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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

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