Best Linux distros for hacking and CTFs
Linux is a great operating system. It is free, it is fast and you can customize it as much as you want!
However, Linux has a steep learning curve that scares a lot of people.
I faced this same fear at first but I decided to go for it anyway and learn as much as possible. Now I like Linux and use it daily for hacking, programming, among several other purposes. I use it because I can customize it as I like and if I want to perform a clean install or buy a new machine I can easily put a new Linux distro for free.
The compatibility issues are becoming less and less of a problem as time passes because there are thousands of amazing people working on the open-source code of several Linux ditros and on several applications to make our experience as smooth and easy as possible. To those amazing people I would like to leave a: Thank you very much!
Well, let’s carry on. So what are the best Linux distros for hacking? It is important to point out that any Linux distro can be used for hacking. Some, however, already come with a set of tools that are necessary to hack. And it will also depend on what type of hacking you will want to perform.
There are several options, I will leave my personal top 5:
1. Kali Linux
Kali is the most widely known distro for hacking and penetration testing. Like many other distros is based on Debian. Kali was developed by Offensive Security and its first version, Kali Linux 1.0 was released in 2013. According to the Offensive Security team, it took them around a year to develop Kali. Kali comes with several hacking tools. Its main focus is penetration testing but also digital forensics.
The community of Kali is large and active. It is a distro that has great documentation and community support. They also released a book: “Kali Linux Revealed“. This book describes the OS, in particular, how to install it, how to use it at an Enterprise level, and also describes the day-to-day job of the security professionals.
In sum, it is an amazing option to consider if you want to dive into Linux for penetration testing purposes. You have plenty of information online that will help you install it, tweak it, and use it by yourself. Take a look at the official website here.
2. Parrot Security OS
Parrot OS is a new distro that was particularly designed for penetration testers that need to have online anonymity, system encryption, and simple and easy access to the cloud. It was developed by Frozenbox Network.
Like Kali Linux this distro is also based on Debian, it comes with the MATE desktop environment making it a very elegant distro from the start. However, you now can choose to install a KDE ISO if you prefer. This distro is an amazing choice for those that need a lightweight distro, either to be used in a Raspberry pi, an old computer, or just because.
Similar to Kali you have a lot of penetration testing and digital forensic tools that come with the OS making it a great OS out of the box.
I think this can also be a great choice, in particular, because you can use a Parrot Home OS as the main OS and then have a virtual machine, or a Raspberry Pi, or even an old machine with the Parrot Security OS. This way you do not need to learn/use several different distros and still have the best tools required for pentesting/hacking. Take a look at the official website here.
3. BlackArch
In contrast with the other ones, this Linux distro is based on Arch Linux. If you are using Arch and prefer it to Ubuntu/debian this is the choice for you! It is possible to install BlackArch on top of the Arch Linux if you have it and want to switch to BlackArch.
This OS is a repository that contains more than 2600 tools for penetration testing and security assessments in general.
According to their website, this is a new project as of the moment of writing this post. But if you prefer to use the cutting edge Arch distro, try BlackArch as your penetration testing distro. Take a look at the official website here.
4. BackBox
BackBox is another great option. It is based on Ubuntu, similar to Parrot OS and Kali, considering that Ubuntu is based on Debian. Like the previous ones, this distro was developed having penetration and security assessment as the primary focus. This distro also has a software repository with the latest stable versions of the operating system and the latest updates of tools.
The desktop environment is XFCE, which is considered a minimalist environment. This and other design factors make this OS very efficient. This is the case because it was developed aiming for a very low resource consumption for a great and maximize performance.
Similar to the previous ones this OS comes with a set of tools for penetration testing, digital forensics, and network analysis making it a great tool for security researchers/hackers/penetration testers. Take a look at the official website here.
5. Any Linux Distro you like!
There are more great alternatives but as a top 5, I say it’s any Linux distro that you like and customize as you go! This way you can have only the tools you need and not every single tool out there that you might not even need. I believe this option is great for those with time to learn the insides of the OS of choice and tweak it to their liking. Some examples are Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, Fedora, etc.
Conclusion and Final thoughts
There are other options out there that are probably better for your particular case. I suggest that you just pick one and start using it! However, if you prefer you can always research deeper into what are the options and try to match the best one to your specific needs. But remember that you can always customize the distro that you choose to make it more as you want. So in a way, it is probably better to pick one and get your feet wet!
I use Ubuntu and Kali Linux when I dive into some hacking/CTFs. I mainly prefer to use a light version of Ubuntu and install/make my tools as I go. I sometimes go for Kali when I know that I need a particular tool that is in Kali.
Thank you very much for reading!
Cheers,
MRegra
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Thank you very much for your feedback! 😀 Glad you enjoyed, I will be keep writing more content almost daily. Cheers,MRegra
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