Kali Linux 2.0

Installation

Kali Linux still uses the Debian installer for the installation. You can either access it from the GRUB boot menu or start it in the live system via the Usual applications | System Tools | Install Kali . This routine copies the system to your mass storage device after prompting you for some parameters, such as the password and partitioning schema.

After restarting, a customized Gnome desktop appears with the full versions by default. There you will find a few frequently used tools such as the Metasploit framework, the Burp Suite for penetration tests for web applications, or Maltego – a tool for data mining in social networks – in the quick launch bar on the left running vertically on the screen. The Display Applications icon is at the bottom: This function lists all the installed applications and also provides a search function to help you quickly find programs.

Due to further customizations, such as the introduction of multi-level menus, the requirements for main memory in the minimum configuration increased with Gnome 3 to 768MB. Kali Linux offers full support for many other working environments for the first time, including Xfce, LXDE, and Enlightenment E17 so that the system will also run smoothly on older hardware.

Updates

Although the project already delivers the distribution with a 4.0 kernel and many up-to-date system programs, you should still look out for regular updates. You will need to update the system yourself because updates are not installed automatically. To do this, access the Package Update entry in the Applications | Usual Applications | System Tools menu. Then, update all the packages using a graphical tool (Figure 3). As is usual with Debian systems, command-line users can also use the apt-get option.