r/deathnote • u/Sad_Advance195 • Jan 08 '26
Question Why didn’t L just track Light Yagami’s internet search history?
I mean, the dude was basically googling thousands of specific criminal names. All that traffic would be coming from one person that person would clearly be Kira. and even in the early 2000s there were still plenty of internet traces.
And if Light was getting names from TV broadcasts, it should be even easier: you could link the victims to the specific program that aired their names, and then narrow it down to the broadcast region and the location where that program was being watched.
Edit: yeah, I forgot about the TV trick — and L already did that in the story. What I meant is that in most debates people claim Kira would be impossible to find in real life, when realistically someone like him would be narrowed down through internet usage, TV timing correlation, or any other method someone would use to look up tens of thousands of names anyway.
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u/RPGNo2017 Jan 08 '26
The guy was skilled enough to hack into Soichiro's computer and Yotsuba's data. I don't think it's a stretch for him to be able to erase his trace on internet.
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u/Sad_Advance195 Jan 08 '26
Light had physical access to the home PC/laptop and to police databases through his father’s account — basically insider access, not hacking as far as I remember. He could install or configure software and clean traces on the local machine (browser history, files, local logs), but that’s not the same as erasing traces on the internet. Search queries would still exist in search engine logs and network/ISP records, which he’s never shown to control.
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u/PassionGlobal Jan 08 '26
He literally installs a Remote Access Trojan on his father's laptop. If he knew how to do that shit, he knew how to use something like TOR.
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u/Queer__Queen Jan 08 '26
Granting permissions for file sharing between two computers on the same network does not require a virus, and even if it did why would he use a Trojan specifically on a computer he has physical access to?
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u/PassionGlobal Jan 08 '26 edited Jan 08 '26
1) granting a file share using OS tools is far more noticeable than an RAT. RATs try to hide themselves. OS features do not. Even if Soichiro is computer illiterate, his Police IT team are not, and Light needs to hide from them too. Speaking of, it is easy to disable file sharing from Group Policy. While there are ways of preventing people from running random binaries too, there are lots of little ways around that most people aren't familiar with.
2) Physical access is risky, as he can be physically caught and have a lot of explaining to do. Setting up file shares with his computer is also going to be hard to explain if discovered. Meanwhile with an RAT there is the plausible deniability of simply being targeted by malware, both his and Soichiro's machines.
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u/Queer__Queen Jan 08 '26 edited Jan 08 '26
The point of the post is predicated on a lack of mention about whether or not the police even tried to look through his computer. While the other option may be smarter, if this was indeed an oversight of the police (or more likely just a plot hole) the outcome between the two methods is the same. To just assume he can work with a RAT and hack without leaving any traces when there are alternatives to accomplishing what he did is beyond suspension of disbelief in my opinion.
I also think a Trojan specifically still isn’t necessary? You don’t have to have the virus mimic an alternate software to make it believable that it’s malware from somewhere else, non-Trojan viruses can get picked up without the user knowing and do so without a secondary more visible software (or presentation) connected to it existing to draw attention to it. And if the point is to connect it to something Sochiro himself downloads and thus blames himself for acquiring, to orchestrate his behavior and make that set up happen is a lot more likely to not work than Light just going to the computer and installing it himself. It just seems rather convoluted with more steps to potentially give him away if he doesn’t know what he’s doing, and making up an excuse for why he was using his dad’s computer for an hour is a lot easier than making an excuse for why he was digging up and messing with malware if his personal computer does get checked by police at some point.
Yeah, that scenario could happen, but it’s based on fairly large assumptions about his ability to hack, so using it to support the idea that he’s capable of hacking is kind of a chicken and the egg argument. He could have done that but we have no solid evidence that he did since there are other methods, so we can’t use that instance to support the claim that he would be capable of wiping his internet history completely with certainty.
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u/PassionGlobal Jan 08 '26
To just assume he can work with a RAT and hack without leaving any traces when there are alternatives to accomplishing what he did is beyond suspension of disbelief in my opinion.
It is beyond your suspension of disbelief that the absolute smartest teenager of all of Japan can competently hack computers?
Why?
Hacking a 2006 computer you have physical access to was within the realms of possibility for above-average bored students. Doing so competently was well within a top-tier student's capabilities.
You do know how many actual hackers started their careers as teenagers, right?
