Kali Post Configuration
First thing, I'm using Hyper-V and the resolution requires changing from the default to the maximum resolution of 1920x1080.
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Launch Terminal (shell)
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sudo nano /etc/default/grub
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The original configuration looks like this.
Update so it reads GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=”quiet splash video=hyperv_fb:1920×1080″
Ctrl + 'o' to write out the file
Ctrl + 'x' to exit Nano
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sudo update-grub to commit the change.
Restart Kali with sudo shutdown -h now
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Now for SSH Remote Shell.
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Be aware that unlike Windows, Linux command line is case sensitive.
Update before installing any packages.
sudo apt-get update && apt-get upgrade
Install ssh server
sudo apt-get install openssh-server
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List contents of the SSH directory
ls /etc/ssh
Make a backup directory.
sudo mkdir /etc/ssh/sshBackup
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Move ssh_host_* to the backup directory.
sudo mv /etc/ssh/ssh_host_* sshBackup
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Generate new ssh keys.
sudo dpkg-reconfigure openssh-server
Update ssh server config to enable secure comms.
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
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Remove the '#' from.
HostKey /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key
StrictModes yes
PublickeyAuthentication yes
Enable the service to persist between reboots.
systemctl enable ssh.service
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Start the ssh server.
systemctl start ssh.service
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Check the that status and make sure its running.
systemctl status ssh.service
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Copy the 'ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub' to your the management client.
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Do not copy the private key 'ssh_host_ed25519_key'.
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Open the .pub file with Notepad and copy to the key to clipboard.
Open Putty, browse to Connection, SSH, Host Keys
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Paste into the Key field and click 'Add Key'
Move back up to Session and type in the IP of the Kali client.
Type in the username and password
Hostname
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Despite setting the hostname during the installation, 'Kali' persists.
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sudo nano /etc/hostname
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Change the host name to something less conspicuous, again as this will show up in DNS when Kali registers.
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Its important to keep Kali up to date, not just the OS and applications but also the app databases like Metasploit.
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List upgradable apps.
apt list --upgradeable
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Update and then Upgrade​.
sudo apt-get update & sudo apt-get upgrade
Perform a full upgrade of all components
sudo apt-get update & sudo apt-get -y full-upgrade
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With the 2020.1 release root is no longer available, however it still might be necessary in some cases, read this article. The command to add root is as follows:​
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sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y kali-grant-root
sudo passwd root
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Prior to Kali version 2020.1 the only default account was root. Clearly using root is a bad idea but there was no enforcement.
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Create a new user with home drive, complete where prompted.
sudo adduser user2 --home /home/user2
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Add user to sudo
sudo usermod -a -G sudo user2
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-a = Add
-G = Group
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Its always an idea to change the MAC address, for spoofing another device or hide your device's id.
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ip address to the current network adapter, eth0
sudo service network-manager stop
sudo ipconfig eth0 down
sudo macchanger -r eth0
sudo ipconfig eth0 up
sudo service network-manager start
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