OSINT › Module 8 › Lesson 2
Shodan and Censys on IPs YOU Own
Create YOUR accounts, type YOUR public IP in the official UI — do not scrape.
Visual · iws_shodan_censys
https://www.shodan.io/ and https://search.censys.io/ for addresses YOU own. GATE.
Opening
The ethical query is boring: an address you already pay for, typed into a search box you logged into.
After you create YOUR Shodan and Censys accounts, you may look up an IP YOU own — typically the WAN address you will document in the lab if you consent. You will not scrape HTML, not automate a giant query, not look up a classmate's home connection, not hunt webcams. Official UIs only. Original Cyberlium. Next: GreyNoise BinaryEdge and Query Hygiene.
1. Accounts and UIs, not scrapers
https://www.shodan.io/ and https://search.censys.io/ are the doors. Create YOUR account. Read their terms. Type an IP YOU own. Screenshot for YOUR notes if you want, chmod 600, redact if you share. That is the whole “exploit.”
SecurityTrails is named as a DNS/history vendor you might meet later for YOUR domain. It is not a substitute for nmap /24. GreyNoise and BinaryEdge wait for the next lesson. ZoomEye still exists and still gets no abuse class.
Command guide
Accounts and UIs, not scrapers
═══ INSTALL ═══
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):
Command — copy this
sudo apt install curl
macOS: Built-in
Windows: Built-in (PowerShell: Invoke-WebRequest)
═══ LINUX / macOS ═══
Shodan — search your own public IP
Command — copy this
curl -s 'https://api.shodan.io/shodan/host/{YOUR_IP}?key={API_KEY}' | python3 -m json.toolCheck what Shodan sees on your IP (no API key needed)
Command — copy this
curl -s 'https://internetdb.shodan.io/{YOUR_IP}' | python3 -m json.toolGet your public IP first
Command — copy this
curl -s https://ifconfig.me curl -s https://api.ipify.org
═══ WINDOWS ═══
Optional command
PowerShell
Command — copy this
(Invoke-RestMethod 'https://internetdb.shodan.io/{YOUR_IP}')
(Invoke-WebRequest 'https://ifconfig.me').Content2. What a self-lookup is for
You might learn that an old port-forward still shows a banner. That is defender inventory. Close the forward on equipment YOU administer after GATE (you still do not hydra the router). You might learn nothing is indexed. That is also a complete answer.
Looking up a celebrity, a hospital, or a classmate is not self-OSINT. Public index ≠ your authorization.
3. Do not confuse Censys with a port scan you run
You are not becoming Censys by running nmap. Running nmap 192.168.0.0/24 remains forbidden. Running nmap against random public ranges is also not this course. Read an index that already exists, for an IP you own.
If you cannot create an account today, write “UI pending” and stop. Missing login is not a reason to scrape.
4. What you ship: account-created-or-pending plus YOUR-IP UI rule
Official Shodan and Censys URLs. No scrape. Lookup only IPs YOU own. chmod 600. DEMO GATE.
5. What you record before the next lesson
Date. Shodan/Censys = official UI, owned IPs. NEVER dorks. File t12-m08-l02-shodan-censys.txt.
6. Wrong vs right: strangers vs identifiers YOU own
Worked failure — same OSINT word, opposite target. Right never needs a classmate or a dump site.
Wrong
Scrape Shodan. Query webcams. nmap /24 because the free API limit annoyed you.
Right
Create YOUR accounts. Wait for the WAN IP lab. Next: GreyNoise BinaryEdge and Query Hygiene.
Mission: promise the official UI and YOUR IP only
1) / STOP if router. 2) Open Shodan and Censys official homepages. 3) Write: I will look up only IPs I own and I will not scrape. Never webcam dorks. Never nmap /24.
Stuck? Ask Cyberlium AI Mentor
If Shodan wants a login, that is the lesson — create YOUR account or write pending. Do not scrape around it.
Knowledge Check
APPLY: The in-scope Shodan move is:
Multiple choice
Knowledge Check
APPLY: True or False: You may substitute nmap 192.168.0.0/24 if Censys is rate-limited.
True or False
Knowledge Check
APPLY: Censys official search:
Multiple choice