Using one of the common free OS distributions called Kali Linux may seem too complicated for the average user, because even installing a new operating system is different from installing Windows. We are not talking about the concept of installing applications and the graphical interface; first you need to install Kali Linux.
Today we’ll look at how to install one of the Linux distributions on a computer running Windows, and go a little deeper into the details regarding the proper preparation of the hard drive and bootable USB flash drive for installing Kali Linux.
The article shows how to install a free operating system and how to ensure that both operating systems run together on your computer.
What you need
In order for the installation to proceed “smoothly” and to be completed at all, we need several things:
- free hard disk space for Kali Linux deployment (at least 8 GB);
- USB flash drive with a capacity of 4 gigabytes or more for recording the distribution kit;
- an application for partitioning hard drives in Windows (in our case we used MiniTool Partiton);
- a utility for creating a bootable flash drive with a Linux distribution (we use Universal USB Installer).
The motherboard must support booting the computer from USB media.
If you are using a device released after 2006, there will be no problems; when using older motherboards, you may have to reflash the BIOS.
Preparing the image
We go to the official resource and download the Kali Linux image of the required bit depth via a torrent or via a direct link.
Before recording, be sure to check the integrity of the file using the checksums provided on the website.
Preparing the Disk
The steps that must be performed in order to be able to install Kali Linux version 2 are given in the form of instructions:
- Download the MiniTool Partiton utility (latest version) or its free equivalent for Windows.
- We launch the installed product.
- After analyzing the disks, select the partition where we will create a new volume for installing the free OS, call its context menu and select “Moved/Resize”.
- Specify the new volume size using the slider or by manually entering values and click “OK”.
- Click on the “Apply” button to apply the planned actions and agree to perform the action.
It is not necessary to format the partition in ext4; you can leave the freed space as an unallocated area.
Completing steps three to six implies that there is no partition on which to install. These steps show how to prepare a HDD partition for installing Kali Linux.
The marking is complete.
Recording the image
As mentioned, we used the Universal USB Installer utility to format the bootable media, although WinSetupFromUSB also does an excellent job.
- We launch the installed program and select Kali Linux from a huge list of Linux distributions and Windows editions.
It makes no difference to the application which version of the distribution will be installed.
- Click the activated “Browse” button and specify the image file.
- In the form below, select the flash drive from which Kali Linux will be installed on a computer running any edition of Windows.
- Check the “Will be format…” option.
- Click “Create” and click “Yes”.
Unpacking and writing files takes quite a long time, be patient.
- After recording is complete, launch MiniTool Partiton, and in the context menu of our bootable flash drive, select “Set Active” if the option is in the list. If there is a “Set Inactive” item, skip the step.
Installation process
After booting from the flash drive after following the instructions above, the installation of Kali Linux will begin on a computer where Windows is already installed.
- Select “Graphic install” to work in graphical mode.
- From the many languages, select “Russian” and click “Continue”.
- The remaining parameters are chosen at your discretion.
- In the next window, select “Yes”, reconnecting the flash drive, preferably into an adjacent slot.
- Enter a password to protect a user with unlimited privileges.
- Specify the time zone.
- In the “disk partitioning” section, select the last item: “Manual”.
- Select the previously created section. In our case, this is an unallocated area of just over 105 GB.
- Click on the next option.
- Select the item as in the screenshot.
- We finish the partitioning process by making sure that the correct disk is selected.
During installation of the system bootloader, a window will appear with a list of detected operating systems. For Windows 7 this will be the Vista boot loader.
- If everything is correct, mark “Yes”.
Nowadays, many modern laptops do not have a DVD drive, so it is impossible to install the operating system from an optical disc. This is not a problem, since the installation can be completed entirely from a USB drive, including a regular flash drive.
We will need an installation image of the operating system (.iso file) and a flash drive with at least 4 Gigabytes in size.
