How to Install Kali Linux in Virtual Box: Step by Step Guide (with Pictures)

How to Install Kali Linux

Kali Linux is a linux distribution based on Debian and specially designed for penetration testing. It can be booted from a Live CD, Live USB, or can be installed like a regular OS. It also works on a wide range of devices, such as beaglebone. It is NOT meant for the regular users, but for those who want to learn Ethical hacking. Also, it is NOT recommended for the beginners to run Kali as the only OS on their system. So, there are two ways to run it, either in a Virtual Machine or in Dual Boot Mode. We will discuss the former, how to set up kali in a virtual machine using virtual box.

Please note, that some features might NOT work on a virtual machine. For instance, your internal wireless adapter will NOT be detected by kali. Internet will still work if the host machine is connected, but tools like wifite won't work. You will need extra hardware, such as a USB network adapter in order to make it work. Still, to get a feel of the Kali's environment and for most of the purposes, virtual machine is a good option. So let's begin.

We will install kali using Linux Mint Rebecca Cinnamon Edition (32 bit) as the host Operating System, the system in which the VirtualBox will run.

DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL VIRTUALBOX
->First of all, download the latest version of VirtualBox for your host OS from here:

Download !



For my laptop, i downloaded the i386 version for Ubuntu 14.04, as Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu itself.



->Install VirtualBox on your system. I used the following command to install it from the downloaded file:

dpkg -i /home/niks/Downloads/virtualbox-4.3_4.3.28-100309-Ubuntu-raring_i386.deb

The general command to install will be:

dpkg -i [path]/[downloaded_file_name].deb

DOWNLOAD KALI LINUX
->Download the latest version of Kali Linux 32 bit from here:

Download !



SETUP VIRTUAL MACHINE

->Go to Menu->Administration->Oracle VM VirtualBox. Click on New button at the top left corner. In the dialog box, type KaliLinux in Name text field. In the Type drop down menu, select Linux. In Version drop down menu, select Other (32 bit). Click Next.





MEMORY ALLOCATION
->In memory size dialog box, specify the amount of RAM you want to allocate to the Virtual Machine. The minimum requirement for Kali is 512MB, but I allocated 768MB and it worked great. Change the value to suit your requirements and click Next.



CREATE A VIRTUAL HARD DRIVE
->In the dialog box that appears, select the "create a virtual drive now" option and press next.

->Select VMDK(or any option you like) and click on Next.



->Then select Dyamically Allocated and click on Next. This will mean that a virtual hard drive will be set up for your system, and it will occupy only that much space which is required by it. In the next step, you can specify the maximum size of this virtual hard drive. I would recommend 20GB, but 10GB is the recommended value. Click on Create button.



Now, your virtual machine is set up. But wait, it does not have an Operating System yet!

INSTALLING KALI ON THE VIRTUAL MACHINE
->Select the virtual machine you just created and click on the Start button on the upper left corner.

->Select Startup Disk dialog box shows up. Click on the folder icon on the right and browse to the iso file of Kali. Select it and click Open. Then click on Start.



->The Kali iso file loads up. Select the install option.



->In language selec menu, select English. Press Enter. Select your country and press Enter. Select American English in keymap module and hit Enter.





->After a few seconds, a dialog box comes up and asks for the hostname. Default value is kali. Keep it as it is, select Continue and hit Enter.

->Leave the domain name blank and select Continue option. Set the root password as anything. I kept it "toor". Select Continue. Enter it again and select Continue.



->In partitioning method, select Guided-Use entire disk. Press enter when only one option shows up.





->Select All files in One Partition and hit enter.

->Click on Finish Partitioning and write changes to disk. In next menu, select Yes and hit enter.



->Then wait!







->When it asks "Use a network mirror?" Select no.



->When asked "Install the GRUB Bootloader to the Master Boot record?", select yes.



 

->After a few moments, the installion is Complete! Now click on Continue. It will perform some final cleanup tasks and restart on its own.





->The GRUB Bootloader shows up. Select the first option and hit enter.



->An error might occur the first time. This is because the guest OS is trying to switch to the PAE mode, which is disabled by default. To fix this, click OK in the error dialog box. Then, go to Settings->System->Processor and select Enable PAE/NX. Click OK. Now Start the Virtual Machine.





If all goes well, you will be running Kali Linux from VirtualBox! :-



Comment Below for any queries or help needed !