Top 12 Best Open Source Intelligence Tools (OSINT Tools) for Penetration Testing 2024

Introduction :

We all know very well that getting or gathering any information by using various tools becomes really easy.

In this article, we have discussed various OSINT tools, as if we search over the internet, then there will be many different pages to pop out.

But the most problematic thing is to gather different information from multiple pages for an appropriate target within the project.

Hence, we have accumulated each and every detail about these tools and put them all together in this post, and as a result, we will show you the 10 best OSINT tools.

Generally, OSINT tools are used by pen testers to find possible weaknesses and information in a company’s protection system that is working.

However, tools play a significant role, but without knowing the usage of tools, it would be worthless for the users to use it.

Hence, before moving toward the tools, let’s gain some knowledge about OSINT and why do we need OSINT tools.

Frequently Asked questions?

Table of Contents

Frequently Asked questions?
Top 10 Best OSINT Tools 2024
1.Social Links
2.Google Dorks
3.NexVision  
4.TheHarvester
5.Shodan
6.Hudson Rock
7.Maltego
8.Metagoofil
9.Recon-Ng
10.Check Usernames
11.TinEye
12.SpiderFoot
13.Creepy
Top 10 Best OSINT Tools 2024 Features
Conclusion
Also Read

Top 10 Best OSINT Tools 2024

• Social Links
• Google Dorks
• NexVision  
• TheHarvester
• Shodan
• Hudson Rock
• Maltego
• Metagoofil
• Recon-Ng
• Check Usernames
• TinEye
• SpiderFoot
• Creepy

Top 10 Best OSINT Tools 2024 Features

Top 10 Best OSINT Tools 2024	Features
1.Social Links	Connects platforms without any problems. Makes sharing material easier. Makes it easier to see and interact with. Takes you to certain people. Boosts the reach of networking.
2.Google Dorks	More advanced search tools. Find private information. Make results more specific. Look for weak spots. Find certain kinds of files.
3.NexVision	Methods for processing images. Object identification and object detection. Finding faces and analyzing them. Segmenting an image. Laser character recognition (OCR).
4.TheHarvester	Getting emails from search tools. Domain survey from a number of different angles. Putting together subdomains that are linked to a goal. Using public sources to gather information. Making a list of virtual sites and IPs.
5.Shodan	Look for certain services or gadgets. Look into systems that are weak or open. See device info and banners in real time. Find the services and ports that are open. Look at details from IoT devices.
6.Hudson Rock	keeping an eye out for and finding data breaches. Monitoring and information on the dark web. Analysis of threat information. Evaluation and control of vulnerabilities. Responding to and reducing incidents.
7.Maltego	Combining data from different sources. A picture of how partnerships work. Link analysis is a way to find relationships. Getting details about organizations and their connections. Using more than one info source together.
8.Metagoofil	Getting metadata out of papers. A group of papers from certain domains. Get back usernames, tracks, and other things. Support for many types of documents. Helps with mapping networks.
9.Recon-Ng	Reconnaissance framework with modular parts. Automated gathering of knowledge. A lot of API support for data sources. GUIs that run on the web and on terminals. Works with a number of data-gathering tools.
10.Check Usernames	Usernames that work on various platforms. Making sure that usernames appear on websites or social media sites. Look for accounts or names that are linked. Analysis of how consistent usernames are across systems. List of usernames that can be used for new accounts.
11.TinEye	Ability to search for images backwards. Finds where pictures on the web come from. Finds versions that have been changed or updated. Finds pictures that are similar or connected. Uses uploaded or URL-based pictures for searches.
12.SpiderFoot	Automated gathering of OSINT info. Looks at many sources of info. Discovers how things are connected. Gets data about names, IP addresses, and other things. Looks for possible security holes.
13.Creepy	Gets location information from social media sites. Gets metadata from pictures that are shared with the public. Shows facts based on your location. Maps the positions of photos on a screen. Using pictures, it keeps track of where users go.

1. Social Links

Social Links is an AI-powered software development firm that builds solutions to mine public data sources including social media, messengers, blockchains, and the Dark Web for insights.

The company’s main product, SL Professional, helps investigators and data security experts get more done in less time.

With SL Professional, you get access to a set of search methods that have been specifically developed to cover over 500 open sources.

Users can apply a variety of complex filters to the data being collected using the product’s advanced search queries, many of which are based on machine learning.

Social Links OSINT solutions, on the other hand, do more than merely collect data; they also provide sophisticated analysis capabilities that may be used to refine data as investigations continue, yielding more precise results and painting a clearer picture of the situation.

