Kali Linux

Kali Linux (formerly known as BackTrack) is a free and open source Linux operating system specially designed for penetration testing (computer system security) using a wide range of available security tools. According to the Kali Linux tools directory, there are hundreds of pre-installed security tools in the operating system that allows attacking any computer system, gathering information, forensics, reverse engineering, crack passwords, snifting and snipfing etc. As soon as you launch a tool, you do not need you to write a custom program and programming code to attack, you can read the instructions in the terminal window and type the command. Most tools in Kali Linux work through the command line, while some of them also have graphical user interfaces such as Wireshark, Burp suite and Armitage.

Kali Linux is based on Debian, which is an open source Linux distribution (or operating system) known for its consistency and quality. Debian is currently used as a codebase in many other Linux operating systems, such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint and elementary OS. By default, Kali Linux includes a wide range of software applications, in addition to security tools such as the Chromium Web Browser, Firefox Web Browser (Extended Support Release), PDF Document Viewer etc.

You can easily install Kali Linux on a computer system using a USB flash drive, or you can also use the Live Boot feature.

Penetration Testing Tools in Kali Linux

Following are the popular penetration testing tools available in Kali Linux:

• Metasploit Framework - Penetration testing platform.
• Armitage - Graphical tool for Metasploit, to manage attacks.
• Burp suite - Graphical Tools to Test Web App Security.
• Maltego - Graphical tool for link analysis.
• BeEF - Browser Exploitation Framework.
• Faraday - Penetration testing IDE.
• Aircrack-ng - WiFi Cracking Program.
• John the Ripper - Password Cracking Tool.
• Wireshark - Network analyzer.
• Nmap - Network Mapper.

Notable features

Some of the notable features of Kali Linux are:

• Fully customizable
• 600+ penetration testing programs
• GNOME Desktop Environment
• Custom Linux Kernel
• Live Boot / CD / USB
• Multilingual
• Free and Open Source

Kali Linux Facts

• Kali Linux is officially available for Android as a Kali NetHunter.
• Kali Linux appeared in an American television series Mr. Robot.