Kali Linux 2.0 - The Best Penetration Testing Distribution
So, what’s new in Kali 2.0? There’s a new 4.0 kernel,
now based on Debian Jessie, improved hardware and wireless
driver coverage, support for a variety of Desktop Environments (gnome,
kde, xfce, mate, e17, lxde, i3wm), updated desktop environment and tools
– and the list goes on.
Kali Linux is Now a Rolling Distribution
One of the biggest moves we’ve taken to keep Kali 2.0 up-to-date in a global, continuous manner, is transforming Kali into a rolling distribution. What this means is that we are pulling our packages continuously from Debian Testing
(after making sure that all packages are installable) – essentially
upgrading the Kali core system, while allowing us to take advantage of
newer Debian packages as they roll out. This move is where our choice in
Debian as a base system really pays off – we get to enjoy the stability
of Debian, while still remaining on the cutting edge.
Continuously Updated Tools, Enhanced Workflow
Another interesting development in our infrastructure has been the integration of an upstream version checking system,
which alerts us when new upstream versions of tools are released
(usually via git tagging). This script runs daily on a select list of
common tools and keeps us alerted if a new tool requires updating. With
this new system in place, core tool updates will happen more frequently. With the introduction of this new monitoring system, we will slowly start phasing out the “tool upgrades” option in our bug tracker.
New Flavours of Kali Linux 2.0
Through our Live Build process, Kali 2.0 now natively supports KDE, GNOME3, Xfce, MATE, e17, lxde and i3wm. We’ve moved on to GNOME 3
in this release, marking the end of a long abstinence period. We’ve
finally embraced GNOME 3 and with a few custom changes, it’s grown to be
our favourite desktop environment. We’ve added custom support for
multi-level menus, true terminal transparency, as well as a handful of
useful gnome shell extensions. This however has come at a price – the minimum RAM requirements for a full GNOME 3 session has increased to 768 MB.
This is a non-issue on modern hardware but can be detrimental on
lower-end machines. For this reason, we have also released an official, minimal Kali 2.0 ISO. This “light” flavour of Kali includes a handful of useful tools together with the lightweight Xfce desktop environment – a perfect solution for resource-constrained computers.
Kali Linux 2.0 ARM Images & NetHunter 2.0
The whole ARM image
section has been updated across the board with Kali 2.0 – including
Raspberry Pi, Chromebooks, Odroids… The whole lot! In the process, we’ve
added some new images – such as the latest Chromebook Flip
– the little beauty here on the right. Go ahead, click on the image,
take a closer look. Another helpful change we’ve implemented in our ARM
images is including kernel sources, for easier compilation of new
drivers.
Updated VMware and VirtualBox Images
Offensive Security, the information security training and penetration testing company behind Kali Linux, has put up new VMware and VirtualBox Kali 2.0 images
for those who want to try Kali in a virtual environment. These include
32 and 64 bit flavours of the GNOME 3 full Kali environment.
How Do I Upgrade to Kali 2.0?
Yes, you can upgrade Kali 1.x to Kali 2.0! To do this, you will need to edit your source.list entries, and run a dist-upgrade
as shown below. If you have been using incorrect or extraneous Kali
repositories or otherwise manually installed or overwritten Kali
packages outside of apt, your upgrade to Kali 2.0 may
fail. This includes scripts like lazykali.sh, PTF, manual git clones in
incorrect directories, etc. – All of these will clobber existing files
on the filesystem and result in a failed upgrade. If this is the case
for you, you’re better off reinstalling your OS from scratch.
Otherwise, feel free to:
cat << EOF > /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
Kali Linux 2.0 - The Best Penetration Testing Distribution
Reviewed by Zion3R
on
6:55 PM
Rating:
Reviewed by Zion3R
on
6:55 PM
Rating:
