Kali Linux Comes to Windows
The Kali Linux developers even managed to run full blown XFCE desktop via WSL.
Kali Linux, a penetration testing distro that you may have seen in Mr. Robot, is now available in Windows Store. The Kali Linux team has been working with the Microsoft WSL team to bring the distro to the platform that still dominates the PC landscape. By doing so, Kali has brought some of the best penetration testing tools to the biggest PC user-base.
“This is especially exciting news for penetration testers and security professionals who have limited toolsets due to enterprise compliance standards,” wrote Mati Aharoni, lead Kali developer, in a blog post.
At the end of last year, Microsoft took WSL out of beta, making it available for every Windows 10 user for the latest Fall Creators Update. Users can simply go to Windows Store and install their preferred Linux distro just like any other app. Initially only Ubuntu, openSUSE Leap and SUSE Linux Enterprise were available, but the WSL team is working with different distros to bring them to the store.
Officially on command line Linux utilities are available through WSL, as the target audience is developers and sysadmins who want to write or deploy applications for Linux machines running on Cloud. That didn’t stop the Linux community from running GUI applications through WSL. In fact, even the Kali Linux team managed to run full blown XFCE desktop.
Running Linux distros under WSL has its own shortcomings. Your system is as secure as is Windows 10. However, the Kali Linux team sees some great possibilities too, “While running Kali on Windows has a few drawbacks to running it natively (such as the lack of raw socket support), it does bring in some very interesting possibilities, such as extending your security toolkit to include a whole bunch of command line tools that are present in Kali.”
Being able to run Linux inside of Windows 10 gives developers native access to tools from both worlds.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
![Learn More](https://www.linux-magazine.com/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/media/linux-magazine-eng-us/images/misc/learn-more/834592-1-eng-US/Learn-More_medium.png)
News
-
NVIDIA Released Driver for Upcoming NVIDIA 560 GPU for Linux
Not only has NVIDIA released the driver for its upcoming CPU series, it's the first release that defaults to using open-source GPU kernel modules.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 24.07 Released
If you’re into rolling release Linux distributions, OpenMandriva ROME has a new snapshot with a new kernel.
-
Kernel 6.10 Available for General Usage
Linus Torvalds has released the 6.10 kernel and it includes significant performance increases for Intel Core hybrid systems and more.
-
TUXEDO Computers Releases InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen9 Laptop
Sporting either AMD or Intel CPUs, the TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 is an extremely compact, lightweight, sturdy powerhouse.
-
Google Extends Support for Linux Kernels Used for Android
Because the LTS Linux kernel releases are so important to Android, Google has decided to extend the support period beyond that offered by the kernel development team.
-
Linux Mint 22 Stable Delayed
If you're anxious about getting your hands on the stable release of Linux Mint 22, it looks as if you're going to have to wait a bit longer.
-
Nitrux 3.5.1 Available for Install
The latest version of the immutable, systemd-free distribution includes an updated kernel and NVIDIA driver.
-
Debian 12.6 Released with Plenty of Bug Fixes and Updates
The sixth update to Debian "Bookworm" is all about security mitigations and making adjustments for some "serious problems."
-
Canonical Offers 12-Year LTS for Open Source Docker Images
Canonical is expanding its LTS offering to reach beyond the DEB packages with a new distro-less Docker image.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1 Released with Several Enhancements
If you're a fan of Plasma Desktop, you should be excited about this new point release.