Kali Linux

By Brandon Jones

This is the ultimate hacker manual. Since its introduction in 2012, Kali Linux has increased in popularity and potentialand has become the best hacker software for security professionals. However, with so many pre-installed tools, it can be difficult for beginners and even experts to fully understand. This book teaches you how to use some of the tools within Kali and be a successful hacker.

Besides understanding the reasons why a hacker would target your computer, you will also get to know how they are able to do it and how you can safeguard your systems, equipment, and network against hacking attacks. Even if it is your first approach with hacking, by the end of this book you will be armed with all the knowledge you require to be an ethical hacker.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Release date: Dec 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798227545992

Book preview

Introduction

Hacking is a method of finding vulnerabilities and using these vulnerabilities to obtain unauthorized access to a system to perform malicious activities.  Hacking is illegal, and there can be extreme punishments for people who are caught in the act.  However, contrary to what some think, there is a form of legal hacking that is done with permission.  It’s known as ethical hacking where a pro hacker is hired to prevent or fix malicious hacking.  In the computer industries there is obviously a lot of need for ethical hackers due to various reasons.  You may have your reasons to avoid Linux however as far as hacking is considered Kali Linux is the best option.  Also, it is open source and free to download and use.

What is Linux?

We will take a closer look at what Linux is, how it works and why it is necessary to learn now.  Many developers use Linux-based operating systems and a lot of websites use Linux.  Linux powers most smartphones including Android phones.  Linux has completely dominated the supercomputer field since 2017 with all of the top 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world running a Linux distribution.  So, in this digital age, knowing Linux is an important skill.  Linux is free and open source.  It is an operating system created by Linus Torvalds in 1991 as a hobby project.  Over time, Linux has become a robust and versatile OS used globally.  It’s personalized distribution model allows various organizations and communities to create their versions of Linux, referred to as distributions or distros. 

When Linux 1.0 was released to the world about 30 years ago, its model of free and open-source software knocked down all the walls that had previously been put in place by software giants like Microsoft in order to maintain control over the development and distribution of computer programs.  And in a world without walls, who needs Windows and Gates?  Windows high degree of compatibility makes it ok for everyday use for many people, especially gamers, but since Windows is a proprietary operating system, developers and users, for the most part, have to work within a relatively closed software environment that places certain restrictions on what you can do.  Anyone who has used Windows update or Microsoft DRM features knows what I mean.

Linux, however, has a completely open-source kernel, the central part of the operating system that links your hardware with applications.  Meaning that it can be used freely for an intent of whatever you want for tons of different use case scenarios.  These different versions of Linux are called distributions or distros, which provide different stacks of software tools and desktop environments all of which are tied to the Linux kernel that combine to form a complete operating system.  These distros can range from anything like Ubuntu or Mint which are popular desktop distributions often used as alternatives to Windowsa, to something like Android on your smartphone and to versions of Linux found on super computers.

A Linux distro contains