bellingcat-websites

name	bellingcat-websites
description	Investigate domains, websites, IP addresses, and web infrastructure. WHOIS lookups, DNS history, IP geolocation, content archiving, and technology fingerprinting. Use when the user mentions a domain name, URL, IP address, website, or web infrastructure, even if they don't mention "OSINT."
compatibility	Requires internet access to fetch tool detail pages from bellingcat.gitbook.io

Bellingcat Website Investigation Tools

Tools for investigating domains, websites, and web infrastructure. Covers registration data, DNS records, IP geolocation, content archiving, and technology profiling.

Choosing Tools

• Use registration and DNS tools for ownership or infrastructure questions, archives for historical content, and scanners for observed web behavior.
• Separate current observations from historical records and corroborate links between domains before attributing ownership.

Tools

Tool	Best for	Cost	Description	Guide
Distill.io	A website change monitoring tool that allows users to track changes on web pages.	Partially Free	Distill.io is a website change monitoring tool that allows users to track changes on web pages.	Details
DNS History	Collection of historical DNS information.	Free	Collection of historical DNS information.
Domain Research Suite	Tools to obtain registration and ownership data for domain names, along with historica...	Paid	Domain Research Suite provides tools to obtain registration and ownership data for domain names, along with historica...	Details
DomainTools Whois Lookup	DomainTools Whois provides detailed domain name registration information, and can be used…	Partially Free	DomainTools Whois provides detailed domain name registration information, and can be used to investigate details abou...	Details
Geo Data Tool	IP geolocation service to identify the location and other technical information associated…	Free	IP geolocation service to identify the location and other technical information associated to IP addresses.	Details
Grep.app	Grep.app is a free web-based search engine that allows users to search the contents of…	Free	grep.app is a free web-based search engine that allows users to search the contents of public GitHub repositories.	Details
ICANN Lookup	This tool allows you to search for the current registration data of internet domains.	Free	This tool allows you to search for the current registration data of internet domains.	Details
IDN Checker	Detects visually similar versions of a domain.	Free	IDN Checker detects visually similar versions of a domain.	Details
Intelx.io	Find user details in data breaches	Partially Free	Find user details in data breaches	Details
Wayback Machine	The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine lets users view and archive web pages, aiding in…	Free	The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine lets users view and archive web pages, aiding in historical research and digit...	Details
Moz Link Explorer	Analyse the links of any website.	Free	Analyse the links of any website.
PublicWWW	A source code search engine that allows you to search for any alphanumeric snippet,…	Partially Free	PublicWWW is a source code search engine that allows you to search for any alphanumeric snippet, signature, or keywor...	Details
Shodan	A search engine for internet-connected devices, from webcams to databases.	Partially Free	A search engine for internet-connected devices, from webcams to databases.	Details
The Information Laundromat	A tool for analyzing content replication and site architecture to detect information…	Free	A tool for analyzing content replication and site architecture to detect information laundering.	Details
Urlscan.io	Urlscan.io is an online tool that allows investigators to analyse, monitor, and document…	Free	urlscan.io is an online tool that allows investigators to analyse, monitor, and document websites in real time.	Details
Web Archives	A browser extension to view archived and cached versions of a website on multiple…	Partially Free	A browser extension to view archived and cached versions of a website on multiple archiving sites.	Details
What CMS	WhatCMS is a web-based tool for anyone needing information about the technologies behind…	Partially Free	WhatCMS is a web-based tool for anyone needing information about the technologies behind any website, including the c...	Details
Whoxy	A domain search engine or whois lookup" tool to find (the history of) registration…	such as the registrar	Whoxy is a domain search engine or whois lookup" tool to find (the history of) registration information on a domain

Investigation Tips

• Start with WHOIS lookup (ICANN Lookup, DomainTools, Whoxy) to find domain registration details
• Check historical DNS records (DNS History) and archived versions (Wayback Machine)
• Use urlscan.io to analyze a website's behavior, redirects, and connected domains
• Shodan reveals internet-connected devices and services associated with an IP range
• PublicWWW searches HTML/JS/CSS source code across millions of websites
• The Information Laundromat detects content replication patterns and information laundering