Top 8 Kali Linux Tools

Kali Linux is a simple and versatile operating system and a distribution of the Linux operating system, a platform dedicated to penetration testing and ethical hacking.

Offensive Security initially developed it. Kali Linux was first developed by Mati Aharoni and Devon Kearns, both of whom belonged to Offensive Security. It was initially released as "moto."Kali Linux, previously known as BackTrack Linux, strictly follows open-source criteria. It includes more than 600 penetration tools, including John the Ripper, Nmap, Shellshock, etc.

Kali Linux is available on various Android devices, including the Nexus 6, 7, 9, 10, One Plus 1, and a few other Samsung devices. It is also officially available on Windows 10 and WSL (the Windows Subsystem for Linux). There are a few requirements for Kali Linux, including a minimum of 20 GB of hard disc space and 2 GB (RAM), and Intel Core i3.

With the rise in cybercrime in our IT world, ethical hackers, also known as white hat hackers, utilize specific network security to prevent hackers from exploiting their data systems.

The following are the best penetration tools.

John the Ripper

This resource works on several platforms, including Linux, Windows, macOS, etc. This tool was specifically designed to assist all the system administrators in finding weak passwords and automatically sending a default email to the user asking him to set a much better and stronger password to avoid exploitation of his resources. JTR is used by ethical hackers, cyber forensic experts, and other hackers to crack passwords. It is also available for free and is currently running on 15 operating systems. John the Ripper works offline and can run several attacks, including the brute force attack.

John the Ripper can guess a password depending on its strength and word list. JTR is wellconfigurable and enables us to use the same password-cracking tool everywhere.

Nmap

Also known as "network mapper," penetration testers use an open-source resource system for network discovery and security auditing. Nmap is used to obtain critical information about different systems on a network as well as the operating system that they are running. It also informs about the firewalls they are using, etc. Nmap is considered relatively robust by ethical hackers and is used to scan thousands of networks all around the globe. It is also free to download and aims to make the internet a little more secure. Nmap is now a toprated utility available on many operating systems.

Metasploit Framework

It is a penetration testing platform that one can use for various vital facilities, including testing security vulnerabilities, executing attacks, etc. It does offer two editions: a free version and a paid subscription. It was designed by Rapid7 Technologies. Metasploit is convenient and has many exploits for exploiting vulnerabilities over a network or operating system. It is available for Linux and Windows and is one of the most potent security auditing tools.

Skipfish

It is a free penetration testing tool mainly used for gathering information and testing the security of multiple websites. It is an easy way to perform penetration testing on the target system. This tool runs a security check on the target network and gives us the active security marks on the server. This tool also generates reports after scanning content management systems. This intelligence tool has a large number of modules participating in penetration testing.

Lynis

It is a security tool that works on several operating systems, like Linux, macOS, and Unix. It is used for security auditing and system hardening. It scans a target system and discovers components that further increase the auditing process. Vulnerability detection, intrusion detection, and system hardening are also some of their primary functions. It was first developed by CISOfy.

Wireshark

A widely popular, open-source platform that captures packets from any network system. It was developed by the Wireshark team and used for software development, network troubleshooting, etc. It is a free application that captures and transmits data. It enables live capturing as well as offline analysis of data.

Netcat

A simple, versatile tool for different tasks, including port scanning, creating backdoors, etc. The net platform can be operated on numerous operating systems, like Linux, Windows, macOS, and UNIX. It is excellent for reading and writing a network connection using TCP and UPD. It also helps with port redirection and network debugging. It is often recognized as the Swiss army knife of networking tools.

Burp Suite

Burp Suite is a set of tools specializing in penetration testing. It was first developed by Portswigger and is currently one of the most popular tools among system administrators. It is an easy-to-use web application attack tool that can intercept HTTP requests. Its various tools enable us to analyze the attack surface of any website.

Conclusion

Kali Linux overall enables an IT professional to have more control over the system's security. It enhances the functionality of various platforms after proper control over its primary security. It is free, more convenient, and a popular choice among hackers. Cyber–security experts and white-hat hackers were the primary target audience for the development of this tool.