Download Kali Linux from the official website: https://www.kali.org/downloads/
If you are having trouble deciding which version to choose, read about their differences.
Now you need to burn the Windows image to a USB flash drive. This needs to be done correctly - simply copying the file is not enough. To make a flash drive suitable for installing an operating system, you need a program like . This is a free program - download and install it.
Connect the USB flash drive to your computer and launch Win32 Disk Imager.
Specify the image file (switch to view all files):
and select the correct Device (i.e. flash drive):
When everything is ready, press the button Write. Remember that all data from the flash drive will be deleted!
How to boot from a Kali Linux flash drive
Disabling Secure boot in BIOS
While the flash drive is being written, we need to disable the Secure Boot option in the BIOS.
Turn on your computer. If it does not have an operating system, then you will immediately be taken to the BIOS. If the operating system is already installed, press the button many times as you boot the computer. Esc Delete) and select Enter Setup(automatic entry into BIOS may occur):
Click F7 to go to Advance Mode and there select the tab Security. Find the option Secure boot:
Disable it (select disabled):
To save the settings, click F10.
Look for the option Fast boot- if you have it, also disable it ( disabled).
Booting from a Kali Linux flash drive
When recording to the flash drive is finished, insert the flash drive into the laptop slot and turn it on - if the message “ Please press any key for boot from CD or DVD", then press any button. This message translates to “please press any button to boot from CD or DVD. Despite the fact that we boot from a flash drive, this suits us.
If the operating system is already installed, press the button many times as you boot the computer. Esc(on some computers you need to press Delete). If boot options appear, select the option that corresponds to your flash drive.
If such a menu does not appear, then go to the BIOS and select the USB flash drive as the boot disk.
Step-by-step instructions for installing Kali Linux on your computer
In this window, select Start Installer:
Choose language:
Select Yes:
Choose according to your preferences:
A message about the need for a driver for a Wi-Fi card, I don’t have this driver, so I’m skipping it. You may not see a message like this at all:
I continue as is:
I skip setting up the network:
Enter hostname:
Superuser password:
Timezone:
The most crucial moment is the selection and layout of disks. If you select the wrong drive, you may lose data (for example, uninstalling another operating system):
As you can see, I already have another operating system installed.
If you want to remove the previous system and install Kali Linux instead, then erase the partitions from the old OS, create a new partition in the free space and select it to install Kali.
If you have several disks, you can install Kali Linux on any unused one.
I will install Kali Linux directly on the main partition. To do this I will resize the drive where Windows is installed.
and in the free space I will create another partition, which I will install a new OS.
In addition to the main partition, it is proposed to install a swap partition (like a swap file on Windows). For these purposes, you can allocate a separate disk - depending on your needs, it can be 2-8 GB. The swap partition is used if the operating system does not have enough RAM - data not currently in use is dumped onto this partition. That is, it is like additional RAM that works slower than the main one. I have 16 Gigabytes of RAM, so I don't create a swap partition.
Confirm the changes made:
We are waiting for the data copying to complete:
If you have an Internet connection configured, you can choose to download packages from the network (more recent versions)
Wait until the system starts to reboot and remove the flash drive:
After installation, Kali Linux will create its own GRUB boot loader. If you have other operating systems on your computer, this bootloader will find them all and display them in the boot menu for you to select.
Remember that the original Windows boot loader is not erased. That is, if you want Windows to boot by default, then go to the BIOS and there select the desired disk, which should boot automatically.
GRUB display resolution is incorrect
Usually the GRUB boot loader menu has the wrong display resolution. In the vast majority of cases, this is not a problem - the menu items are still visible, and savvy Linux immediately changes the resolution to the correct one as soon as it takes over control.
But this is not the case with Windows. If you booted Windows using the GRUB bootloader with the wrong resolution, then Windows in this session will no longer be able to set the resolution to the correct one, even if you go to do it manually.
