Best Operating Systems for Pentesting and Ethical Hacking

In the article below, are given list of Best Operating Systems for Pentesting and Ethical Hacking. The mentioned operating systems are free, open source and are based on Linux Kernal.

Best Operating Systems for Pentesting and Ethical Hacking

1) Kali Linux

Kali Linux

Kali Linux is one of the most popular hacking distro used by hackers and penetration testers around the world. It is debian based linux distribution. Kali is maintained and developed by Offensive Security.

Is Kali illegal? Kali Linux is not illegal by itself. After all, it is just an OS. It is however a tool for hacking too and when someone uses it especially for hacking, it is illegal. But, it is legal If you install it for useful purposes like learning, or teaching, or using it in the way to fortify your software or your network as It is not illegal to install any Operating System which is licensed and available for download.

Kali Linux comes pre-installed with more than 300 pentesting tools. It follows the rolling release model, meaning every tool in the your OS will always be up to date.

credit : www.walkerfasr369.weebly.com

The reason for being most popular distro is the compatibility with range of devices like android phone, hard disk, pendrive, ARM devices, CD’s, virtual box, etc.

For instance, you can easily install Kali Linux from here.

(Related : Top 6 Cyber Security Jobs in Demand 2021)

2) Parrot Security OS

Parrot Security OS

Parrot Security OS is Debian based GNU linux distribution for advance users.The target users of Parrot Security OS are penetration testers, who need a cloud-friendly environment with online anonymity and an encrypted system. It was first released in 2013. It is open-source operating system, it is maintained and developed by a team of security experts, Linux enthusiasts, and open source developers.

After that, Parrot OS comes with almost all tools required for pentesting. It gives best-in-class experience of penetration and security testing in real-world environments to hackers and cyber security professionals.

Above all, Parrot OS is developed using Kali Linux and Frozen box OS. This operating system is one of the most highy customizable present with a strong community support of developers around the world.

For instance, you can install Parrot Security OS from here.

3) BackBox

BackBox Linux ~ credit : www.kitploit.com

In the world of pentesting Kali Linux is the most popular hacking OS. But there is another flavour i.e. BackBox Linux. It is ubuntu based distribution.

Are you thinking why it is used for penetration testing purposes if it is Ubuntu based? The main reason is the distribution includes all the necessary tools required for pen testing operations.

For example, these are some tool categories :

• Web application analysis
• Exploitation testing
• Network analysis
• Stress testing
• Privilege escalation
• Vulnerability assessment
• Computer forensic analysis and exploitation
• And much more

And the second reason is, we get to use out of the box applications as it is Ubuntu based. These distribution may include less tools than Kali Linux but it covers all tools required. Being in active development till date, your system will be up-to-date with latest repositories and tools.

If you want a hacking OS but with minimal desktop environment you can surely go for this distro.

For instance, you can easily install BackBox Linux from here.

4) BlackArch

BlackArch Linux ~ credit : decdeg.com

Black Arch Linux is a advance linux distribution for cybersecurity enthusiast and professional pentesters. It is build on top of Arch Linux. Arch linux has its own repository for packages within the distribution.

Black Arch Linux comes with more than 2000 penetration testing tools, which gets a update every now and then in their “AUR” repository. Although, the list of tools gets upgraded by developers and cyber security enthusiasts around the world. It has the option of multiple windows manager. It is the best alternative for Kali Linux/Back Box Linux. Most importantly, Arch Linux is a light distribution in comparison with others.

If you are a Arch user you should definitely go for these distro. Secondly, it is compatible with range of machines like ARM(raspberry pi), pendrive, hardisk, virtual machines with a architecture of 32-bit or 64-bit.

Some of the tools included in the distribution :

BlackArch Tools

If you are a Arch user and want to try these tools, you can simply install them in your distro(on top of present Arch Linux distribution).

Meanwhile, you can easily install BlackArch Linux from here.

5) DEFT Linux

DEFT Linux ~ credit : www.linuxandubuntu.com

DEFT – Digital Evidence And Forensics Toolkit, is a linux based operating system made for computer forensics. On the other hand, forensics tasks carried out in a live system without installing the whole operating system. Secondly, you must boot your system with the live environment to perform operations. Without affecting or corrupting the hard disk. DEFT is the counterpart to DART (Digital Advanced Response Toolkit), a forensics system for Windows. Operating system uses the LXDE desktop environment and WINE for running Windows tools.

To clarify, developed and maintained by Stefano Fratepietro. Based on the Lubuntu linux distribution with a range of forensics and penetration testing tools. It also comes with a Digital Forensics Framework.

6) Fedora Security Lab (FSL)

Fedora Security lab

Fedora Security Lab is a Fedora Lab for penetration testing & forensic analysis. However, these lab are unknown to people, why? Because it is use only for specific tasks.

Above all, these lab comes with useful tools and applications for professionals and cyber security enthusiast for analyzing network security and systems or for pen testing purposes.

How expose you are to a cyber attack can be determined using these lab with help of tools in the operating system. Above all, checking the security for your systems and computers by creating a dummy attack that may occur in the real world can be executed in these lab.

These distribution is free to download and comes with many utilities. Alternatively, the distribution also comes with a live boot feature for booting a live environment and testing on your machine first. Secondly, desktop flavour is Xfce, which is the best flavour for low end machines.

On the other hand, tools are present in these manner :

• Password tools
• Reconnaissance
• Intrusion detection
• Forensics
• Code analysis
• Wireless
• Web Applications Testing
• VoIP (Voice over IP)
• Network statistics

For instance, you can easily install Fedora Security Lab from here.

Therefore, these are the best operating systems for pentesting and ethical hacking.