Kali Post Configuration
First thing, I'm using Hyper-V and the resolution requires changing from the default to the maximum resolution of 1920x1080.
Launch Terminal (shell)
sudo nano /etc/default/grub
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
sudo update-grub to commit the change.
Restart Kali with sudo shutdown -h now
Now for SSH Remote Shell.
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
List contents of the SSH directory
ls /etc/ssh
Make a backup directory.
sudo mkdir /etc/ssh/sshBackup
Move ssh_host_* to the backup directory.
sudo mv /etc/ssh/ssh_host_* sshBackup
Generate new ssh keys.
sudo dpkg-reconfigure openssh-server
Update ssh server config to enable secure comms.
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
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
Start the ssh server.
systemctl start ssh.service
Check the that status and make sure its running.
systemctl status ssh.service
Copy the 'ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub' to your the management client.
Do not copy the private key 'ssh_host_ed25519_key'.
Open the .pub file with Notepad and copy to the key to clipboard.
Open Putty, browse to Connection, SSH, Host Keys
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
Despite setting the hostname during the installation, 'Kali' persists.
sudo nano /etc/hostname
Change the host name to something less conspicuous, again as this will show up in DNS when Kali registers.
Its important to keep Kali up to date, not just the OS and applications but also the app databases like Metasploit.
List upgradable apps.
apt list --upgradeable
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
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:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y kali-grant-root
sudo passwd root
Prior to Kali version 2020.1 the only default account was root. Clearly using root is a bad idea but there was no enforcement.
Create a new user with home drive, complete where prompted.
sudo adduser user2 --home /home/user2
Add user to sudo
sudo usermod -a -G sudo user2
-a = Add
-G = Group
Its always an idea to change the MAC address, for spoofing another device or hide your device's id.
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