Specialized Search Tools The vast majority of the Internet's content is contained in specialized databases which focus on a specific topic or region.  The well-known search engines (e.g. Google, Bing) can only reach content that is clickable.  Google and Bing can't see any content that requires typing.     In this section, I highlight some of these databases to illustrate how these databases can contain a wealth of data that cannot be reached by search engines such as Google.

List of OSINT Tools:

•  https://i-intelligence.eu/uploads/public-documents/OSINT_Handbook_2020.pdf   = OSINT Tools and Resources Handbook ( 500 page listing from 2000)
• https://metaosint.github.io = Directory of 4,000 OSINT resources
• https://metaosint.github.io/chart  <-- explore visually
• https://metaosint.github.io/table <--  searchable text listings
• https://bit.ly/bcattools  = Bellingcat’s online investigation toolkit (click on tabs along bottom of spreadsheet)
• https://inteltechniques.com/tools/index.html = A supplement to book: OSINT Techniques by Michael Bazzelli

You are invited to try some of these specialized resources. When you get the results from one of these sites, think if you would have been able to get the same information from Google

• old.wikimapia.org  - Set "map type" to "Google maps" ; Zoom out, re-center, zoom-in  and eventually set  "map types" to "wikimapia classic"  See also wikimapia statistics, wikimapia's help page, wikimapia's blog,
• Phone book:  Anywho to look up all your neighbors (based on street) or to do a reverse look-up. Un-listed people might still be online through local real estate tax records (e.g. Fairfax County )
• Library of Congress - Full text searching of current and past legislation.
• www.govinfo.gov/  provides advanced search capabilities of the Federal Register and other key resources.
• internet movie database - Very extensive!
• Collegenet - College Search Engine
• Live Local -   "birds eye" images of your house! 
• Google Scholar - meta-searches many academic journals.
• zillow.com - shows house prices embedded within satellite imagery   Realtor.com - Online access to over 300 MLS's Nationwide.
• Live tracking of airline flights or  large ships,
• Sex offenders registry links to all fifty states.   State of Virginia,
• Unclaimed property - links to each state to search for unclaimed bank accounts, utility deposits, etc.
• ZabaSearch - PIPL, =  people search engines
• Your Local Public library  may provide you online access to many PAY sites using your library ID card. (example: Loudoun County, Virginia)
• archive.org - try the wayback machine to see how websites used to look since 1996 (caution - this causes hits to live webserver).
• spokeo - a meta search engine for finding people
• Twitter searches:  Twitter search, gigatweeter/stream,
• Twitter example - tweets within 1km of whitehouse.
• A wiki of Social Media Monitoring Solutions -
• tineye - searches images
• SIPRI Arms transfers database -

• Kompass.com - info on 35 million companies
• Solusource - a data base of manufacturers (formerly  Thomas Register)
• Patent Search  - searches US Patents, and also links to Global Patent Search Network (Chinese patents)
• SEC's EDGAR Database for companies traded on the US Stock exchanges.

Continue exploring with this list of country-specific resources.

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