Product Features

• A professional set of over 1,000 search methods for over 500 open data sources, including the Dark Web, social networks, messaging applications, and all major data source sites.
• Advanced robotic features that rapidly and effectively gather a variety of information using machine learning
• Data can be customized and expanded with customized research tools.
• Easily integrated into any IT system

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Connectivity and Communication	Privacy Concerns
Information Sharing	Online Harassment and Bullying
Networking and Professional Opportunities	Information Overload and Fake News
Creativity and Expression

Social Links – Trial / Demo

2. Google Dorks

Google is the most popular search engine in the world, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. We all use Google to find the information we desire, even if the internet giant isn’t an open-source tool.

We rely on search engines since they not only record significant information but also supply us with crucial data.

Additionally, Google Dorks (also known as Google Hacking) provides a user-friendly and adaptable method of searching for information with the application of certain operators.

Everything from social media posts and advertisements to websites and photographs are part of the search engine’s output. It would be easy for the search engine providers to improve and make more accessible the information on data security.

OSINT Tools Features

As we know that Google uses operators to find information, and here are some operators that we have mentioned below:-

• Most of the time, this function is used to search for the title.
• When you use this operator, you can look for a certain file name.
• Inurl: It just helps us find certain words that are in the URL.
• When you use this function, “filetype,” you can be sure that it will help you find the file.
• Intext: This feature helps us find a certain piece of text on a certain page.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Advanced Search Capabilities	Privacy and Security Risks
Information Gathering	Ethical Concerns
Website Vulnerability Assessment	Legal Implications
Competitive Intelligence	Inaccurate or Outdated Results

Google Dorks – Trial / Demo

3. NexVision

One OSINT application that uses AI to automate data collecting and processing is NexVision.

Its purpose is to drive decision-making.

Among the open source intelligence (OSINT) tools utilized by researchers, governments, and businesses, it is the most thorough.

In contrast to other open source intelligence (OSINT) tools, NexVision offers the biggest OSINT data pool (surface and dark web, social media data lake) and employs artificial intelligence (AI) to eliminate false positives, ensuring that users receive the most accurate intelligence.
Objective

Enable teams across the enterprise, including those responsible for security operations, compliance, incident response, fraud prevention, risk analysis, and threat monitoring, to make faster and more accurate judgments by providing them with accurate, timely, and actionable intelligence.

OSINT Tools Features 

• AI/ML-powered engine that constantly gathers, analyzes, and sorts large amounts of data from public sources and the deep web
• Give people real-time access to the whole web, including the “dark web” (where crimes happen) and the “clear web,” all without having to use a browser like Tor to hide their identity.
• Adding a lot more info while getting rid of false positives
• Support for multiple languages

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Advanced image processing.	Accurate findings require high-quality data.
Possible use in healthcare, automobile, and surveillance.	Compatibility issues with particular hardware and applications.
Novel object detection, picture analysis, and machine vision algorithms.
Customized business solutions.

NexVision – Trial / Demo

4. TheHarvester

Among the many public search engines and PGP key servers, the Harvester stands out as an excellent tool for locating emails, user names, hostnames, and domain-related data.

This tool, which is part of the larger Kali Linux Tools, is great for gathering information used in the first stages of a penetration test.

Designed with the advanced penetration tester in mind, this tool is simple to use, manages its resources well, and produces reliable results.

Google for email addresses and subdomains, PGP server for user accounts and hostnames, and a plethora of other sources are all accessible via it.

Features

• Search engines, PGP key servers, and large social networking sites can help the Harvester find target domain email addresses.
• The tool finds target address-linked subdomains.
• Google, Bing, and Baidu can help the Harvester identify relevant information.
• Shodan searches for internet-connected devices.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Information Gathering	Reliance on Publicly Available Information
Customizable Sources	Incomplete or Outdated Data
Email Address Discovery	Legal and Ethical Considerations
Subdomain Enumeratio	Lack of Advanced Analysis

TheHarvester – Trial / Demo

5. Shodan

If you want to know what assets are out there, hackers typically use Shodan, a strong search engine.

If you ask security experts, it will give you answers that make more sense.

Accessible from a variety of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, including computers, laptops, traffic signals, webcams, and more, it mostly stores data related to assets that are being linked to the network.

With this program, a security analyst may easily identify the target and check it for a wide range of vulnerabilities, services, passwords, ports, and more.

Additionally, it offers versatility in community searches.

Features

• Shodan scrapes and stores internet data to help consumers find devices and services.
• It finds open ports and their services by port searching.
• This vulnerability detection scans internet-connected devices for security flaws.
• It gathers advertising and data from services and devices.
• Banners commonly display software version numbers and other identifiers.
• This helps identify machines running particular software.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Device Discovery	Privacy Concerns
Vulnerability Assessment	Legal and Ethical Considerations
Search Filters and Queries	Incomplete or Outdated Information
Exploit Detection	Limited Visibility

Shodan – Trial / Demo

6. Hudson Rock

Hudson Rock’s formidable cybercrime threat intelligence stream, crafted using knowledge honed at the esteemed 8200 cyber unit of the IDF, supplies priceless information for assessing supply chain risk, protecting end-users, and securing infrastructure.

