Top 10 things to do after installing Kali Linux | important things to do after installing Kali Linux

Top 10 things to do after installing Kali Linux 2019.1

Each and every beginner or an intermediate in the field of ethical hacking or cyber security is facing problem in what? In the ‘Top 10 things to do after installing Kali Linux’. So, here I am back after the official release of Kali Linux 2019.1 by the offensive security group. I will be Heading towards a step by step guide on ‘how to configure Kali Linux after a completely freshly installation’. So, you do not need to go anywhere in search of any queries like - The top 10 things to do after installing Kali Linux on your computer, 10 things to do after installing kali linux, top 5 things to do after installing Kali Linux 2018.3, 10 things to do after installing Kali Linux 2019, important things to do after installing Kali Linux and what to do after a fresh install of Kali Linux.

Top 20 things to do after installing Kali Linux? Top 15 things to do after installing Kali Linux? Really Difficult? Why?

I really can’t understand any newbie who has entered in the field of Ethical Hacking/Cyber Security that why do they want to go on for configuring Kali Linux after installation in their virtual machine for Top 20 or Top 10 things. Whereas it is just possible to setup Kali Linux in 10 simple Steps. Even people go on searching for silly things like ‘null byte 10 things to do after installing Kali Linux’ where people are just wasting their time in configuring bash alliasis, installing terminal multiplexer 

which is not that important for beginners.

Top 10 important things to do after installing Kali Linux

So to overcome every problem on the 10 things to do after installing Kali Linux follow the steps given below :-

Step 1: Configuring Screen Resolution | Screed Display in Kali Linux.

When we have just finished the installation of kali Linux in our virtual environment, we get a very small screen display. This screen display is not suitable to carry out our lessons in Kali Linux. So, we need to configure it according to our regular screen resolution.

To adjust the screen resolution we need first need to go to the power button on the top right corner of the screen and select the setting button which is at the bottom.

Now as the settings open we need to type “display” in the search box and select the first option named “Displays”.

Now you need to go to the resolution option at the right side and select 1920x1620(16:10) option.

So you are set with a good display to work out a few steps in your kali linux machine.

Note: This screen resolution is inappropriate. We have taken it a bit bigger so that we can install vmware tools and set our display properly according to the best fit of your computer’s screen display automatically.

Step 2: Configuring Sources.list

Now we need to configure our sources.list file which is in the/etc/apt/ folder in our kali linux machine’s root directory. We need to configure/edit our sources.list file is just because without editing this file Kali Linux is just a scrap and will hinder in every process of installing any dependencies or packages or tools. To configure the sources.list file we will have to to go to the /etc/apt/sources.list destination. To edit the file we will use a text editor named leafpad which comes installed with Kali Linux Machine. To do so type the following command in your terminal :

            leafpad /etc/apt/sources.list

Now open your Firefox browser and check for the tab named “kali Docs” and click it.

Now as the webpage appears scroll down and in the 5^th column and open “kali sources.list repository”.

Now copy the link given in the 3 different boxes in the web page and paste it in different line in the leafpad editor which you have opened. After pasting all the 3 links present simply save the file and exit.

So, you have configured your sources.list file in you Kali Linux now.

Step 3: Installing vmware tools

This is the must do step while setting up any Kali Linux machine. Installing vmware tools in Kali Linux gives you access to directly transfer a file from your host machine say, windows to the virtual machine Kali Linux. In other words it will enable a drag and drop feature for copying and sharing of file rather than sharing through pendrives. Vmware Tools also gives stability to virtual machine, which allows the Kali Linux machine to adjust the screen resolution too. To see the effects of vmware tools, just install by the steps given below :-

Go to the Player button > Manage > Install vmware tools.

Now it will prompt you confirming that you want to install vmware tools. Just select “Install”.

Now at the top of the screen it will show vmware tools. Just click on it and select “view the files”.

After this you will get some files along with a tar.zip file. Almost appearing as a zip file. Just copy it form there and past it onto your desktop.

Now open the zip file and you will see a folder, right click on it and select extract.

After extracting it to your desktop just simply open the folder and within the folder 

right click and select open in terminal.

Now when the Kali Linux terminal appears just type 

                                            perl vmware-install.pl

Now just press enter and wherever it says [yes] or[no] type yes in  the terminal and the vmware tools will be installed in the Kali Linux virtual machine.

