If you are into cybersecurity and you don’t even hear about Kali Linux, then you never be considered a cybersecurity professional. Don’t worry we are here to introduce you to the wonderful Linux distribution. Kali Linux is not a general-purpose desktop or server operating system. It is designed and developed to help cybersecurity professionals. Since it is not a general-purpose Linux distribution, it is not preferred to use as a host operating system. This doesn’t mean that you can’t install Kali Linux on your hardware. It’s recommended to install this on a virtual platform like VMWare Workstation, Virtual Box, WSL, or live boot. This post we have created to show you how to install Kali Linux on the VMWare Workstation.
What Is Kali Linux?
Kali Linux is an open-source Linux distribution built on the Debian platform like Ubuntu and Linux Mint. Kali Linux is not a general-purpose Linux distribution. It’s developed with a specific purpose especially for cybersecurity professionals, It has hundreds of utilities, applications, tools, software, and services that would be used by pentesters, security auditors, security testers, security researchers, cybersecurity forensics, threat hunters, reverse engineers, mostly the professionals found themselves in the cybersecurity landscape. Learn more about Kali Linux from here.
What Is VMWare Workstation?
VMWare Workstation is an application developed by VMWare to create virtual machines, containers, and Kubernetes clusters on any desktop or server system. VMWare released VMWare Workstation in two products: VMWare Workstation Pro and VMWare Workstation Player. VMWare Workstation Player is released on a free license with limited features, whereas VMWare Workstation Pro is an enterprise paid version that has loaded with a lot of features. Full documentation is published on the VMWare portal for free. Refer to the documentation from here.
Prerequisites To Install Kali Linux On VMWare Workstation:
To install Kali Linux on VMWare Workstation you just need a physical machine, VMWare Workstation Pro or Player installed on your machine and Kali Linux ISO image.
- A host system with minimum:
- 8 GB of memory
- A quad core CPU
- 500 GB of Hard Drive
- VMWare Workstation Pro or Player application:0
- Linux Mint Operating System to install on VMWare Workstation.
How To Install kali Linux On VMWare Workstation?
Time needed: 30 minutes.
How to Install Kali Linux on VMWare Workstation?
- Fier up VMWare WorkstationDownload the VMWare Workstation application for your host operating system and install it on your machine. The installation procedure is pretty simple and straight. Read the documentation for more details. Open the app after installation. Create a new Virtual Machine.
- Select Custom Configuration WizardYou can choose either Typical or Custom Wizard. We recommend selecting Custom if you want to install with all the configurations. If you are okay with default configurations then go ahead with Typical configurations.
- Select Virtual Machine Hardware Compatibilityrkstation 16x – NextGo with the default option if you don’t have the choice.
- Select the Operating System MediaSelect ‘I will install the operating system later’ for an interactive installation.
- Select Guest Operating System
- Name the Virtual Machine Name and locationType a name and give the location details.
- Allocate the ProcessorsAssign the processors, Calculate the processor required to run the host machine. Assign the leftover resources to the virtual machine.
- Allocate the Memory for Virtual MachineMemory allocation calculation is the same as the processor allocation. Leave sufficient memory for the host system and allocate the remaining memory for the virtual machine.
- Choose the Network ConfigurationSelect any one of the network configurations as per your requirement.
- Select the I/O Controller Type
- Select Disk Type
- Select Virtual DiskSelect the Virtual Disk if you have or create one.
- Select Disk CapacitySelect the disk size. Selecting a single disk will increase the performance. However, selecting a split disk will help in the disk transfer scenario.
- Specify Virtual Disk File
- Create Virtual Machine
- Supply Kali Linux ISO Image to Virtual MachineDownload Kali Linux image. Edit the CD/DVD settings and import the downloaded Linux Mint image.
- Power On the Virtual MachinePress the Play button to power on the Virtual Machine.
- Welcome, Kali Linux Virtual Machineyou will be treated with a welcome screen on which you will see the option to select the language. Select your language and click Continue.
- Select your Location
- Select Keyboard Layout
- Configure the Network for updates
- Enter the hostname for your Kali Linux machine
- Set up a user account and password
- Partition the DiskSelect Erase the Disk for auto partition. Or Select the Advance option to create the custom partition.
- All Files In One Partition (recommended for new users)- Continue
- Finish Partitioning And Write Changes To Disk
- Select the software packages according to your needs
- Installation of Kali Linux in Progress
- Install the GRUB boot loader
- Select the Drive to install GRUB
- The installation procedure of Kali Linux has finished.
- Reboot Virtual MachineReboot the machine after installation.
- Login to the Kali Linux with the user account
- Kali Linux Desktop after login
- Shut Down Kali Linux
See Also How To Export A Private Key File From A Windows Machine?