Internet Investigation Tools for Open-Source Research (2026)

Internet investigation combines discovery (search, registries, news) and preservation (what the page showed when you saw it). Tools split across those jobs.

Core tool types

• Search & discovery — engines, specialized databases, alerts
• Archival capture — save full pages and screenshots ethically
• Notes & timeline — your narrative and decision log

Why capture matters

Pages edit and vanish. Investigation without snapshots is fragile.

PageStash in the stack

PageStash handles capture + full-text search + Page Graphs for relationships between saved pages—useful when investigations span many entities.

Archive investigation sources →

Always follow law and platform terms in your jurisdiction.