A Comprehensive Guide to Kali Linux: Essentials and Beyond
By: Devang Jain
Tags: Kali, Penetration Testing, Tools, Linux, Offensive Security

WHAT IS KALI LINUX?

Kali Linux is a Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at advanced Penetration Testing and Security Auditing. Kali Linux contains several hundred tools that are geared towards various information security tasks, such as Penetration Testing, Security research, Computer Forensics, and Reverse Engineering. Kali Linux is developed, funded, and maintained by Offensive Security, a leading information security training company.

Mati Aharoni and Deavon Kearns are the core developers of Kali Linux. Previously known by the name of Backtrack, they advertised Kali as a more polished successor with more testing-centric tools, unlike Backtrack which had multiple tools that would serve the same purpose, in turn, making it jampacked with unnecessary utilities. This makes ethical hacking and cybersecurity using Kali Linux a simplified task.

To download and install the latest release of Kali Linux 2020.4 follow the official guide here.

WHY YOU SHOULD USE KALI?

Kali Linux is specifically tailored to the needs of penetration testing professionals, and security specialists, and given its unique nature, it is NOT a recommended distribution if you’re unfamiliar with Linux or are looking for a general-purpose Linux desktop distribution for development, web design, gaming, etc.

However, if you’re a professional penetration tester or are studying penetration testing with the goal of becoming a certified professional, there’s no better toolkit, at any price, than Kali Linux because —

Includes more than 600 Penetration Testing Tools Free to use (if your time has no value) Operates on Open-Source Development Model Gives freedom to customize completely Developed in a secure environment Custom kernel, patched for injection ARMEL and ARMHF support Diverse and vibrant community

POPULAR TOOLS OF KALI

For ease of understanding, I have divided the most-used/pre-installed tools of Kali Linux into distinct categories as and also explained their functionalities.

Information Gathering — These tools are used to collect and format the data in a form that could further be used.

Nmap

Nmap is the world’s most famous network mapper tool. It allows you to discover active hosts within any network, and acquire other information (such as open ports) relevant to penetration testing. It has gained immense popularity in the hacking community due to its ease of use and powerful searching & scanning abilities.

2. Netcat

Netcat is a network exploration application that is not only popular among those in the security industry, but also in the network and system administration fields. While it’s primarily used for outbound/inbound network checking and port exploration, it’s also valuable when used in conjunction with programming languages like Perl or C, or with bash scripts.

3. Maltego

Maltego is an impressive data mining tool to analyze information online and connect the dots. As per the information, it creates a directed graph to help analyze the link between those pieces of data. This will save you time and will allow you to work more accurately and smarter. Maltego provides you with a much more powerful search, giving you smarter results. If access to “hidden” information determines your success, this tool can help you discover it.