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Kali Linux Cookbook

Chapter 1. Up and Running with Kali Linux

In this chapter, we will cover:

Installing to a hard disk drive
Installing to a USB drive with persistent memory
Installing in VirtualBox
Installing VMware Tools
Fixing the splash screen
Starting network services
Setting up the wireless network

Installing to a hard disk drive

The installation to a disk drive is one of the most basic operations. The achievement of this task will let us run Kali Linux without the DVD.

Note

Performing the steps covered in this recipe will erase your hard drive, making Kali Linux the primary operating system on your computer.

Getting ready

Before explaining the procedure, the following requirements need to be met:

A minimum of 8 GB of free disk space for the Kali Linux install (although, we recommend at least 25 GB to hold additional programs and wordlists generated with this book)
A minimum of 512MB of RAM
You can download Kali Linux at http://www.kali.org/downloads/

Let's begin with the installation.

How to do it...

Begin by inserting the Kali Linux Live DVD in the optical drive of your computer. You will ultimately come to the Kali Linux Live DVD Boot menu. Choose Graphical install.
Choose your language. In this case, we chose English.
Choose your location. In this case, we chose United States.
Choose your keyboard configuration. In this case, we chose American English.
The next section to complete is the network services section. Enter a hostname. In this case, we entered Kali.
Next, we have to enter a domain name. In this case, we enter kali.secureworks.com.
You will now be presented with the opportunity to choose the password for the root user by entering a password twice.
Choose your timezone. In this case, we chose Eastern.
We are now able to select our disk partition scheme. You will be presented with four options. Choose Guided - use entire disk, as this allows for easy partitioning.
At this step, you will need to acknowledge that your entire disc will be erased. Click on Continue.
Next, you have the option of choosing one of three partitioning schemes: All files in one partition, Separate/home partition, or Separate/home/user/var, and/tmp partitions. Considering Kali is being used more so for penetration testing purposes, a separation of partitions is not needed nor required (even though this is a great idea for your main desktop Linux distribution). In this case, choose All files in one partition and click on Continue.
Once you get to the screen which lets you know that changes are about to be made to your disks, choose Yes and click on Continue. Please note that this is the final chance to back out of having all of your data on your disc overwritten.
Next, you will be asked if you want to connect to a network mirror. A network mirror allows you to receive updates for Kali as they become available. In this case, we choose Yes and click on Continue.
You may skip the HTTP proxy page by clicking on Continue.
Finally, you will be asked to install the GRUB boot loader to the master boot record. Choose Yes and click on Continue.
You have now completed the installation of Kali Linux! Congratulations! Click on Continue and the system will reboot and bring you to the login page.

Installing in VirtualBox

This recipe will take you through the installation of Kali Linux in a completely isolated guest operating system within your host operating system using the well-known open source virtualization software: VirtualBox.

Getting ready

The required prerequisites are listed as follows:

Latest version of VirtualBox (version 4.2.16 as of the time of writing) (https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads).
A copy of the Kali Linux ISO image. You can download a copy from http://www.Kali.org/downloads/.

How to do it...

Let's begin the process of installing Kali Linux in Virtualbox:

Launch VirtualBox and click on New to start the Virtual Machine Wizard:
Click on the Next button, type the name of the virtual machine, and choose the OS type as well as the version. In this case, we selected an operating system of Linux and Ubuntu (64 bit) as the version. Click on the Next button to continue:
Select the amount of base memory (RAM) to be allocated to the virtual machine. We're going to use the default value. Click on Next.
Create a new virtual hard disk for the new virtual machine. Click on the Next button:
A new wizard window will open. Leave the default VDI file type as we're not planning to use other virtualization software.
We'll leave the default option as the virtual disk storage details. Click on Next to continue.
Set the virtual disk file location and size:
Check whether the settings are correct and click on the Create button to start the virtual disk file creation.
We're back to the previous wizard with the summary of the virtual machine parameters. Click on Create to finish:
With the new virtual machine created, we're ready to install Kali Linux.
On the VirtualBox main window, highlight Kali Linux and then click on the Settings button:
Now that the basic installation steps have been followed, we will proceed to allow you to use your downloaded ISO file as a virtual disc. This will save you from having to burn a physical DVD to complete the installation. On the Settings screen, click on the Storage menu option:
Next, under Storage Tree, highlight the Empty disc icon underneath IDE Controller. This selects our virtual CD/DVD ROM drive. To the far right of the screen, under Attributes, click on the disc icon. In the pop up that follows, select your Kali Linux ISO file from the list. If the Kali Linux ISO file is not present, select the Choose a virtual CD/DVD disc file... option and locate your ISO. Once you have completed these steps, click on the OK button:
Click on the Start button and then click inside the new window and proceed with the installation. The installation steps are covered in the Installing to a hard disk drive recipe of this chapter.