The easiest way to fix the situation is to change the GRUB screen resolution. First, you need to find out what resolutions your computer supports. To do this, hold down the key while loading starts. Shift. When the GRUB boot menu appears, click c, and then enter the command in the console:
Videoinfo
Remember the highest display resolution that your video adapter supports.
Then boot into Linux. There, open the file for editing /etc/default/grub.
Find the line in it
#GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480
Uncomment it (remove the hash at the very beginning) and replace 640x480 with the maximum resolution that your computer supports. Usually this is 1920x1080, so it should look something like
The developers of the famous pentesting distribution have made their most significant release since 2013. The release of Kali Linux 2.0 has been officially announced. The distribution is based on the Linux 4.0 kernel, the number of drivers for hardware support and Wi-Fi has been significantly increased, support for various desktop environments has been implemented (KDE, GNOME3, Xfce, MATE, e17, lxde and i3wm), and the list of included utilities has been updated. But most importantly, Kali Linux is now distributed in rolling distribution mode.
Continuous Update Mode
Kali 2.0 will be continuously updated through the Debian Testing infrastructure as new stable packages are released.
Checking utility versions
The distribution has an integrated system for checking versions of the main utilities. They will also be promptly updated as soon as new versions are released.
New design
Native support for the KDE, GNOME3, Xfce, MATE, e17, lxde and i3wm desktop environments has been implemented. The system defaulted to GNOME 3, after a long period of abstaining from such excesses. If desired, users can activate multi-level menus, a transparent console and many other features of GNOME 3. However, because of this, the requirements for RAM have increased: in the full version, Gnome needs 768 MB of RAM. For low-power computers, a minimal build of Kali 2.0 ISO has been released, where memory consumption is much less and the lightweight Xfce environment is used.
ARM and NetHunter 2.0 support
Kali Linux 2.0 officially runs on Raspberry Pi, Chromebooks, Odroid, etc. The kernel sources are posted in the ARM images section for easier compilation of new drivers.
The platform for pentesting from mobile devices NetHunter has also been updated and runs on Kali Linux 2.0. Several new images have been released, including for Nexus 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10.
Updated images for VMware and VirtualBox
If you run Kali Linux in a virtual machine, you can get the latest images from this link. There are 32- and 64-bit versions with a full-fledged GNOME 3 environment.
Upgrading to Kali Linux 2.0
There are two options: download the latest version and install the system from scratch, or start the upgrade procedure from 1.0 to 2.0. In the second case, you should edit source.list and run the following procedure.
Cat /etc/apt/sources.list deb http://http.kali.org/kali sana main non-free contrib deb http://security.kali.org/kali-security/ sana/updates main contrib non-free EOF apt-get update apt-get dist-upgrade # get a coffee, or 10. reboot
Metasploit
Unfortunately, at the request of the Rapid7 company, the Metasploit Community / Pro package was excluded from Kali Linux, leaving only the basic framework metasploit-framework. The Metasploit Community / Pro version will have to be manually downloaded from the Rapid7 website after registering and obtaining a license.
How to install Kali Linux on a laptop?
Hello everyone, in this article from Computer76 I will show with my example how to install Kali Linux on a laptop. Installing the Linux operating system implies, I think, first of all, the fact that Windows is preinstalled in the laptop. Our task is to install Kali Linux on a laptop as a second system so that both OSes do not interfere with each other.
A few nuances. But they exist. What do you need to know to install Kali Linux on a laptop?
There won't be many difficulties. The installer of Kali, downloaded from the official website, knows Russian perfectly, and writes correctly and logically. Our task is to carefully read the manager’s advice. Installing Kali Linux on a laptop will not be more difficult than Windows.
So, I have a laptop with pre-installed Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 10 operating systems (you don't need to have that much). I'll put Kali Linux on the fourth one.
The first thing you need to do is prepare a place for Kali Linux. To do this, use a free program for working with AOMEI sections (or from offsite). Immediate advice from the bottom of my heart: a single-core Kali processor will not cope, and if there are 2 or more “stones” on board, then there are no options - download ONLY 64 bit version of Kali Linux. You will still remember this advice...
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Security issues of operating systems of built organizational networks have always been the most important aspect of administration. Diagnosing the presence of vulnerabilities required a lot of work, and often even after this, loopholes remained for attackers. Such manipulations have become much easier with the advent of Kali Linux. Instructions for its use are mostly available only in English. This system is not suitable for regular home use, especially not recommended for beginners. This is a professional tool that you need to learn to use and requires fine tuning. And this requires sufficient experience and a complete understanding of the actions being performed.
Important Cautions
The capabilities of the Kali Linux operating system are so wide that not everyone uses them to improve the security of their own system. It often becomes a convenient tool for illegal actions of attackers. Therefore, it is important to understand already at the initial stage of acquaintance that certain manipulations that the system allows to perform may be illegal. Even installing Kali Linux and trying it out for educational purposes in some countries can lead to unpleasant consequences.
As a small piece of advice, we recommend installing the system on and working through a VPN if you don’t want to limit yourself to a superficial study of it. When starting, it is also necessary to use keys to avoid problems with the law.
What is Kali Linux
The predecessor of Kali is BackTrack Linux, which is quite famous in narrow circles. The second one is based on Debian, and this provides support for packages and applications developed for this OS, which makes the work quite comfortable through the use of familiar tools. If necessary, it will be quite easy to find programs for Kali Linux.
The distribution includes all kinds of utilities that allow you to conduct a full security audit to prevent intrusions. Running services, access to a computer via the network, web applications in use, and much more can be analyzed using the tools available in Kali Linux.
As you can already understand from the name, the system is built on the Linux Kernel. The first version of the distribution was released more than two years ago. It contained all the most basic things, the main emphasis was on functionality rather than on visual appeal. But the great popularity of the system and its active use in a professional environment led to the need to make changes to the distribution.
User reviews of Kali are mostly positive. The system has become more stable compared to BackTrack, the set of programs and utilities has expanded, but on some laptops sometimes the operating system stops seeing the built-in Wi-Fi adapter. This happens when using Live launch from a flash drive; the problem is corrected by using an external adapter or installing the OS on the hard drive.
Changes in the new version
At the end of last summer, Kali Linux 2 was released. Thanks to the released update, the system has become much more stable and the operating interface more attractive. In addition, many utilities have become outdated over such a long period by information technology standards. If previously you had to search for and install new versions yourself, now this work is performed by the system itself, which allows you to keep them up to date without much effort. In addition, the system itself received support for rolling distribution mode.
Technical features
The new distribution is based on Linux Kernel version 4.0, included in the Debian Jessie release. Gnome 3.14 is currently used, and the workspace has acquired an updated style and interface, the menu has changed slightly in some items.
Available builds
At the moment, there are various distribution kits that are convenient to work under certain conditions. You can easily find Live builds, images for popular virtual machines, and installation packages. In addition, instructions are provided that you can follow to prepare your own assemblies. If necessary, your own image can be assembled to work with ARM; work with this architecture is perfectly supported, ensuring multi-platform system. Then it will be possible, for example, to install Kali Linux on a tablet or smartphone.
For those who have already installed the first version, it is possible to upgrade to the second within the system. It is enough to use a set of commands, including obtaining a new distribution and installing it. Details can be found in the official accompanying documents.
Getting started with the system. Theoretical basis
It is difficult to understand the extensive capabilities of the system without studying the Kali Linux documentation. Instructions for use, unfortunately, in the form of detailed manuals for fine tuning are available on the official website mainly in English, as in most other sources. However, a large number of fans gave rise to the emergence of detailed Russian-language manuals in the established community, based on their own practice. In addition, there are training courses for specialists in Russian, both entry-level and more advanced, for professional corporate work.
