OSINT › Module 3 › Lesson 3
Wayback and Cached Copies of YOUR Pages
Archives remember what you deleted — CDX for a URL YOU own, or skip. DEMO GATE.
Visual · wayback_self_pages
web.archive.org CDX on YOUR site only.
Opening
Delete is not erase. The Wayback Machine is a second memory — ask it only about your URLs.
The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) stores public snapshots. Google cache is a similar idea: a search engine’s last copy. Self-OSINT asks whether YOUR old homepage, gist, or blog still lives in an archive after you “took it down.” The CDX API can list snapshots: curl a URL YOU own, or skip if you own none. Original Cyberlium. GATE 192.168.0.1. Command shape: curl -sS "https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx?url=YOUR_SITE&output=json&limit=5" — student substitutes THEIR site. NEVER classmate pages, NEVER hydra, NEVER nmap. Next: Lab — Self-Search Notebook.
1. CDX is a catalog of snapshots, not a license to archive others
CDX search returns timestamps and original URLs the Archive already stored. You may query url= for a site in your scope.yaml sites: list. If sites: is none, skip the curl and write skipped_no_owned_site.
Do not CDX a classmate’s blog. Do not CDX a school portal. ; a router admin page is not YOUR_SITE.
Command guide
CDX is a catalog of snapshots, not a license to archive others
═══ INSTALL ═══
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):
Command — copy this
sudo apt install curl
macOS: Built-in
Windows: Built-in (PowerShell: Invoke-WebRequest)
═══ COMMANDS ═══
Command — copy this
SITE=$(sed -n "s/^SITE=//p" "$HOME/cyberlium-lab/scope.env" | head -1)
""|none|NONE|REPLACE*|YOUR_*) echo "skip CDX: no owned SITE in scope.env" ;;
*) curl -sS -m 20 "https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx?url=${SITE}&output=json&limit=5" | head -n 20 | tee "$HOME/cyberlium-lab/t12-m03-cdx.json" ;;2. Google cache is a concept; do not hunt strangers’ cache links
Search engines may show a cached copy of a page they crawled. You may open cache for a URL you own if the UI offers it. You will not weaponize cache: against a classmate’s deleted post.
If cache is gone, that is also a finding. Write “no cache.” Do not pivot to other people to find a juicier cache.
Command guide
Google cache is a concept; do not hunt strangers’ cache links
═══ INSTALL ═══
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):
Command — copy this
sudo apt install curl
macOS: Built-in
Windows: Built-in (PowerShell: Invoke-WebRequest)
═══ COMMANDS ═══
Command — copy this
curl -sS -m 8 -I "https://web.archive.org/" | head -n 8
3. What archives teach a defender: assume copies exist
Before you paste a secret into a public gist, remember CDX. After you delete, check YOUR URL on web.archive.org. That loop is the lesson.
Lab next: one notebook that merges search hits, platform fixes, and archive rows — still only you.
4. What you ship: CDX on YOUR site or an honest skip, plus cache literacy
curl CDX limit 5 for SITE you own, or skip. Bookmark web.archive.org. No classmate URLs. DEMO GATE. Notes 600.
5. What you record before the next lesson
Date. SITE or skip. cdx json if any. never classmate URLs. File t12-m03-l03-wayback-self.txt chmod 600.
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
CDX a classmate blog. Archive a school login. nmap hosts listed in CDX.
Right
Query YOUR_SITE or skip. Next: Lab — Self-Search Notebook.
Mission: ask Wayback about YOUR URL only
1) / STOP if router. 2) If you own a site, curl the CDX API with url=YOUR_SITE&limit=5. 3) If none, write skip. Never other people’s pages.
Stuck? Ask Cyberlium AI Mentor
Ask Mentor how to substitute YOUR_SITE in the CDX URL — not how to archive a classmate.
Knowledge Check
APPLY: You own no domain/site. Required CDX action?
Multiple choice
Knowledge Check
APPLY: True or False: Deleting a public page guarantees Wayback has no copy.
True or False
Knowledge Check
APPLY: In-scope CDX curl?
Multiple choice