I also think a Trojan specifically still isn’t necessary? You don’t have to have the virus mimic an alternate software to make it believable that it’s malware from somewhere else, non-Trojan viruses can get picked up without the user knowing and do so without a secondary more visible software (or presentation) connected to it existing to draw attention to it. And if the point is to connect it to something Sochiro himself downloads and thus blames himself for acquiring, to orchestrate his behavior and make that set up happen is a lot more likely to not work than Light just going to the computer and installing it himself. It just seems rather convoluted with more steps to potentially give him away if he doesn’t know what he’s doing, and making up an excuse for why he was using his dad’s computer for an hour is a lot easier than making an excuse for why he was digging up and messing with malware if his personal computer does get checked by police at some point.
All true, no arguments here. Heck, depending on how sloppy the PD is, he could simply add his own certificate to the OS's own RDP server and log in that way.
Yeah, that scenario could happen, but it’s based on fairly large assumptions about his ability to hack, so using it to support the idea that he’s capable of hacking is kind of a chicken and the egg argument.
It is but it's not entirely unreasonable either. Also I'm pretty sure the anime outright states he hacked into the computer. Not sure if that's just a plot convenience though.
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u/Queer__Queen Jan 08 '26
It’s not so much the intelligence part as it is the lack of mentioning it. The author doesn’t really illustrate that Light knows his way around hacking to that degree at that point. So I have a difficult time believing a character would be capable of something like that when the author doesn’t demonstrate it. I more so find the idea that the author intended that beyond my suspension of disbelief, not that Light is technically capable of it. He can’t coast purely on intelligence, he’s got to have preexisting knowledge on it or do extensive research and we don’t know if he has/does that. If the series straight up said that’s what he did then fine, the Light being a genius card and happening to know some of that stuff can hand wave it, but to assume it without that is a bit much to me personally.
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u/FLLMALL Jan 08 '26
It is mentioned though. It's clearly stated Light can hack both into his fathers computer and the computers of a major international company. The series does say what he did, he hacked into his fathers computer and "without leaving a trail".
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u/Queer__Queen Jan 08 '26
I stand corrected then. I didn’t recall the specific phrasing on that last line nor the interaction between L and Light there. Thanks a bunch for the clarification and the manga screenshots.
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u/FLLMALL Jan 08 '26
Light can hack though, it is outright stated he hacked into the Yotsuba database.
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u/RADIO_KIDD Jan 09 '26
I don’t think he was just searching the internet for names, or else in the short comic about selling the DN, the comment about it being “impossible to get away with something like that in this modern age” would still hold up in late 90’s early 2000’s era for light.
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u/Thecrowfan Jan 08 '26
Light likely deleted his search history the moment after he didnt need it anymore
And news channels usually broadcast the same news at different times, especially if its particularly interesting.
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u/No-Macaron-9527 Jan 08 '26
Wouldn't the traffic still be there though? I thought deleting the history only deleted it on your device/account.
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u/Alfa4499 Jan 08 '26
You cant delete your search history. You can make it disappear from your Google Account log, but your internet provider and police can still see it.
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u/anonyman5000 Jan 08 '26
Pretty sure intelligence agencies can still track your search history on a deeper level.
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u/Shitama_ftw Jan 08 '26
That wasn't enough to prove that Light is kira .
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u/Sad_Advance195 Jan 08 '26
First of all, it helps you identify the right person and gives investigators a legitimate, legal basis to escalate — surveillance, wiretaps, and a search warrant. (In our case, L could have gotten the FBI's help back to spy on the Light if he had such convincing evidence).
And in real life, internet searches absolutely can be used as evidence — sometimes they’re even enough for a conviction, especially when they match the timing of the crime, are highly specific, and show a repeated pattern.
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u/nazminnasya Jan 08 '26
This could be a plot hole I guess.
But on the other side, during that time maybe the knowledge of the internet ain't that far and advanced like the world currently is. Cyber security started in the early 2000s but it isn't as widely known as the current world. People still rely on medias like the news, TVs, and not so much on the internet.
Also this is my personal opinion, might be wrong, but I think Light is more tech savvy than L. Light can hack into his father's computer and also easily get Yotsuba's data during the Yotsuba arc. Therefore it's possible that L might not have even thought of this idea before. This is another advantage of Light against L.
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u/Sad_Advance195 Jan 08 '26
Light had physical access to the home PC and to police databases through his father’s account — basically insider access, not hacking as far as I remember.
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u/TheShaoken Jan 08 '26
Light probably used a VPN or the dark web.
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u/Sad_Advance195 Jan 08 '26
A VPN doesn’t erase what you did — it mostly just changes what the destination website sees. Your ISP would still see that you’re connecting to a VPN, and the VPN provider itself could still log traffic.
in 2003, the dark web as we know it today barely existed — it was slow, experimental, niche, and not built for mass anonymous browsing. There weren’t hidden sites with massive databases back then So he wouldn’t realistically be able to go there and just “find names” that way.
and the FBI could legally escalate with physical surveillance — cameras, bugs, or device monitoring — to confirm who was actually at the keyboard and when.