Notifications are sent to SOC teams regarding employees, customers, partners, and third parties whose systems were infiltrated by worldwide malware spreading campaigns through Cavalier, a platform and API developed by Hudson Rock for threat intelligence experts.

Cavalier empowers enterprises to fight ransomware and other cyberattacks with highly sensitive and actionable intelligence gathered from threat actors in exclusive hacking circles.

Their database has information on millions of compromised devices.

‘Bayonet’ is another fantastic sales prospecting tool that Hudson Rock provides to cybersecurity sales teams.

At HudsonRock, you can get a free trial of Cavalier & Bayonet and a taste of their powerful cybercrime API.

Features

• Hudson Rock may have services that monitor the dark web for stolen passwords, leaking data, and cyber threat talks.
• Hudson Rock may monitor and detect customer data breaches.
• Threat intelligence services from Hudson Rock may provide businesses with real-time information on emerging threats, hacking groups, security flaws, and other security issues.
• Hudson Rock may analyze a business’s network, systems, and apps for vulnerabilities.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Focus on user privacy and data security using encryption and other safeguards.	It may lack advanced features and integrations compared to popular email providers.
Does not track user behavior or display adverts, making email more private.	Being new, it may have fewer users than established email providers.
Allows users to manage and delete personal data.
Email privacy is enhanced with end-to-end encryption.

Hudson Rock – Trial / Demo

7. Maltego

Kali Linux includes it, which Paterva developed.

With the help of some built-in transforms, this open-source intelligence tool primarily conducts vital investigations against diverse targets.

You need to sign up for the Paterva site before you can use Maltego. Once you’re registered, you can build any machine you want or just run it to receive the target.

Java is the language of choice for most of Maltego’s applications, and Kali Linux has this language pre-packaged.

In addition to generating graphical results of the goal, Maltego has other built-in processes that make it easy to gather information from various sources based on the result.

Features

• Maltego users may create visual graphs of persons, corporations, websites, IP addresses, and more.
• Maltego can access public databases, social media, DNS information, online services, and more.
• Maltego lets you identify connections and similarities by automatically linking data.
• Maltego allows people collaborate by sharing graphs and data.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Comprehensive Data Gathering	Resource Requirements
Graphical Link Analysis	Data Source Limitations
Extensive Transform and Integration Options	Licensing and Pricing
Customization and Flexibility

Maltego – Trial / Demo

8. Metagoofil

For the most part, Metagoofil is employed to extract metadata from publicly available documents belonging to the targeted company or organization.

Record searching, metadata extraction, result reporting, and local downloading are just a few of the many functions offered by this program.

Upon completion, a report is generated that includes login credentials, software versions, and the names of servers or individual machines.

This information will be useful for penetration testers throughout the data collection phase.

Features

• Metagoofil can read PDFs, Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), and other formats.
• It helps identify articles’ origins.
• It learns about a person or group via document metadata.
• It can access online files on its PC.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Metadata Extraction	Limited Document Types
Bulk Processing	Dependency on Metadata
Customizable Output	Lack of Advanced Analysis
Document Source Analysis	Legal and Ethical Considerations

Metagoofil – Trial / Demo

9. Recon-Ng

Not only is Recon-Ng one of the greatest OSINT Tools on the list, but it is also pre-installed in Kali Linux, making it ideal for target surveillance.

Not only does Recon-ng’s approach connect to Metasploit, but it also offers multiple built-in modules, which is one of its most significant features.

Users familiar with Metasploit will understand the full potential of its modular tools.

Workspaces are typically created with the express purpose of performing operations inside them; adding a domain to one is a prerequisite to using a modular tool.

If you want to discover more domains related to your first target domain, you may utilize some fantastic modules like bing-domain-web and google-site-web.

Search engines will continue to index these domains as a result.

Features

• Recon-ng can access search engines, social media, DNS information, web services, APIs, and more.
• It provides several ready-made modules for various data collection tasks because it is modular.
• It supports active reconnaissance, which probes target systems for information.
• Users can use existing tools and services in Recon-ng by connecting external tools and data sources.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Modular Architecture	Legal and Ethical Considerations
Extensive Range of Modules	Data Source Limitations
API Support	Technical Expertise Required
Powerful Query Language

Recon-Ng – Trial / Demo

10. Check Usernames

How tedious and time-consuming it is to manually search for a username’s presence in the absence of an open-source intelligence tool is something we covered earlier.

