Initial Setup

Common Steps

1. Download the Kali Linux installer from the official Kali website.
2. Use Balena Etcher to create a bootable USB install drive.
3. Plug the USB drive into the system and boot from it.
   • This step may need BIOS changes. (e.g. secure boot disabling, legacy mode activation)
4. Complete the installation as desired.
5. Login using the user account.
6. Open a Terminal Emulator.
7. Note the IP address:
   ifconfig
8. Enable the SSH server service:
   sudo systemctl enable ssh
9. Perform a full system update - this will take a while:
   sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade
10. Reboot the system:
    sudo reboot

SSH

Password Authentication

[!CAUTION] This is not a recommended method of authentication, especially if your system is connected to the Internet. You should use SSH keys.

1. Edit the configuration file as a superuser:
   sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
2. Uncomment the line:
   PasswordAuthentication yes
3. Restart the SSH server:
   sudo systemctl restart ssh
4. You may now logout, and remote into the system.
   • For Windows, I recommend MobaXterm or PuTTY.

Key-based Authentication

To be confirmed.

Headless Installation (RPi)

For a headless installation, and to have the system connect to a WiFi network automatically, add a wpa_supplicant.conf file to the first partition of the USB drive.

Generate the file using the following command on a different Linux system:
wpa_passphrase YOURNETWORK > wpa_supplicant.conf

[!CAUTION] Your user’s shell history will now contain your WiFi network password, edit your shell’s history file to remove it. (e.g. ~/.zsh_history, ~/.bash_history)