Practical development
To study the system, it is enough to install it in any accessible and most comfortable way, especially since the large selection of available Kali Linux 2 distributions allows this. However, for educational purposes, especially in the initial stages, it is better to use a virtual machine. This will be enough to study the set of utilities that are included in the package, get used to it, and begin to confidently navigate the system.
When learning to work with Kali Linux, instructions for use are a must. In addition to the fact that the OS has rich capabilities that are difficult to learn without any documentation, when installing it you will need configuration that will allow you to use them most effectively.
It is better to carry out practical mastery of the tools on your own equipment in order to prevent possible problems with the law if the actions performed are contrary to it, and somehow the fact of their implementation becomes known to third parties.
Run from a flash drive
After completing the stage of mastering working with the system, you will want to use it to analyze security and eliminate detected weaknesses in existing networks in the company or at home. The easiest way is to always have a distribution kit with you, ready to run, if necessary. This is quite easy to do if you use specialized programs for the working operating system, for example, Rufus. Support for saving files on a system installed on a USB drive even after rebooting can often be useful. This option is also provided, but it is important to remember that for the described persistence mode, you will need to specify the appropriate mode at the beginning of each boot so that the normal live mode does not start. In addition, if in a simple version a 2GB flash drive is enough, then in the latter case additional space will be required to create a separate partition in which the necessary data will be stored.
Why is it useful to use Kali Linux?
In their work, attackers use specialized tools that can significantly reduce the time required for unauthorized penetration into the network. For example, with the help of Kali Linux, hacking becomes much easier and more convenient, especially when passwords and default hardware settings are not changed. Unfortunately, even in large corporations this happens quite often. After this, obtaining the necessary data is a matter of technology; for a qualified specialist, the whole process does not present any particular difficulties. It's all the more important to use the same tools to identify vulnerabilities in your defenses to make it harder for those people to do their job. A simple practical example is hacking Wi-FI routers, which are installed in almost every apartment these days, not to mention organizations.
Network penetration via Wi-Fi
To hack a Wi-Fi router, it is enough to brute force passwords. But even on fast equipment this takes a lot of time. Modern routers use the WPS protocol, designed to simplify network setup. Not all users understand the security of wireless networks; they need all possible assistance in setting them up. With the use of this protocol, there is no longer a need to manually set WPA/WEP encryption parameters, which provide protection against unwanted access; they, like the network name, are set automatically by pressing a button on the router. It would seem like a great idea, but, as often happens, vulnerabilities were found that could be used to crack a password in a few hours.
Not only does the WPS PIN code consist of 8 characters, the last of which is enough to check it in blocks, and not as a whole, as a result of which the number of possible combinations is reduced to 10998. Using Kali Linux, it is quite easy to hack a Wi-Fi network through enabled WPS , and it won't take much time. A utility that will monitor the network and one that directly searches for the PIN code is sufficient. For greater clarity, you can check how easily and quickly this happens on your home router.
Thus, to protect yourself, it is better to disable WPS on the router, where this option is active by default. Otherwise, every neighbor, even a schoolchild, will be able to connect to the network and use it. The instructions for use are quite simple; this is one of the most common examples on all resources dedicated to this operating system.
Kali Linux WiFi: hack
In short, using the iwconfig command we determine the available network interface (usually it is called wlan0, but it may differ).
After this, we start monitoring the active interface:
airmon-ngstartwlan0
To find out which networks are in scope, run the following command:
Where mon0 is the name of the previously running monitor.
From the entire list that appears, only those networks that have WPS enabled are of interest. To define them, use the command
Now you can select any goal you like and start selecting a PIN code:
Reaver -I mon0 -b -a -vv
The BSSID from the result of the previous command is written here. If everything is done correctly, password search will start. On average, a network takes four to six hours to be hacked. But some new router models have protection against WPS attacks and turn off brute force after a certain number of unsuccessful attempts.
And this is just one side of Kali Linux. The instructions for use will give a comprehensive idea of the capabilities of the system.
