Using Google

howto(updated )

Google Hacking reference, something I always wanted to write down for myself.

Note: This is a collection of useful Google search operators and techniques. Some of these may not work anymore as Google updates their search algorithms.

Basic Operators

  • OR - Boolean OR
  • " " - Exact match
  • + - Force inclusion of common words
  • - - Exclude a term
  • * - Wildcard

File Type Searching

filetype:pdf - Search for specific file types (pdf, doc, xls, ppt, etc.)

Example: filetype:pdf site:example.com - Find all PDFs on a specific site

site:example.com - Limit results to a specific site

site:example.com filetype:pdf - Find all PDFs on example.com

Intitle and Inurl

intitle:index of - Find open directories

inurl:admin - Find pages with “admin” in the URL

intitle:"index of" "parent directory" - Find directory listings

cache:example.com - View Google’s cached version

related:example.com - Find similar sites

Combining Operators

You can combine operators for more precise results:

  • "machine learning" site:arxiv.org filetype:pdf - PDFs about machine learning on arxiv.org
  • intitle:"index of" inurl:mp3 - Find open MP3 directories
  • site:*.gov filetype:pdf "confidential" - Find potentially sensitive government documents

Other Useful Tricks

  • define:word - Get dictionary definition
  • weather:location - Get weather forecast
  • stocks:SYMBOL - Get stock information
  • map:location - Get map results