General Approach and Book Structure This book has been designed so that you can put your hands on Kali Linux right from the start.
You don’t have to read half of the book to get started. Every topic is covered in a very pragmatic
manner, and the book is packed with samples and screenshots to help make the explanations more
concrete.
In chapter
1
, “
About Kali Linux
” [page 2], we define some basic terminology and explain the pur-
pose of Kali Linux. In chapter
2
, “
Getting Started with Kali Linux
” [page 14], we guide you step-by-
step from the download of the ISO image to getting Kali Linux running on your computer. Next
comes chapter
3
, “
Linux Fundamentals
” [page 48] which supplies the basic knowledge that you
need to know about any Linux system, such as its architecture, installation process, file system
hierarchy, permissions, and more.
At this point, you have been using Kali Linux as live system for a while. With chapter
4
, “
Installing
Kali Linux
” [page 66] you will learn how to make a permanent Kali Linux installation (on your hard
disk) and with chapter
5
, “
Configuring Kali Linux
” [page 108] how to tweak it to your liking. As
a regular Kali user, it is time to get familiar with the important resources available to Kali users:
chapter
6
, “
Helping Yourself and Getting Help
” [page 128] gives you the keys to deal with the
unexpected problems that you will likely face.
With the basics well covered, the rest of the book dives into more advanced topics: chapter
7
,
“
Securing and Monitoring Kali Linux
” [page 156] gives you tips to ensure that your Kali Linux
installation meets your security requirements. Next, chapter
8
, “
Debian Package Management
”
[page 176] explains how to leverage the full potential of the Debian packaging ecosystem. And
in chapter
9
, “
Advanced Usage
” [page 228], you learn how to create a fully customized Kali Linux
ISO image. All those topics are even more relevant when you deploy Kali Linux at scale in an
enterprise as documented in chapter
10
, “
Kali Linux in the Enterprise
” [page 258].
XX
Kali Linux Revealed
The last chapter, chapter
11
, “
Introduction to Security Assessments
” [page 284], makes the link
between everything that you have learned in this book and the day-to-day work of security pro-
fessionals.
