Kali Linux

 

Blog Post 1 – KALI LINUX

Blog by Komal

 

Introduction:

Data and information security has become one of the main concerns in this era of technology and continuous network usage. Technology is only accessible using operating system. There have been many operating systems in the market some are paid and some are open source. Every operating system has their own benefits, Kali Linux is the front runner in the hacking tools. Kali Linux is based on Linux distribution, it has built-in and open-source tools that perform many functions which are helpful in penetrations, performing detailed research about the security of the system and reverse engineering however needed,

Kali Linux is a byproduct of BackTrack, it basically has all the features of BackTrack with irrelevant features excluded. All the features of BackTrack which have worked in the past have been included in Kali Linux. Each and every feature of the operating system is changeable but once modified, the network has an inbuilt feature of disabling itself. Because of this feature, any further issues during the installation process can be avoided.

The history of Kali Linux originated from years of research on operating systems. It began with WHOPPIX which is short for Whitehat Knoppix with Knoppix being its base OS, then came the WHAX as the base was changed to SLAX and lastly was the BackTrack; it had many versions which were updated every time.

Following are the features of the Operating System:

1.     Kali Linux has many versions, the newest one has over 590 features which will stop the hacker from interfering. This excludes the features from BackTrack that were irrelevant or redundant. They were either never used or repeated more than twice.

2.     Powerful group of people: The people that create this operating system are small in number and they are the only ones responsible for creating and contributing this system.

3.     Many Languages: This is one of the first operating systems which has tech support provided in many languages which is easier for people to use and communicate.

 

 



 

Comparison of Operating Systems:


KALI LINUX vs. WINDOWS

·       Firstly, once the licensing rights are bought Kali Linux can be installed and updated in many machines. Windows once purchased can only be used in that particular. This is a big plus point for Kali Linux as people own multiple devices and easier for them to download the same system and do not have to purchase again and again.


·       Windows has very few features designed to protect the user from hacking or any invasion of personal information. You need to download additional software for extra protection as hacking has become a powerful tool currently. Kali Linux on the other hand is designed with extensive protection features, it has tools that protect the user and all private information.

·       In case if a machine is not good or strong enough, windows will not work properly and it will glitch as it needs a strong hardware to operate. Kali Linux can operate perfectly in any kind of machine or hardware; it should just be able to support it.

·       Kali Linux software updates are easily available and can be downloaded promptly without any issues. For windows, the updates are not easily available and in case a user needs to update they have to find through many websites.

·       In terms of cost, distributing and sharing Kali Linux has almost no cost but windows as mentioned earlier needs to be purchased every time a user wants to use another device.



KALI LINUX vs. MAC OS

·       Kali Linux works on various electronic devices including cellphones, laptops, personal computers, and supercomputers. MAC operating system is only designed for desktop computers, and only APPLE desktop machines.

·       In Order to update the Kali Linux software, it is easy and almost automatically done by the system itself. For MAC, the update needs to be downloaded manually by the user.


·       Kali Linux operating system can be downloaded in any device which also includes Apple Devices and it can be done easily. Whereas, MAC OS is only compatible with Apple Devices and does not work on any other device.

·       In terms of Looks, MAC OS has a more sophisticated and elegant look. Its features are more appealing and beautiful. Kali Linux on the other hand has a more rustic and rawer look which is great for all the features it provides.

·       Kali Linux has various and different tools for penetration protection, as mentioned before it has over 550 tools which protect the information. MAC OS also has good protection but the features it provides are not as many as the Kali Linux

·       The tech support provided by Kali Linux has no match to any operating system because of its multilingual support as well as quick and prompt responses. MAC support is an extensive and tiring process, it usually always required the user to physically get it fixed.

 

Tools in Kali Linux:


·       Nmap (Network Mapper):

Nmap is a significant tool for penetration testers to discover different networks and to perform system security audits. Users get help from Nmap to perform different activities, including service uptime tracking, host monitoring, network inventory etc. By using updated methods Nmap determine hosts services, types of packets they use, operating system on which they are running and many more features. Nmap can’t be misused. It only scan networks of your own or the machines that have permission to investigate. Trying to scan other machines showed up as an illegal act. Nmap has many flags that we can set to define how we want it to run. Like -sS for scanning, T is a timing flag determines how long scanning will take.

