Shodan
Search engine for internet-connected devices rather than pages: webcams, routers and industrial kit nobody meant to publish.
Opens in a new tab. We do not control this site and it may have changed since we catalogued it.
How to get the most from it
Shodan sits in Odd Search Engines under Learn, filed as coffee break.
- Set aside five to fifteen minutes and give it your proper attention.
- Use a laptop or desktop computer — we file it as desktop only.
- It works with the sound off, so it is fine on a train or in a quiet office.
- No account needed — you can start without signing up.
- Go in expecting something unsettling and brainy.
About this category: Reverse image search, niche indexes, and search engines built on a premise other than popularity. What the web looks like when ranked differently.
Good for
- Filling a coffee break properly
- A little creeping unease
- Giving your brain a workout
- A quiet break at your desk
- Trying it with zero commitment
Shodan: quick answers
Is Shodan free?
Yes. Shodan is free to use and needs no account.
Do I need an account to use Shodan?
No. You can use Shodan without signing up for anything.
Does Shodan work on a phone?
Not well. We file Shodan as desktop only, so open it on a laptop or desktop computer.
Is Shodan safe for work?
Yes, we file it as safe for work. It also works muted.
How long does Shodan take?
We file it as "Coffee break": Five to fifteen minutes of proper attention.
More in Odd Search Engines
All 17 in Odd Search EnginesNon-commercial web search indexing only pages carrying no ads or trackers at all. A very small and very different internet.
Reverse image search that finds the oldest copy of a picture rather than visually similar ones. The tool for tracing where a photo began.
- <1 min
Search engine for hand-made pages in the spirit of the early web, with a surprise-me button that behaves exactly like 1998.
- <1 min
Widely reckoned the strongest reverse image search for faces, places and heavily cropped photos. Worth trying when TinEye finds nothing.
- <1 min
Same mood: unsettling
All unsettling sitesThe world's largest supplier of real and replica skulls, browsable by species, which is educational and mildly alarming in equal parts.
- 10 min
Survival game about not freezing to death, in which the other players are the weather's most enthusiastic accomplices.
- 10 min
- Desktop
Breed meat, then drones, then queens, then things with far too many legs. The exponential curve is the entire narrative.
- 1 hr+
Wiki for an infinite office nobody built, mapped level by level in damp yellow carpet by contributors who take it extremely seriously.
- 1 hr+
Keep exploring
Category
Time and mood
Have a site of your own? Suggest it for Detour or browse the AltFTool backlinks hub.