Learn about kali linux

Kali Linux is specifically geared to meet the requirements of professional penetration testing and security auditing. To achieve this, several core changes have been implemented in Kali Linux which reflect these needs:

Network services disabled by default: Kali Linux contains systemd hooks that disable network services by default. These hooks allow us to install various services on Kali Linux, while ensuring that our distribution remains secure by default, no matter what packages are installed. Additional services such as Bluetooth are also blocklisted by default.
Custom Linux kernel: Kali Linux uses an upstream kernel, patched for wireless injection.
A minimal and trusted set of repositories: given the aims and goals of Kali Linux, maintaining the integrity of the system as a whole is absolutely key. With that goal in mind, the set of upstream software sources which Kali uses is kept to an absolute minimum. Many new Kali users are tempted to add additional repositories to their sources.list, but doing so runs a very serious risk of breaking your Kali Linux installation.

Is Kali Linux Right For You?

As the distribution’s developers, you might expect us to recommend that everyone should be using Kali Linux. The fact of the matter is, however, that Kali is a Linux distribution specifically geared towards professional penetration testers and security specialists, and given its unique nature, it is NOT a recommended distribution if you’re unfamiliar with Linux or are looking for a general-purpose Linux desktop distribution for development, web design, gaming, etc.

Even for experienced Linux users, Kali can pose some challenges. Although Kali is an open source project, it’s not a wide-open source project, for reasons of security. The development team is small and trusted, packages in the repositories are signed both by the individual committer and the team, and — importantly — the set of upstream repositories from which updates and new packages are drawn is very small. Adding repositories to your software sources which have not been tested by the Kali Linux development team is a good way to cause problems on your system.

While Kali Linux is architected to be highly customizable, do not expect to be able to add random unrelated packages and repositories that are “out of band” of the regular Kali software sources and have it Just Work. In particular, there is absolutely no support whatsoever for the apt-add-repository command, LaunchPad, or PPAs. Trying to install Steam on your Kali Linux desktop is an experiment that will not end well. Even getting a package as mainstream as NodeJS onto a Kali Linux installation can take a little extra effort and tinkering.

If you are unfamiliar with Linux generally, if you do not have at least a basic level of competence in administering a system, if you are looking for a Linux distribution to use as a learning tool to get to know your way around Linux, or if you want a distro that you can use as a general purpose desktop installation, Kali Linux is probably not what you are looking for.

In addition, misuse of security and penetration testing tools within a network, particularly without specific authorization, may cause irreparable damage and result in significant consequences, personal and/or legal. “Not understanding what you were doing” is not going to work as an excuse.

However, if you’re a professional penetration tester or are studying penetration testing with a goal of becoming a certified professional, there’s no better toolkit — at any price — than Kali Linux.

If you are looking for a Linux distribution to learn the basics of Linux and need a good starting point, Kali Linux is not the ideal distribution for you. You may want to begin with Ubuntu, Mint, or Debian instead. If you’re interested in getting hands-on with the internals of Linux, take a look the Linux From Scratch project.

Summary

So, after having read this you should have figured out if Kali Linux is the distribution you were looking for or at least got an idea about your choice.

If still you have not figured it out, here is a summary that will hopefully remove your remaining doubts:

Kali Linux is made with pentesters and pentesting in mind so, expecting it to fit with your necessity might not be as simple even though it’s completely possible.
If you are new to Linux or have less experience with command line you might find Kali Linux to be not so user-friendly, even though our developers try to make it as user-friendly as possible some things might be intimidating to you if you are new.
The developers always try to make Kali Linux as much hardware compatible as possible but, still some hardware/s might not work as expected or not work at all. So, its better to research hardware compatibility beforehand rather than breaking your computer later.
If you are installing Kali Linux for the first time, it is recommended to install first in Virtual Machine then, after getting familiar with it, you can install it in your own hardware.

Hopefully, now you know if you need to install Kali Linux or not. If you have decided to install Kali Linux then, we welcome you to our community.

If not, then see you later, and remember always “Try Harder”.

Updated on: 2023-Mar-06
Author: g0tmi1k

Источник

The most advanced
Penetration Testing Distribution

Kali Linux is an open-source, Debian-based Linux distribution geared towards various information security tasks, such as Penetration Testing, Security Research, Computer Forensics and Reverse Engineering.

The Industry Standard

Kali Linux is not about its tools, nor the operating system. Kali Linux is a platform.

Make Your Job Easier

Kali Everywhere

Customization

Documentation

Community

Kali Linux, with its BackTrack lineage, has a vibrant and active community. There are active Kali forums, IRC Channel, Kali Tools listings, an open bug tracker system, and even community provided tool suggestions.

