Kali Linux 2020.1 release is now available for immediate download. Kali Linux is an Advanced Penetration Testing Linux distribution suited for Ethical hacking, Penetration Testing, and network security assessments among other security related operations. This Linux distribution has evolved from its initial release, to being a rolling release Linux distribution that can be used for general computing purposes.
The Kali Linux 2020.1 release made things even better. In this release, you don’t get an operating system with a myriad of tools that you never use. During installation, you have the control to decide the tools you want installed, and the Desktop environment of your choice.
What is new in Kali Linux 2020.1
Some of the major changes are:
- A switch from GNOME to Xfce: The default DE is now Xfce. But you can choose KDE, Gnome e.t.c during installation.
- Non-Root by default – You crease a standard user account during installation. To login to Live image boot, use
kali/kalicredentials. - Kali single installer image – This is an all-in-one offline installation. Has all the default package selections. This image now has XFCE, GNOME, KDE, etc. Unlike the older releases which distributed desktop environments as separate image files.
- Kali NetHunter Rootless – You can now run Kali NetHunter in an Android phone not rooted.
- Theme Improvements – New themes for GNOME – light and dark.
- Kali-Undercover – Kali-undercover now starts to feel even more like Windows to help blend in.
- New Tools – cloud-enum, emailharvester, phpggc, sherlock, splinter.
- Python 2 End Of Life – Tools depending on Python 2.x removed.
Install Kali Linux 2020.1 – Step by Step with Screenshots
Now that we’ve seen the new features in Kali Linux 2020.1, let’s proceed to the installation steps.
Step 1: Download Kali Linux installer ISO image
Visit the downloads page and pull the latest release of Kali Linux.
--- With wget ---
$ wget https://cdimage.kali.org/kali-2020.1/kali-linux-2020.1-installer-amd64.isoIf you have torrent application, you can use the Torrent link instead. There are ready to boot images for VirtualBox and VMware. If you want the Live image, pull it under the Kali Linux (Live) section.
Step 2: Create bootable USB drive
If installing on a Laptop, Desktop or server, you’ll need to create a bootable medium for installation.
On Linux, use dd command:
sudo dd if=kali-linux-2020.1-installer-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=512kWhere:
- /dev/sdX is your USB device
If on Windows or macOS, user Etcher.
“>Select image, USB device and hit the Flash button to get started.
Step 3: Boot Kali Linux installer image
Insert bootable USB Drive to your computer and boot from it to start installation process. Once booted:
Select graphical installation method – Recommended for new users.
“>Choose the language to use during installation process – English for me.
“>Select a country for the correct timezone to be set for your machine during installation.
“>Configure Keyboard keymap.
“>Wait for the installation components to be loaded.
“>Set your machine hostname.
“>Set domain name, this will be part of FQDN –
“>Create a user for non-administrative activities – set full name and username.
“>
“>Set password for the user.
“>Set desired timezone
“>Choose disk partitioning method – If you’re not sure, go with “Guided – use entire disk“.
“>Select disk for installation.
“>Select how partitioning should be done. For new users, All files in one partition should work fine. If you have enough installation disk size, you can go with separate /home, /var, /tmp partitions. This may require doing custom partitioning in the previous steps for accurate disk allocation.
“>Write changes to disk.
“>If you chose LVM, set size of volume group to be created.
“>Commit changes to disk
“>Wait for the installation to start – it should take few minutes.
“>If you have a network proxy for external access then configure it in the next screen.
“>Package manager apt configuration will start.
“>Choose software applications and Kali desktop environment to install.
“>You can choose tools based on your Kali Linux use case – Purpose for installation.
“>Install the GRUB boot loader to the master boot record so you can boot your Kali Linux image.
“>Select target disk for GRUB installation – Mostly the first disk.
“>Your installation completed successful if you don’t see any error messages.
“>You can continue and reboot your system to start using Kali Linux.
“>Our next guides will cover common operational tasks to do after installing Kali Linux. In the meantime, check other Kali Linux tutorials available.
Install Vivaldi Web Browser on Linux Mint / Kali Linux