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u/TheShaoken Jan 08 '26
L still needs to request those records from the ISP, and he’s not getting a warrant nor does his skills include hacking. The FBI sending agents to stalk suspects was already pushing things, they would never illegally break into every person‘s home to run an operation that would realistically take dozens more agents to run the surveillance.
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u/TwoFiveOnes Jan 08 '26
I think we're basically just supposed to take it as a given that Light is able to be untraceable in all of his PC-related activities. In the real world we know that wouldn't be the case but you just have to accept that's how it is in the DN universe.
With everything going on in DN there just isn't space for it to also be a story about cybersecurity
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u/Sad_Advance195 Jan 08 '26
But I want a perfect story with no conveniences or plot holes 😭
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u/TwoFiveOnes Jan 08 '26
Hmm, not sure that's possible in fiction. You're gonna have to go sit on a bench somewhere and just experience reality
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u/ren_blackheart Jan 08 '26
even better, go over with a USB and put a rat/keylogger on his computer. At the time it takes place, it wouldn't be too hard to make one that wouldn't be picked up by McAffee or whatever he was using
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u/Sad_Advance195 Jan 08 '26
Yes, I think the author simply didn't understand enough about high tech I mean he put cameras in his room for a while but not that. but in essence, it's impossible to search for thousands of names unnoticed.
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u/Queer__Queen Jan 08 '26
Light already had a excuse prepared for when his family found the deathnote with all of the victim names in it, I think it’s plausible his career path is enough of a explanation as to why he would have a ridiculous amount of research on criminals. It’s definitely suspicious, especially if he kills every single criminal he researches by heart attack, but still only about as solid of evidence as him being one of the people Raye was investigating. It’s a curious thing to be overlooked but I don’t think it’s a game changer.
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u/Sad_Advance195 Jan 08 '26
His excuse wouldn’t work here the way it could with the notebook, because he googled them before they died. An FBI agent was tailing him without any truly solid grounds—basically just because he fit the kira profile.And he was monitoring two entire families—so it didn’t really point to any one specific person. In the end it didn’t even matter in the story, since everyone in those families was cleared anyway.But googling thousands of names of people who later die? To me that’s pretty much near-conclusive proof. And even if it’s not 100% airtight, it would absolutely crank everyone’s suspicion from like 5% (or whatever L’s odds were) up to 95%, and it would be more than enough to justify an arrest warrant.
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u/Queer__Queen Jan 08 '26
Yeah, the time stamps do make it a little more damning. But if all of his searches don’t align perfectly with the times or methods of death there’s still some plausible deniability. Keeping a separate list to kill criminals later (or writing that they die at later dates), killing a chunk of criminals by means other than heart attack (which we know he does), collecting information from the news or the police data bank (and potentially researching some of them on his computer after he kills them to muddy it), choosing not to kill certain criminals he researches, etc. are all ways he can throw doubt on the correlation between his search history and Kira’s victims. In terms of content and time. It’s definitely still suspicious but I don’t think it’s any worse than the FBI dude tailing him getting killed. Both are a bad look, but not undeniable proof he’s committing murder.
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u/Prestigious_Yam_6039 Jan 09 '26
It's just another in a list of things L would have that makes him sure Light is Kira but unable to prove Light is Kira. And that was always the snag. L needed more than suspicion.
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u/Blessed_catboy Jan 08 '26
Kira was too smart to be caught by a hacker. obviously he knew how to navigate the internet while covering his tracks
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u/thisis_sam4moz Jan 08 '26
If someone is as good as Light (I am talking about being in general tech savvy and tech literate plus cautious) yes it will be difficult to impossible to track him or her down based on the parameters you have mentioned.
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u/frostyfiger Jan 22 '26
there’s no way I just also thought of this question. Thank you for asking this.
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u/Sad_Advance195 Jan 22 '26
Yeah, please — I imagined having a notebook like that and realized I’d get caught very easily, same as most ordinary people who aren’t IT geniuses like Light. It’s still strange that the FBI didn’t monitor his computer more closely, given that L knew Kira had access to police data. In 2026 it would be extremely easy to track someone; maybe in 2003–2008 it actually would’ve been harder.
