Introduction

Kali was a complete revamp of the most popular Linux penetration testing distribution, Backtrack. Kali Linux 2.0 launched on August 11, 2015, is an improved version of Kali Linux, which features brand new kernel 4.0, and is based on the Jessie version of Debian with improved hardware and wireless driver coverage, support for a variety of desktop environments (GNOME, KDE, XFCE, MATE, e17, LXDE, and i3wm) and tools, and the list goes on.

If you are upgrading to Kali Linux 2.0 from Kali Linux, there is a good news. The good news is that now we have a rolling distribution. For example, the Kali Linux core gets updated continuously.

Kali Linux has got everything you will need for penetration testing and security assessment without thinking of downloading, installing, and setting up the environment for each tool in your arsenal. Kali Linux 2.0 includes over 300 security tools. You can now get the most preferred security tools by professionals all over the world, all at one place installed, configured, and ready to use.

All security tools have been logically categorized and mapped to the testers performing a combination of steps while assessing a target, for example, reconnaissance, scanning, exploitation, privilege escalation, maintaining access, and covering tracks.

Security tools are usually expensive but Kali Linux is free. The biggest advantage of using Kali is that it contains open source or community versions of various commercial security products.

Kali Linux 2.0 now supports even more hardware devices than ever. Since ARM-based systems are getting cheaper and readily available, running Kali Linux on these devices is now possible with ARMEL and ARMHF support. Currently, Kali Linux can be used for the following ARM Devices:

• Raspberry Pi (Raspberry Pi 2, Raspberry Pi A/B+, and Raspberry Pi A/B+ TFT)
• CompuLab - Utilite and Trim-Slice
• BeagleBone Black
• ODROID U2/X2
• Chromebook - HP, Acer and Samsung
• Cubieboard 2
• CuBox (CuBox and CuBox-i)
• Nexus 5 (Kali Nethunter)
• Odroid (U2, XU, and XU3)
• USBArmory
• RioTboard
• FriendlyARM
• BananaPi