OSINT: being findableUpdated · 6 min read
The browser's OSINT toolbox
What tools does an investigator use to trace an image, an archive or an IP address?
In briefA survey of OSINT extensions, sorted by function. Knowing them is understanding what a public trace reveals.
OSINT is investigation from open sources: nothing illegal, nothing secret, just what's already online, cross-referenced with method. Most of the tools fit in a browser extension. This guide sorts them by function, for two mirror uses: running a search, and understanding what a public trace reveals about you.
A catalogue kept fresh by handTools appear, get renamed, shut down. The addresses below are given only where they've been verified; elsewhere, only the name appears, to look up yourself. A missing link beats a dead or misleading one.
The tools, by function
Seven families. None is ranked: these are entry points, not a leaderboard.
Archive and monitor a page
- Wayback Machine : recovers old versions of a page.
- Web Archives
- SingleFile : saves a whole page as a single file.
- Save Page WE
- Distill : alerts you when a page changes.
- Visualping
- Page Monitor
- Hunchly : timestamped capture for investigation.
Screenshots
- Fireshot
- GoFullPage : captures a long page in full.
- Nimbus Screenshot
Analyse an image or a video
- TinEye : reverse image search, finds where an image circulates.
- Search by Image
- RevEye
- EXIF Viewer Pro : reads a photo's hidden metadata.
- InVID WeVerify : video and fake-image verification.
- PhotOSINT
Threat intelligence
- Shodan : search engine for exposed connected devices.
- Pulsedive : enriches an IP, a domain, a URL.
- Mitaka
- Vulners Scanner : known vulnerabilities of a service.
- ThreatPinch
- Sputnik
Extract data
- Instant Data Scraper
- Data Scraper
- Simplescraper
- Link Gopher : lists every link on a page.
- Linkclump
Bulk download
- DownThemAll! : grabs every linked file on a page.
- Image Downloader
- Video Downloader
Blockchain and crypto
- MetaSuites : reads on-chain addresses and transactions.
The other end of the lensEvery tool on this list works on traces someone left behind: an image never stripped of its metadata, a reused handle, a service exposed on the internet. Read this catalogue as a list of what not to leave lying around. The anti-doxxing guide takes the problem from that side.
Now practise
Knowing which tool to pick isn't enough: reflexes are built in context. The course covers the topic as exercises.
Where do you stand?
Good tools protect what comes next. What's already circulating about you (addresses, passwords, exposed accounts) needs a different answer.