Google Blog part 4: Profiles, Cache Text-only version, Forums and Tools

In our previous blog about Google, we discussed Advanced Search and showed that we can tweak Google a little bit using URL manipulation. We will show you more about that in a moment. But first, let's talk about the use of profiles within Chrome.

Google Profiles
Of course, you can create an account with Google and login with it. Your preferences, search queries, etc. are all neatly stored within your account and your search queries are influenced by this. When you are logged into your account, you can click on Settings at the bottom right in Chrome and then adjust your search settings.
But did you know that you can also use a profile or multiple profiles without them being linked to an account? In itself, this option does not have much to do with the search engine, since it is a Chrome functionality, but we will still wanted to inform you of this option.

Data such as passwords that you use to log in or, for example, the history of your search queries, are then not simply visible via another profile. Please note: this data is stored on your computer and there are definitely tools that can make this data visible in whole or in part. Even if you have a computer that is managed by your organization, administrators may be able to access this data. Just pay attention to the warning you get when you create such a profile.
If you are sometimes bothered by people looking at your screen and then seeing previously typed data, such a profile can be a solution. For in-depth OSINT research, it may be better to use different virtual machines to be absolutely certain that data remains separate.
But now for the convenience of profiles during a presentation, for example. If all goes well, you are not logged in and you see this icon at the top: . Even if you are logged in, you can choose a different profile, with which you will not log in.

Click on this icon and then choose Add. Then choose “Continue without an account” and choose the search engine of your preference in the next screen. That is all. The next time you start Chrome, you will be given the choice which profile you want to use. In your new profile, Google will probably ask you to add the privacy feature. We leave that choice to you.
With such a new profile, you will see that previously entered URLs are no longer shown when you type something in the address bar. If you think that this is still happening, then you probably still have the suggestions turned on in your Google and/or Chrome settings. These are not your previous search queries, but Google that gives suggestions based on popular search queries. If you do not want this either, then you have to go to google.nl (or your local equivalent), but also to google.com. Then you are not there yet because you also have to turn off these suggestions in the Chrome settings.

Google Cache safe or not?
In the first part of this blog we wrote that Google is gradually phasing out the Cache functionality. A first step has been taken and the Google Cache is no longer offered by means of the well-known 3 dots at the end of a result. The Cache operator was still usable and we wrote that it is not suitable for visiting a website unseen. Unfortunately, just before this blog was to be published, it turned out that Google has now also said goodbye to the Cache: operator. Who knows, it may come back, which is why we are publishing the piece below anyway.

The Cache operator used a so-called Full version by default, where only the text was placed in the Cache and the scripts and multimedia were simply loaded live from the website itself. These actions were therefore also visible to the website administrator. But the Text-Only version was not always safe either.
Our research showed that website administrators still received logging on their website using certain techniques such as the use of I-frames, even with the Text-Only version.

To investigate this, we used Wireshark and the HTTP Headers plugin and investigated a website that uses such techniques. We saw that using the Google Cache Text-Only still resulted in Get commands on the website and that this was followed by a successful response (200) result from the website, even in the Google Text-Only version. But as said, Google Cache now seems to be a thing of the past.

Google and forums
Forums are also a great way to optimize your search. You can use the Advanced Operators inurl: and intitle: for this.

Suppose you want to search for fireworks and what is written about it in forums. You can use the following search string for this:

inurl:forum OR intitle:forum fireworks

Of course you can also create a site search for this, which will then be as follows:

https://www.google.com/search?q=inurl%3Aforum+OR+intitle%3Aforum+%s

However there is another possibility within Google. Not so long ago, Google had the Forums option in the selection bar. This was apparently not successful and has disappeared. The technique still exists and can still be used by means of URL manipulation, you use the Google parameter UDM for this, where the value 18 stands for searching within Forums.

The URL for a site search is https://www.google.nl/search?q=%s&udm=18

Click here to see the results, you will see that in the selection bar Forums is visible and that the results are different than when using inurl:forum OR intitle:forum. You will notice that you also get more English results, but Dutch results are also shown. As this article is originally written in Dutch, results come up for the Dutch word for fireworks: vuurwerk. 

Now you might think: "Hey that udm parameter is handy, can I do more with it? What other hidden possibilities are there?"
Yes, there are more possibilities, but most of them are simply accessible via the normal options. During your journey of discovery you will also discover a number of other udm values, but also that some only work in Google.com and not in Google.nl, for example. Sometimes it makes a difference whether you use Google Chrome or Firefox. It is an opaque whole, perhaps udm stands for ultra dense fog, who knows.

Two more examples, useful if you want to travel. The parameter udm=13 is "Airline options" and it expects you to enter your departure and arrival destinations. If you only enter 1 search term, you will not get any hits and you may think that this parameter does not work.

Example: https://www.google.com/search?q=amsterdam+curacao&udm=13

The flipped udm, the udm=31, is the parameter for “Sites for flights”. Here you can give in one search argument.

Example: https://www.google.nl/search?q=amsterdam&udm=31

The results are not only for flights but also for travel sites, in that respect the name that Google uses does not quite match the results.

If you have a good tip regarding udm parameters, mail us at osint@dataexpert.nl.

Google Dataset Search
Are you doing research or an investigation and are looking for data on a specific subject, Google offers the possibility to search datasets through the url: https://datasetsearch.research.google.com/

Via the help function, you get a bit more info. I quote: "What is Dataset Search? Dataset Search is a search engine for datasets. Using a simple keyword search, users can discover datasets hosted in thousands of repositories across the Web"
What you can do with it is a matter of trying it. Now you know, if you didn't already know, that the possibility exists.

Google Tools
Surely you will have noticed that Google Tools depend on the option selected in your Google selection bar. Tools within "All results" provide different options than Tools within, for example, "Images". There are also hidden options that only become visible via "Advanced search". We want to conclude this blog with Google Tools. We will give a few examples:

Searching for an image with a specific color:

If you go to Images and then Tools, you can choose images of a specific size, color and type.

For example, if you choose the color black here, you will get images that predominantly contain the color black. So you are not searching for the text "black".

Searching for the words "black" and "car" gives different results than searching within Images for "car with the color black".

Searching for images of a specific size:

By default, you only have 3 options to choose from: large, medium or icon. If you go to advanced search, you will suddenly discover many more options, from 400x300 the range of options increases to more than 70MP. Just try it out. Until recently, when using such a choice via advanced search, Google also showed in the tools that this option had been added to Size. You no longer see that, but check your results and you will see that they have been adjusted to the size you specified.

Searching for images with faces:

When you search for images, you have the following standard options: Any type, clipart, Line drawing or Gif.

Not so long ago, you could also add the type of face to it via advanced search. You still see that option in advanced search, but it doesn't seem to work well anymore. We said it before, Google is changing a lot. Is it completely impossible? Yes, with a bit of patience and trial and error you will get there. For example, search for Mercedes and then go to Images. You will see a lot of cars. Paste the parameter &tbs=itp:face at the end of the url
You will see that you will then see images of Mercedes with a view on it.

This concludes the blog. It is up to you to discover the differences in Advanced Google and play around with the various options within Google. Be creative and find out what delivers the best results for you. Make sure you check the results. Do you have any good tips, we are open to recommendations and would love to hear from you on osint@dataexpert.nl.

In the next blog we'll cover NotebookLM.

Have we piqued your interest in this topic and do you want to learn more? Check our OSINT training options here.