Note

Installing the VirtualBox Extension Pack also allows us to extend the functionality of the virtualization product by adding support for USB 2.0 (EHCI) devices, VirtualBox RDP, and Intel PXE boot ROM.

Key benefits

Recipes designed to educate you extensively on the penetration testing principles and Kali Linux tools

Learning to use Kali Linux tools, such as Metasploit, Wire Shark, and many more through in-depth and structured instructions

Teaching you in an easy-to-follow style, full of examples, illustrations, and tips that will suit experts and novices alike

Description

In this age, where online information is at its most vulnerable, knowing how to execute the same attacks that hackers use to break into your system or network helps you plug the loopholes before it's too late and can save you countless hours and money. Kali Linux is a Linux distribution designed for penetration testing and security auditing. It is the successor to BackTrack, the world's most popular penetration testing distribution. Discover a variety of popular tools of penetration testing, such as information gathering, vulnerability identification, exploitation, privilege escalation, and covering your tracks. Packed with practical recipes, this useful guide begins by covering the installation of Kali Linux and setting up a virtual environment to perform your tests. You will then learn how to eavesdrop and intercept traffic on wireless networks, bypass intrusion detection systems, and attack web applications, as well as checking for open ports, performing data forensics, and much more. The book follows the logical approach of a penetration test from start to finish with many screenshots and illustrations that help to explain each tool in detail. The Kali Linux Cookbook will serve as an excellent source of information for the security professional and novice alike!

What you will learn

Install and setup Kali Linux on multiple platforms

Customize Kali Linux to your individual needs

Locate vulnerabilities with Nessus and OpenVAS

Exploit vulnerabilities you ve found with Metasploit

Learn multiple solutions to escalate privileges on a compromised machine

Understand how to use Kali Linux in all phases of a penetration test

Crack WEP/WPA/WPA2 encryption

Simulate an actual penetration test using Kali Linux

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Free for first 7 days. $19.99 p/m after that. Cancel any time!

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50+ new titles added per month, including many first-to-market concepts and exclusive early access to books as they are being written.

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Devlon Stewart May 04, 2015

lots of good info

Amazon Verified review

HARSH GURJAR Dec 19, 2017

nyc book jusy go for it .

Jeff Nov 24, 2015

as expected.

Brewer Apr 04, 2014

This book gives clear instructions on how to perform various tests with Kali (for example, the commands to perform a particular Metasploit exploit injection, or the flags to put with an Nmap scan to perform a Syn/Syn Ack scan) but it dosnt really say why you should do it. I think it would be better for people with less of a background in penetration testing to buy this book alongside a book explaining why they should be doing the things the book tells them to do. For example, get an explanation of what we want to accomplish with Banner Enumeration, and then read the 'recipe' in the cookbook for a type of banner grabbing scan.For me, though, its perfect. If I know I need to perform a Christmas Tree scan I can flick to the particular recipe and instantly jog my memory on the flags I need to issue to get than particular NMAP function.

dean Feb 27, 2014

i'd suggest you could find most/all of the content of this book via Google if you had the time.Good book, well laid out and easy to read.

Kali Linux Cookbook: When you know what hackers know, you're better able to protect your online information. With this book you'll learn just what Kali Linux is capable of and get the chance to use a host of recipes.

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