Setting up Kali linux

Kali Linux is a Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at advanced Penetration Testing and Security Auditing. It’s one of the most popular “hacking” Linux distributions for this kind of things (even blackarch and parrotOS). But how do you set it up? Do you install it on a separate hard drive, or do you virtualise it? Personally, if you don’t need a lot of actions with GPU (like hashcat for password hacking) and need to have a good check on network traffic, virtualisation in Virtualbox is faster than installing it on a separate hard drive. It is possible to use GPU within virtualisation, using PCIe passthrough, but that might take a lot of time setting up.

Setting up

Firsly, you need to download Kali linux from their website. It’s available in Virtualbox image or as an iso image. Also, download Virtualbox. After that, you must open virtualbox, and press “new”.

set your virtual machines name, type and machine folder.

After this step it will be asked for you to add a hard disk (and make it at least 50GB large. Because if you’ll ever be using password cracking, you might need a lot of space for password files). After that, you’ll create a virtual machine (VM). When you have created the VM, it would be advised to into the settings of the virtual machine, go to general advanced and set bidirectional clipboard and drag and drop. It will help later on to copy from your main computer things like passwords or commands.

Also, you should go under System > processor and give the Virtualbox more than 1 core. 2 cores would suffice.

After this setup, press okay and start the VM. You will be asked to select the installation iso and then it will start to install. The setup is straightforward (mostly you’ll need to press next next next), but it is advised to create a simple password or for you have easily known password, because when you’ll first turn on kali, you won’t be able to use your clipboard. Also, if you have an SSD, it would be advised to remove the SWAP. After that, you basically have installed and set up Kali Linux. When you first log in to the Kali Linux, you also should update it with sudo apt-get update and sudo apt-get upgrade to receive the newest patches. Also, download Virtualbox guest additions under devices > insert guest addition. This will allow you to use your clipboard for both computers..

After this, the last thing you should do is to add a shared folder for your Virtualbox. In VM settings, under Shared Folders press add folder icon, and select your wanted folder. Make it Auto-Mounted, if you want it to show up automatically when the device is turned on.

After this, in thunar you’ll be able to see your shared folder. And this is the basic Kali Linux VM setup. There are a lot of other things you could set up, but this is a good start. Also, if you want, you can create a VDI (virtual disk) copy, if you ever want to start working from this place.