Nice — let’s make Google do the heavy lifting. Google dorking just means using Google’s search operators (little keywords and symbols) to sharpen results so you find files and pages fast. Below is a compact, practical guide with easy examples you can copy & paste.

Quick cheat-sheet (most useful operators)

• site: — restrict results to a domain or site.
  Example: site:edu
• filetype: — only show files of a given type (pdf, docx, xlsx, pptx, etc.).
  Example: filetype:pdf
• " (quotes) — match the exact phrase.
  Example: "annual report 2024"
• - (minus) — exclude a term.
  Example: -draft
• OR — either/or between terms (must be uppercase).
  Example: syllabus OR schedule
• intitle: — term appears in the page title.
  Example: intitle:"exam solutions"
• inurl: — term appears in the URL.
  Example: inurl:login
• intext: — term appears in the page body.
  Example: intext:"installation steps"
• * — wildcard placeholder for an unknown word (use sparingly).
  Example: "best * software"
• .. — numeric range.
  Example: camera $100..$300

Easy examples to find files fast

1. Find PDFs on a university site site:mit.edu filetype:pdf "syllabus" — returns PDF syllabi hosted on mit.edu.
2. Look for a PowerPoint on climate change from government websites site:gov filetype:pptx "climate change" — shows .pptx files on government domains.
3. Find spreadsheets with budgets on a nonprofit site but exclude drafts site:example.org filetype:xlsx budget -draft — finds .xlsx budget spreadsheets on example.org, excluding pages with “draft”.
4. Search many domains at once (educational & government) (site:edu OR site:gov) filetype:pdf "annual report" — parentheses + OR to combine site filters.
5. Search within URLs (good for login pages or admin pages) inurl:admin site:example.com — pages on example.com whose URL contains “admin”.
6. Find pages whose title contains “user guide” intitle:"user guide"
7. Target internal file names (useful for common report names) filetype:pdf "financial statement" site:acme.com
8. Narrow by exact phrase and type "employee handbook" filetype:pdf

Combining operators — powerful, practical patterns

• Specific file on a site site:nytimes.com filetype:pdf "2024"
• Find resumes on public domains (example for recruiters) site:linkedin.com intitle:resume filetype:pdf "Java developer" (Always respect site terms & privacy — see legal/ethical note below.)
• Exclude common junk site:example.com filetype:pdf "manual" -sample -template
• Search for configuration or code files (when allowed) filetype:conf intext:"password" -example (Be careful — searching for sensitive info may be unethical or illegal.)

Speed tips & small tricks

• Use quotes for exact phrases; omit them for broader matches.
• Combine site: + filetype: to narrow to a single domain and file type — that’s the fastest way to target docs.
• Use browser search tools (Tools → Any time) to limit by date if you want recent files.
• Parentheses help group OR clauses: (site:edu OR site:gov) filetype:pdf "report".
• If Google returns too few results, try removing site: or the quotes to broaden the search.

What Google doesn’t always support / watchouts

• Some advanced operators are deprecated or behave inconsistently; the safe core ones above (site:, filetype:, quotes, minus, OR, intitle:, inurl:) are reliable.
• Some sites block indexing or restrict file access; you won’t see files that aren’t publicly indexed.
• Google won’t show files behind authentication — only publicly accessible content.

Legal & ethical note (important)

Using these operators to discover sensitive, private, or protected information (passwords, confidential documents, unprotected internal systems) can be unethical and illegal. Use dorking only on public resources where you have the right to access the files (research, public data, your organization’s site, etc.). Never use these techniques to bypass security or access private data.

A little starter checklist you can copy/paste

• Find public PDFs on government sites: site:gov filetype:pdf "annual report"
• Find slide decks from conferences: "keynote" filetype:pptx site:edu
• Find manuals on a vendor site: site:vendor.com filetype:pdf "user manual"