google dorking work? Google dorkinging utilizes custom queries that use advanced search operators (specific symbols or words) to fetch you targeted search results. All you have to do is type in the custom Google dork query in the Google search bar. When the Google search engine crawls the web, it indexes many parts of websites, some of which may not be readily available to regular internet users. Google dorking enables you to see some of that information by using more precise search queries. Google dork examples One of the most common Google dork examples is the double quotation marks. If you put the phrase you’re searching for in double quotation marks (“common Google dorks”), the Google search engine will return results for the exact phrase instead of some combination of the individual words in the phrase. The double quotation marks are an example of the specific symbols, called special operators, used in Google dork queries. Another Google dork example is using “site:” to search for information on a particular website. For example, you can type in “site:nordvpn.com wifi” for Google to return search results from the nordvpn.com website that mention Wi-Fi. The first result will take you to our blog post on how to find your Wi-Fi password: But for Google dorking to work, you have to use Google dork operators and search parameters. Search operators and search parameters in Google dorking To better understand what special operators and search parameters are, let’s analyze the search query “site:nordvpn.com Wi-Fi”: “site:” is the special operator, restricting the search to the specific website. “nordvpn.com” is the search parameter for the “site:” operator, indicating the website to search within, so that Google doesn’t search in a random website. “wi-fi” is the search parameter, specifying the topic you are searching for in the NordVPN website. If you want to use Google dorks, you have to know the specific search operators and their functions. You can look them up online or use our Google dorking cheat sheet. {SHORTCODES.blogRelatedArticles} Google dorks cheat sheet with the most frequently used operators You can find many special operators for Google dorking online. To save you some time, here is a Google dorks cheat sheet with the most common Google dorks to use for advanced searches. We’ve divided the dorks into categories according to their functions. Scope-restricting dorks Scope-restricting dorks help you specify the target range of websites and data types. You can add additional query items to these dorks for more specificity, like in the “filetype:” example below. Keep in mind that when you want to restrict search results to an exact phrase, you have to enclose the phrase within double quotation marks.
site:
), }, { text: ‘Searches only within the specific website’, }, { text: (
site:example.com will search the example.com website
), }, { text: ‘Parentheses group terms together to control the order of operations in complex search queries’, }, { text: (
site:nordvpn.com (black OR white) hat hackers returns results from the NordVPN website containing mentions of either “black hat hackers” or “white hat hackers”
Is Google dorking safe? Google dorking is safe as long as you use it responsibly and ethically. Attempting to exploit security vulnerabilities in the configuration and code of websites without authorization is against the terms of service of most websites and might lead to legal consequences. Even though Google dorking is legal, you should apply this method responsibility and adhere to the legal guidelines of websites. Misusing Google dorks for breaching security and accessing unauthorized information is illegal. Google dorking is also called “Google hacking” for a reason — cybercriminals sometimes use Google hacking as a form of passive attack to find and exploit security vulnerabilities and access sensitive content on poorly protected websites. Hackers might carry out cyberattacks to get hold of usernames, passwords, and personally identifiable information by using advanced Google dorks. So be careful what Google dorks you use and never abuse them for accessing private information without proper authorization.
