**Software | 2025-06-18 03:43:29

# **The Ultimate Guide to Metagoofil: Metadata Intelligence Gathering Expert**

Metagoofil is an open-source intelligence (OSINT) tool developed by Christian Martorella, specifically designed to extract metadata from public documents. As a crucial tool in the reconnaissance phase of penetration testing, it helps security researchers discover sensitive information leaked by target organizations.

## **1. Core Advantages of Metagoofil**

### **Technical Features**
- **Multi-format support**: Office documents including PDF, DOC/X, PPT/X, XLS/X
- **Smart extraction**: Automatically identifies and classifies critical metadata
- **Deep analysis**: Extracts sensitive information like authors, versions, creation timestamps
- **Correlation discovery**: Identifies emails and usernames within documents
- **Integrated search**: Built-in Google search functionality to acquire target documents

### **Supported Metadata Types**
```mermaid
pie
    title Metadata Type Distribution
    "Author Information" : 35
    "Document Properties" : 25
    "Timestamps" : 20
    "Software Versions" : 15
    "Others" : 5
```

## **2. Installation & Configuration**

### **Installation Methods**
```bash
# Kali Linux (pre-installed)
sudo apt install metagoofil

# Manual installation
git clone https://github.com/laramies/metagoofil.git
cd metagoofil && pip install -r requirements.txt
```

### **Google API Configuration (Optional)**
```python
# Edit metagoofil.py
google_api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"
google_cse_id = "YOUR_CSE_ID"
```

## **3. Basic Usage Guide**

### **Command Structure**
```bash
python metagoofil.py -d example.com -t pdf,doc -l 20 -n 50 -o /output/
```

### **Common Parameters**
| Parameter | Description | Example |
|-----------|-------------|---------|
| `-d` | Target domain | `-d company.com` |
| `-t` | File types | `-t pdf,docx` |
| `-l` | Result limit | `-l 100` |
| `-n` | Download quantity | `-n 50` |
| `-o` | Output directory | `-o ./results` |

## **4. Advanced Techniques**

### **Deep Metadata Analysis**
```bash
python metagoofil.py -d example.com -t all -l 200 --analyze
```

### **Username Extraction**
```bash
python metagoofil.py -d example.com -t docx -extract-users
```

### **Integration with ExifTool**
```bash
find ./downloads/ -type f -exec exiftool {} \; > metadata_report.txt
```

## **5. Practical Application Scenarios**

### **Scenario 1: Corporate Employee Information Gathering**
```bash
python metagoofil.py -d company.com -t docx,pptx -l 50 -o ./docs/
```

### **Scenario 2: Network Topology Discovery**
```bash
python metagoofil.py -d example.com -t pdf -extract-networks
```

### **Scenario 3: Credential Leak Detection**
```bash
python metagoofil.py -d example.com -t xlsx -extract-emails | grep "password"
```

## **6. Defending Against Metadata Leaks**

### **Protection Strategies**
- **Document sanitization**: Use tools like mat2 to clean metadata before publishing
- **Policy development**: Establish document release approval processes
- **Employee training**: Improve metadata security awareness
- **Regular audits**: Check metadata in public documents

### **Detection Methods**
- Monitor document searches for company domains
- Analyze document download patterns
- Deploy metadata leak detection systems

## **7. Alternative Tool Comparison**

| Tool | Advantages | Limitations |
|------|------------|-------------|
| **Metagoofil** | Focused on document metadata | Relies on Google search |
| **FOCA** | Graphical interface | Windows only |
| **ExifTool** | Comprehensive metadata analysis | Requires manual document collection |
| **SpiderFoot** | High automation | Dispersed functionality |

## **8. Learning Resources**

### **Official Documentation**
- [GitHub Repository](https://github.com/laramies/metagoofil)
- [User Manual](https://github.com/laramies/metagoofil/wiki)

### **Practical Tutorials**
- "OSINT Metadata Analysis" (HackTheBox)
- "Corporate Intelligence Gathering Methodology" (Pentester Academy)

### **Case Studies**
- [Penetrating Corporate Networks via Metadata](https://www.exploit-db.com/papers/13134)

> **Legal Notice**: Metagoofil should only be used for authorized testing. Unauthorized information gathering may violate data protection regulations.

With its specialized document metadata analysis capabilities, Metagoofil has become one of the standard tools for penetration testing and threat intelligence gathering. Whether for red team operations, vulnerability assessments, or security audits, it provides valuable metadata intelligence.