All the tools you need

The Kali Linux penetration testing platform contains a vast array of tools and utilities. From information gathering to final reporting, Kali Linux enables security and IT professionals to assess the security of their systems.

Find out all about Kali’s Tools

Kali Everywhere

Undercover Mode

Using Kali in an environment where you don’t want to draw attention to yourself? Kali Undercover is the perfect way to not stand out in a crowd.

Kali NetHunter

A mobile penetration testing platform for Android devices, based on Kali Linux. Kali NetHunter is made up of an App, App Store, Kali Container and KeX

Win-KeX

Win-KeX provides a full Kali Desktop Experience for Windows WSL. Applications started via Kali’s panel will share the desktop with Microsoft Windows applications.

ARM

Cheap & low powered devices, which make for great leave behind devices. Modern ARM based laptops provide high speed with long battery life as an assessment platform.

Bare Metal

Single or multiple boot Kali, giving you complete control over the hardware access (perfect for in-built WiFi and GPU), enabling the best performance.

Cloud

Hosting providers which have Kali Linux pre-installed, ready to go, without worrying about looking after the infrastructure.

Containers

Using Docker or LXD, allows for extremely quick and easy access to all of Kali’s tools, without the overhead of a isolated virtual machine.

Mobile

A mobile penetration testing platform for Android devices, based on Kali Linux. Kali NetHunter consists of an NetHunter App, App Store, Kali Container, and KeX.

USB

Kali in your pocket, ready to go with Live Boot. Your Kali, always with you, without altering the host OS, plus allows you to benefit from hardware access.

Virtual Machines

VMware & VirtualBox pre-built images ready to go. Allowing for a Kali install as bare as possible, with additional features such as snapshots, without altering the host OS. And we have vagrant images too.

WSL

WSL is included out of the box with modern Windows. You can then start to use Kali (and Win-Kex) without any installing any extra software.

Choose the desktop you prefer

Xfce

Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment for UNIX-like operating systems. It aims to be fast and low on system resources, while still being visually appealing and user friendly.

Xfce consists of separately packaged parts that together provide all functions of the desktop environment, but can be selected in subsets to suit user needs and preferences. This is Kali’s default desktop environment.

GNOME Shell

Every part of GNOME Shell has been designed to make it simple and easy to use. The Activities Overview is an easy way to access all your basic tasks. A press of a button is all it takes to view your open windows, launch applications, or check if you have new messages. Having everything in one place is convenient and means that you don’t have to learn your way through a maze of different technologies.

KDE Plasma

Plasma is made to stay out of the way as it helps you get things done. But under its light and intuitive surface, it’s a powerhouse. So you’re free to choose ways of usage right as you need them and when you need them.

With Plasma the user is king. Not happy with the color scheme? Change it! Want to have your panel on the left edge of the screen? Move it! Don’t like the font? Use a different one! Download custom widgets in one click and add them to your desktop or panel.

Latest news from our blog

Pip install and Python’s externally managed

TL;DR: pip install is on the way out. Installing Python packages must be done via APT, aka. Kali Linux’s package manager. Python packages coming from other sources should be installed in virtual environments. Long story below. Some background Back in February this year, for a few days, some of you might have tried (and failed) to install Python packages with Pip, aka.

Kali Linux 2023.2 Release (Hyper-V & PipeWire)

Quick off the mark from previous 10 year anniversary, Kali Linux 2023.2 is now here. It is ready for immediate download or upgrading if you have an existing Kali Linux installation. The changelog highlights over the last few weeks since March’s release of 2023.1 is: New VM image for Hyper-V — With “Enhanced Session Mode” out of the box Xfce audio stack update: enters PipeWire — Better audio for Kali’s default desktop i3 desktop overhaul — i3-gaps merged with i3 Desktop updates — Easy hashing in Xfce GNOME 44 — Gnome Shell version bump Icons & menus updates — New apps and icons in menu New tools — As always, various new packages added New Hyper-V VM Image With this release, we welcome a new member in the family of pre-built VM images!

Happy 10th anniversary & Kali’s story . so far

Wednesday 13th, March 2013, 10 years ago, Kali Linux v1.0 was first released. Today we want to celebrate Kali’s 10th anniversary! Time has flown. And gosh, a lot has changed since then! They grow up so fast! This is the story of how Kali came to be, and some of the challenges along the way.

Kali Linux 2023.1 Release (Kali Purple & Python Changes)

Today we are releasing Kali 2023.1 (and on our 10th anniversary)! It will be ready for immediate download or updating by the time you have finished reading this post. Given its our 10th anniversary, we are delighted to announce there are a few special things lined up to help celebrate. Stay tuned for a blog post coming out for more information!

Источник

Learn about kali linux