OverviewStart here2 min
Footprinting and Reconnaissance
Collect public information about a target without touching it.
About this module
Every attack starts with footprinting: quietly collecting public facts about a target before touching it. You'll learn where attackers find those facts (Google, social media, WHOIS, DNS, email, the network path) and how defenders shrink what can be found. Module 3 (Scanning) uses everything you collect here.
What you will learn
- Passive vs active reconnaissance
- OSINT and social media recon
- Google dorks and the GHDB
- Shodan, websites and the dark web
- WHOIS, DNS records and zone transfers
- Traceroute, email headers and countermeasures
Module roadmap
01Footprinting BasicsLesson 1 · ~5 min
02OSINT & Social Media ReconLesson 2 · ~4 min
03Search Engine FootprintingLesson 3 · ~5 min
04Web Services, Websites & the Dark WebLesson 4 · ~4 min
05WHOIS & DNS FootprintingLesson 5 · ~5 min
06Network FootprintingLesson 6 · ~4 min
07Email Footprinting & Social EngineeringLesson 7 · ~4 min
08Footprinting CountermeasuresLesson 8 · ~4 min
09Lab: Passive Recon ToolkitLab · ~45 min
10AssessmentAssessment · ~5 min
How to study: read a lesson → answer its 2 "Check yourself" questions → do the lab → pass the assessment with 80%+. Lessons 1, 3 and 5 are the most tested. You'll reuse the Kali VM from Module 1.