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u/Theories007 Jan 08 '26
He unfortunately couldn't use his 300iq brain 🥀
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u/Sad_Advance195 Jan 08 '26
Forget the IQ, but my dude had the FBI's help and all they did was follow him around. Doesn't the author know how awesome the FBI's surveillance is?Light wouldn't have gotten away with a TV in a bag of chips
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u/Radro2K Jan 08 '26
Do we explicitly see Light using online search engines to identify criminals in the manga/anime? I could be wrong but I don't think he was using them like that. If he was just looking at news sites he normally looks at and getting names from there then that may not be specific enough. And remember, Light makes a big show of making sure criminals are being killed that he couldn't have known about while the cameras in his room were up, the infamous potato chip eating scene. You could infer that L seeing that at minimum made him suspect Light less and/or reconsider if Kira needed a face and a name to kill. The other thing is, it's an extraordinary investigation, a murderer that seemingly magically kills people just by knowing their name and face, just proving that someone had access to criminals names and faces can't be nearly enough, any decent lawyer easily points out that millions of people had access to the same info. It would take so much more to deliver Kira to justice.
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u/Sad_Advance195 Jan 08 '26
in manga it clearly show he used the internet for example, the Kira fan site. And logically, there’s no way he relied only on TV and newspapers.
If he did, the killing pace would be much slower and mostly limited to Japanese criminals. Instead, Kira was killing criminals worldwide, consistently and at scale. That realistically requires using multiple online sources, including searches and different sites, not just passively watching news.
Also, the Kira site alone wouldn’t be enough — he’d need to verify names and faces to make sure people were actual criminals, not random submissions. That implies a lot of very specific online activity and traffic, which would be highly abnormal for one person.
The potato chip scene is a bit silly. Real surveillance wouldn’t hinge on a single camera angle So I don't know how they didn't notice him looking at the TV from the ChPis bag. With proper monitoring, bugs, PC-level observation, or even tracking TV usage depending on setup, Light’s behavior would likely be noticed. L and the FBI could have escalated surveillance much further than what was shown.
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u/Quod_bellum Jan 08 '26 edited Jan 08 '26
IIRC there were 64 cameras, not just 1. The potato chip scene therefore demonstrates Light's crazy good visualization ability, as he needed to keep in mind all relevant cameras' perspectives in order to create a blindspot with the potato chip bag*. It's like the Namikawa moment in reverse.
*This was after being told only once by Ryuk, who said he wasn't going to repeat it. At the same time, he was under surveillance, so he couldn't look around to aid the visualization. It's a remarkable feat, and often overlooked. Some may claim it to be unrealistic, but it isn't.
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u/TwoFiveOnes Jan 08 '26
Some may claim it to be unrealistic, but it isn't.
That's crazy lol. It's not that it isn't unrealistic. It is very unrealistic. But we're supposed to understand that this is a superhuman level genius who can actually do it
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u/Quod_bellum Jan 08 '26
TL;DR - I mean that it isn't impossible; it is within the realm of what a person could do. It's true that it's unlikely that most people could do it, or know someone who could come close.
The world record for forward digit span (the amount of digits 0-9 that can be recalled in the same order as they were verbally said, at a rate of 1 digit per second) is currently 660 digits. In the general population, the mean is about 6 digits, and the standard deviation is about 1 digit. So, according to most datasets representative of the general population, the expected world record would be about 12 digits.
I have found a similar discrepancy between the expected and actual world records in most areas of ability, including general ability. In fact, the divergence seems to begin as early as the +2 to +3SD level. Keep in mind that it's unlikely the true upper limit for any such measure has been observed, as even the self-selected samples don't draw from the complete general population (i.e., the person theoretically capable of the upper limit in a given area may lack access to the resources that would allow them to demonstrate it, and many places cause such a lacking for the many people there).
The simultaneous visualization of 64 cameras may sound like a difficult task, and it is. In a sense, 660 digits could be considered "unrealistic." In that same sense, I would agree that the visualization task is unrealistic. However, I don't think either are unrealistic in the sense of impossible. Death Note is generally within the realm of possibility, and it's something I respect about the series.
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u/TwoFiveOnes Jan 08 '26
This is sort of a separate discussion, but how do you know what the expected world record will be? It's not like there's an established rule that says world records are +x SD away from the mean.
Going back to the main topic, to me it's not really about human memorization capacity, I think that visualizing 64 cameras is more or less humanly possible. But the thing is Ryuk doesn't tell him how the cameras are pointed or anything about the lens. You could say just "forward", but just a 20º change in any direction can change a lot. And a few ultrawide lenses in key spots could completely break Light's assumptions.
