GooFind, Download Files Using Google

One of the very first articles on this site was about how to find files using Google. It is still possible to use specific advanced search parameters to find files you are looking for, including music, e-books, games and applications. There is a lot of stuff out there, and depending on the country you are living in it may be legal, or not. But I'm not here to talk about legal issues.

GooFind is a custom search engine that uses Google's vast database for file searching. It basically works just like Google Search, with the difference that the search engine limits the results to pages that link to files matching a user's query.

The majority of results that are returned are unprotected user directories on servers. Think of it this way. If you are a user of a server you often get your own private space on the server that you can fill up with data. That's usually not a problem if the server is protected so that search engines do not index the contents. But then, many directories are not protected and search engines find their contents eventually, so that they end up in the search engine's index.

To find directories with files, simply enter a search term in the form and press the search button. Goofind displays all hits, ten per page with light advertisements on the side.

Goofind does not offer anything that you cannot do on your own, but it makes it way more comfortable. There is also a Chrome extension for those who want to search from their browser directly.

Update: The google chrome extension Goofind has been discontinued. The website with a web search is still available.

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