Accordingly, Check Usernames is a top tool for quickly retrieving any information pertaining to usernames.

It scans more than 150 websites for a single username at a time, and it also has a great function that lets you see if your target is on a specific page, allowing you to counter or attack them right away.

Features

• Search for and check to see if a username is available on different systems.
• Notification or alert when the username you want becomes available.
• Thoughts on other possible usernames.
• Making sure that your brand or personal identity is consistent across all channels.
• Some tools may have extra security features, such as checking the strength of your passwords or keeping an eye out for breaches that involve usernames.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Checks username availability on social media and web platforms quickly.	Not enough information in real time.
Reduces platform checks by consolidating searches.	Platform privacy choices put limits on what can be done.
Shows alternate usernames if the desired one is taken.
Helps businesses and individuals brand consistently across platforms.

Check Usernames – Trial / Demo

11. TinEye

If you want to know where an image came from or what it has been used for, all you have to do is upload the right photo to TinEye, the first reverse image search engine.

To accomplish its goals, it doesn’t rely on keyword matching but rather on a number of alternative methods, such as image matching, signature matching, watermark identification, and a number of databases.

Instead of using keywords or metadata, TinEye uses picture identification technology, neural networks, machine learning, and pattern recognition.

To sum up, it is undeniably one of the greatest tools available online for reverse image search if you are looking for something similar.

Features

• TinEye’s backward picture search is its finest feature.
• It searches its index for related photos. Upload or provide an image URL.
• It compares images based on colors, shapes, textures, and patterns using advanced image recognition algorithms.
• This software works in various languages, so users may find photographs linked to certain languages or places.
• Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and more browsers have TinEye plugins.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Image Discovery	Limited Image Coverage
Extensive Image Index	Reliance on Metadata
User-Friendly Interface	Inability to Search Private or Restricted Content
Additional Search Parameters	Language and Cultural Limitations

TinEye – Trial / Demo

12. SpiderFoot

This open-source program is part of the OSINT Tools collection on GitHub and is compatible with both Windows and Linux, two of the most popular operating systems.

It is compatible with any virtual platform and was developed in Python.

It has the ability to automatically access information on emails, IP addresses, names, domain names, etc. by asking queries to more than one hundred OSINT professionals.

A strong command-line interface is combined with an easy-to-use and interactive graphical user interface.

A web server, netblocks, emails, and a plethora of other target-related data are among the many things it receives and stores.

Spiderfoot just gathers data by learning how things are connected, so you can tailor it to your needs and requirements.

Data breaches, vulnerabilities, and other pertinent information on potential hacking threats are also clearly disclosed.

Because of this new understanding, we can make better use of the penetration test and enhance our threat intelligence to alert us before an attack or theft occurs.

Features

• SpiderFoot’s modular design lets customers customize and add functions.
• SpiderFoot can access search engines, social media, DNS records, WHOIS data, IP tracking databases, threat intelligence feeds, public databases, and more.
• SpiderFoot automates data retrieval by searching APIs and data sources.
• SpiderFoot may examine relationships between social media accounts, domain names, IP addresses, and email addresses.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Comprehensive Data Gathering	Legal and Ethical Considerations
Automation and Efficiency	False Positives and False Negatives
Customization and Flexibility	Technical Expertise Required

SpiderFoot – Trial / Demo

13. Creepy

It is an open-source geolocation intelligence program that collects geolocation data from various social media sites and other picture hosting services that have already been released.

Two main tabs, “Targets” and “Map view,” are typically present in Creepy.

In essence, it uses the current date and precise location as search filters to display the descriptions on the map.

Plus, you may also get these reports in CSV or KML format if you choose.

Additionally, it is Python-based and includes a binary package for Windows, Linux (including Ubuntu, Debian, and Backtrack), and other operating systems.

Features

• The main thing that creepy does is collect geolocation info from social media sites.
• Creepy has a visual tool that shows the geolocation data it has collected on a map.
• Creepy lets users keep an eye on certain users across multiple social media sites and see where they are at all times.
• Creepy has a tool called “timeline” that lets users look at the geolocation data it has collected over time.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Geolocation Information	Privacy Concerns
Social Media Mapping	Accuracy and Reliability
Customizable Search Parameters	Limited Coverage
Extensibility

Creepy– Trial / Demo

Conclusion

In this article, we tried to cover all the information on OSINT tools, including OSINT techniques, and what they need, and we have also discussed the top 10 best OSINT tools of 2023 as well.

Though the list can go on, the fact is that it depends on the selection of the right tool and proper techniques.

Hence the above tools are free to use so that users can easily use them and can check which is more suitable for them.

So, what do you think about this? Simply share all your views and thoughts in the comment section below.

And if you liked this post, then do not forget to share this post with your friends and on your social profiles too.

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