To get the immediate effects of installing vmware tools just restart your Kali Linux machine.

Step 4: Updating and Upgrading kali Linux

Updating and Upgrading Kali Linux is very important. Updating your Kali Linux machine makes is fully patched and updated with the updated dependencies and packages. Whereas upgrading you Kali Linux machine makes all the tools up to date by downloading and installing all the new versions of the tools. To update and Upgrade your Kali Linux machine just type the following commands in the terminal.

Note: This step might take a lot of time as well as a lot of mobile data. So, it is recommended to use a faster internet connection speed.

apt update && apt full-upgrade

Step 5: Installing chromium- a web browser

Installing a web browser is really important because for everyone Firefox just sucks!!  And to use google chrome in Kali Linux is not recommended by many users as well as professionals. So, installing Chromium is a must because it provides a similar interface as that of Google Chrome and maintains our privacy at a higher level as that compared to chrome. To install Chromium in Kali Linux just type the following 

command in the kali terminal :-

apt install chromium

Note: We will be installing tor browser in the next post because at first everyone requires a normal browser with a faster speed.

Step 6: Adding x32 bit architecture support

Adding x32 bit architecture support is a must in Kali Linux because many tools in Kali Linux are based on x32 bit architecture failing which they won’t function or perform as they are expected to. To install x32 bit architecture support in Kali Linux type the commands given below :-

dpkg –add-architechture 1386     (press enter and again apt update in your terminal)

apt update

Step 7: Installing Atom – a code editor

Installing a code editor is really important in Kali Linux and when it comes to code editors like atom when we can install additional features in it for advance uses it becomes a very important need. Atom code editor provides everything that a programmer needs to do in a single software which is far better than installing and using multiple softwares for just a single task. To install atom code editor in Kali Linux enter the following commands :-

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/atom

sudo apt update; sudo apt install atom

Now, atom code editor will be installed in your kalio linux machine.

Step 8: Setting up a low privileged user (Non-root user)

Setting up a low privileged user is also very important because many important tools including tor browser will not work if you are using it as a root user. Adding to this, anyone who has just started in the field of learning hacking would not link to get hacked because if you are logged in as root and get hacked then all your work will be messed up. So, to setup a low privileged user in you Kali Linux machine type the following commands :-

adduser (username)

Note: The username will not be in brackets. Try to give a one word username.

Step 9: Changing default password & ssh keys

Changing default password of the ssh keys is an important work of securing your system. As, Kali Linux is installed the ssh keys are always same in all the Kali machines which can be used in exploiting your newly installed Kali machine. So, inorder to change the default password of the ssh keys, just type the following commands in your terminal :-

Move the default Kali ssh keys to a new folder:

cd /etc/ssh/
mkdir default_kali_keys
mv ssh_host_* default_kali_keys/

This will move your default keys to the new folder...

Regenerate the keys:
dpkg-reconfigure openssh-server
Creating SSH2 RSA key; this may take some time ...
Creating SSH2 DSA key; this may take some time ...
Creating SSH2 ECDSA key; this may take some time ...
insserv: warning: current start runlevel(s) (empty) of script `ssh' overrides LSB defaults (2 3 4 5).
insserv: warning: current stop runlevel(s) (2 3 4 5) of script `ssh' overrides LSB defaults (empty).

Verify ssh key hashes are different:

md5sum ssh_host_*
Compare new key hashes to the hashes below :-
cd default_kali_keys/
md5sum *
b9419ea3a8fff086c258740e89ca86b8 ssh_host_dsa_key
f9a5b57d7004e3740d07c5b037d15730 ssh_host_dsa_key.pub
58e49e0d7b24249c38db0c9cf595751b ssh_host_ecdsa_key
597c83fabf3c1e4f2c7af74af05ac671 ssh_host_ecdsa_key.pub
cc0d92036bb86797bed354338faa7223 ssh_host_rsa_key
cc9ddc90b891b5251ed4ea8341495e84 ssh_host_rsa_key.pub

Step 10: Installing Git

Git allows us to gitclone and download any package more effectively and easily from thee GitHub repository/directory. To setup git in Kali linux type the commands in the terminal :-

apt install git

Final Notes:

So, you are all set for your new Kali Linux machine. Like a country is not complete without its army similarly you need some tools in Kali to make it complete. To see that check it out here.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     -Happy Hacking!!

Signing Off,

Kali4Hacking.