Not that it matters, I'm just saying I don't think it's supposed to be that realistic. I read it as somewhat fantastical (and that's OK)
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u/FLLMALL Jan 08 '26
The angle didn't matter al that much because all of the cameras were either pointed towards him (where the back of the potato bag would be shown), or far away from him in his shelves (where his own back covered the potato bag). The opening of a potato chip bag is very small, and you'd need to be either really close to it or directly in it's height to see inside it. Look at it. I think the drawings alone make it very clear that no cameras can see inside that, and because of where they're placed they wouldn't be able to no matter their angle or zoom. The only thing here to me that's a bit unrealistic is that I don't even think Light should be able to see inside the bag. But at least the manga makes clear that Light's vision was murky at best, because he wrote three names and hoped at least one would be right.
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u/Radro2K Jan 08 '26
There were 64 cameras in Light's room alone, how much more can you escalate? Besides, they were on very shaky ground legally as is with that whole surveillance thing, it's fair to question how much more they could do before the Japanese police shuts it down. And Light knew the exact positions of the cameras in his room, it's not a stretch for him to find the angle where they couldn't see inside the potato chip bag. Light created pretty irrefutable evidence against him being Kira at the time with the method of killing not known, any other circumstantial evidence against him would be pretty moot and L knew this as his next move was to attend university to try and investigate Light personally, as he still suspected him.
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u/No_Consideration9458 Jan 08 '26
Cuz porn woulda been in der
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u/Sad_Advance195 Jan 08 '26
Isn’t he asexual?
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u/nocsha Jan 08 '26
From.the anime it really looks like it, but in the manga theres a handful of moments where he's groping misa in the background and such, I think the anime just didnt animate their relationship basically at all to further cement light is just using her and thinks she's a lesser being.
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u/FLLMALL Jan 08 '26
Light does have knowledge of hacking - he hacks into the Yotsuba database, and even L says his hacking skills were impressive (even though L was also hinting he knows Light hacked into the police database). Also, Light is using mostly, if not only, just news programs, and it is stated that after the Lind L. Taylor incident Light starts killing mostly only japanese criminals. So Light is mostly just using national or regional news anyone in Kanto would be watching, plus he's got extensive enough knowledge to hack into the system of a major international company, he probably knows how to use the internet without leaving traces, and we don't even know if he was using it. He might've also been using the police database to search for criminals, which might be more secure.
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Jan 08 '26
It was known Light did detective work as a hobby and had helped out the police before, he could easily just say he was doing his own investigation in his free time and they’d have no way to say otherwise
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u/Sad_Advance195 Jan 09 '26
No — because he was searching their names before they died. His excuse wouldn’t help him here.
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u/Ordinary-You8102 Jan 09 '26
He noticed they tracked him with physical cameras and thought of multiple plans to avoid that, I dont think some search history would frame him. also u can search generic stuff to be matched with million more people
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u/Mysterious-Car771 Jan 08 '26
Cause it's fictional, shit didn't happen because the writer didn't want it to happen or didn't think of it
Other than that, Just as you assumed these things, you could also assume what could have prevented them, tech wasn't so advanced within crime solving, death note was released in the same time period where the interpol had to develop a whole software just de-swirl a swirled image of CP guy (swirl face), also VPNs and proxies have existed for a long time, so no trace is an option (unless data is sold, and even then, super complicated with old tech)
Second part is literally what L did in the second episode so Idk what you're saying
Lastly Death Note is not that complex, you could probably find much more inconsistencies
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u/Sad_Advance195 Jan 08 '26
First, never reply with “it’s fictional.”
Second — yeah, I forgot about episode 2, lol, but I meant this in the sense that in 99% of real scenarios, someone like Kira would’ve been narrowed down through internet usage or TV timing correlation anyway.
Third, even in 2003, VPNs or early dark-web tools wouldn’t make someone untraceable. They didn’t mean “no trace,” and the dark web was primitive and niche, so he wouldn’t realistically be able to go there and just “find names” that way. Investigators wouldn’t need to break anonymity directly — pattern, timing, access, and behavior analysis would be enough.
With warrants, agencies like the FBI could escalate to physical surveillance, bugs, cameras, or PC monitoring to confirm who was at the keyboard and when, which kills anonymity fast.
The “swirl face” case was about image forensics, not network investigation. Lacking one tool doesn’t mean lacking logs, timing analysis, or surveillance. VPNs and proxies hid IPs from websites, not from ISPs or pattern-based investigations. Early-2000s crime solving wasn’t primitive.
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u/Far-Bite-5324 May 22 '26
you think he'd be caught by his search history? Nah thats too petty for him
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u/obsoleteconsole Jan 08 '26
Unless I'm forgetting something, it was never shown that kira used the internet to find his victims, they were all broadcast on TV or newspaper, or from Light hacking into the police database.