What Is Shodan & How Do You Use It?

Learn to search for internet connected devices in Shodan

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Last Updated: July 11, 2025

Shodan is a type of search engine that allows users to search for Internet-connected devices and explicit website information such as the type of software running on a particular system and local anonymous FTP servers. Shodan can be used much in the same way as Google, but indexes information based on banner content, which is meta-data that servers send back to hosting clients. For the best results, Shodan searches should be executed using a series of filters in a string format.^{[1]
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How to Use Shodan.io for Cybersecurity

Go to https://www.shodan.io/ and click “Register” to make an account.
Log in and enter terms into the search field at the top of the page using a string format.
Narrow down your search using filters, then click on any listing to learn more about that particular system.

Steps

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Navigate to the Shodan website at https://www.shodan.io/.
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” Shodan will send you a verification email.
The Shodan login screen will open in a new window of your browser.
For example, if you want to locate all Internet-connected devices in the United States that are currently using default passwords, enter “default password country: US.”
The Web page will refresh and display a list of all devices, or banners that match your search terms.
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Narrow your search using a series of filters in your string command. Common search filters include the following:
- City: Users can limit search results to devices located by city. For example, “city:sacramento.”
- Country: Users can restrict search results to devices by country using the two-digit country code. For example, “country:US.”
- Hostname: Users can limit search results to devices by the value in their hostname. For example, “hostname:facebook.com.”
- Operating system: Users can search for devices based on operating system. For example, “microsoft os:windows.”
Most listings will display explicit information about systems that include their IP address, latitude and longitude, SSH and HTTP settings, and server name.

Community Q&A

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Question

Is it safe to connect with Shodan from my computer using my public IP?

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Community Answer

Yes, Shodan is safe. It's OK to connect to Shodan with any type of IP address.

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Tips

Narrow down your search using additional filters by purchasing add-ons from Shodan. Click on “Buy” at the top right corner of your current Shodan session to purchase and gain access to additional filters for search.

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If you are in charge of system administration for your business or company, use Shodan to ensure that your system is set up in a manner that can’t be easily hacked by malicious third parties. For example, search for your system using string terms that include “default password” to verify that your system is not using default passwords, which could compromise your system’s security.

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