·       Metasploit Framework:

Kali Linux comes fully prepared with the necessary tools for penetration. One kind of tool is the Metasploit framework that permit to work on preliminary survey, scan, catalogue, utilize weakness for all types of applications, webbing, servers, system software’s and platforms. However, the foremost purpose of Metasploit is concentrated on pre and post utilization of penetration tests. It also helps in utilization of development and weaken research. Mfsconsole and the modules it provides are the main components of Metasploit Framework. It allows you to access all the features of Metasploit. Mfsconsole has Linux like command line support which offers tabbing and other shortcuts. Also, it’s the main interface which allows you for scanning the target machine and for attack launching on machine using Metasploit modules. Main modules include encoders for encrypting the payloads, post to get more information of the system and auxiliary to understand the target machine, exploit basically it is a code to hold on the target vulnerabilities. Payload is also a Metasploit module use to load malware on the target system or to run command on it. Payloads are of two type one is staged and the other is stage less payload.


·       OpenVAS:

The most difficult phase for pene
tration testers is vulnerability scanning. And for this reason, Kali built a tool named OpenVAS (Green Bone vulnerability management) and its libraries. It’s a fully featured free and open-source vulnerability scanner. Some of the main features includes daily updates and capability of doing more than 50,000 vulnerability tests. Also perform different types of authenticated tests. OpenVAS supports low level as well as high level internet protocols and has its own programming language which is used for execution of vulnerability scanning tests. Mostly the people in “Blue team” and pen testers doing bug bounties use OpenVAS. Setting up OpenVAS in kali is easy as it contains utility OpenVAS setup for it. This tool contains built in features to start and stop it. To start write the command OpenVAS-start and after successful running you’ll find some TCP ports. And you’ll easily stop it by running OpenVAS-stop. Also, we can automate our OpenVAS by using its feature command line interface.

 

Kali Linux in Cyber security:


Kali Linux has pre-installed tools which can be beneficial for number of cyber security related errands. These pre-installed 600 tools with massive features have multiple operating functions including penetration testing for cyber security proposes and kali Linux distro is improved offensive security cyber security guys. The main reason for using Kali Linux by cybersecurity professionals is just because of the fact that all the original source code is open source. It means that the cyber professional who is using the Kali Linux system can personalize it according to its requirements. As this feature is not provided by all other systems so most professionals prefer to use Kali Linux for cybersecurity tasks. Along with this, it also provides the option of personalizing the Kali specifically for specific tasks. The second big reason is that using Kali Linux you can code in multiple languages as it is a multi-language support system. An interesting fact about Kali Linux is that till 2019 it was designed for the use of single root user access, which means the user is given all rights and can access everything. So, the system has been updated recently for accommodating specifically such users that were using Kali Linux most often just for cybersecurity purposes.

 





References:

“Kali Linux,” TechSpot, Sep. 04, 2019. https://www.techspot.com/downloads/6738-kali-linux.html

 “Windows 10 vs Kali Linux - Speed Test [Boot time & Benchmark],” www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCUXb-P8JRY

“How to customize Kali linux or make look like Mac Os Mojave add Theme, Icons in kali linux,” www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9o6WBoFjq0

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.educba.com%2Facademy%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F09%2FKali-Linux-Tools.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.educba.com%2Fkali-linux-tools%2F&tbnid=sOmryrq6ub0ZJM&vet=12ahUKEwi9hP7Rjrr4AhWTBDQIHQ6hDqIQMygBegQIARAf..i&docid=5UIux3j-h6M12M&w=900&h=500&q=https%3A%2F%2F%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kali.org%2Ftools%2Fmetasploit-framework%2Fwww.educba.com%2Fkali-linux-tools%2F&ved=2ahUKEwi9hP7Rjrr4AhWTBDQIHQ6hDqIQMygBegQIARAf

Paul, “Everything You Need To Know About Kali Linux,” Edureka, Jan. 24, 2019. https://www.edureka.co/blog/ethical-hacking-using-kali-linux/


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