Trace Labs OSINT VM Version 2020.2 Now Available

We are excited to announce a new release of the Trace Labs OSINT Virtual Machine (VM) (2020.2). The release comes just in time for DEF CON 28 Safe Mode edition this weekend!

This release of our OSINT VM was made possible because of the amazing contributions by Jason Kregting, Tom (humanDecoded), lowprivs and @GyledC.

What’s New?

In 2020.2 we’ve:

•  Added tools based on community feedback including Recon-ng, Wikileaker, WhatsMyName and FinalRecon.
• Fixed a bug in the Updater script. It now gives more feedback to the user. 
• Made it easier to access the OSINT tools from the command line interface. All included tools can now be accessed by name. For example, running “whatsmyname” from the terminal opens up that particular tool.  
• The OVA file is smaller to make it easier and faster to download when internet bandwidth is an issue.
• Checked and updated all included bookmarks.

Why use the Trace Labs OSINT VM?

Virtual machines are a great way to keep your host machine secure and keep your investigations organized. A customized VM can streamline your workflow and make tools and other resources more easily accessible while avoiding the bloat of a traditional operating system. 

We’ve created this VM to save you the time of finding and organizing these tools yourself. 

A question we get asked frequently is: “Who is this VM for?”

Good question. It’s important to remember that we’re building this VM with a focus on the OSINT community (as opposed to, say, the pentesting community). So let’s look at it from an OSINT perspective. Specifically, what you do or don’t need to be in order to do OSINT.

Things you don't need to be to do OSINT:

• A sysadmin
• A programmer
• A private investigator
• A member of law enforcement

Things you do need to be to do OSINT:

• Curious
• Driven
• Ethical
• Passionate 

We’re building the Trace Labs OSINT VM for the people on the second list. It’s our intention to make existing OSINT tools as organized and accessible as possible for anyone doing OSINT regardless of skill level or technical expertise. The Trace Labs OSINT VM is an open-source community project and we encourage people to make suggestions and contribute content through our GitHub page by logging a “GitHub Issue”. We need all of you to continually provide feedback to make this project amazing!