You've just unleashed the power of Kali Linux, but what's next? Get ready to take your hacking journey to the next level. We're diving into the top 5 essential steps after installation that'll transform you into a Kali Linux master-- or should we say, a Pro Hacker? Buckle up! Hello cyber-enthusiasts! It's Douglas here. And I'm thrilled to have you back for another exciting episode on my channel. If you're just joining us, consider this your invitation to hop aboard our "CYBER-AWESOME" journey. Ready to dive in? Give that thumbs-up a tap. And if you haven't officially joined the squad yet?! Hit that subscribe button like it owes you money! Oh, and don't forget the notification bell to get notified whenever we upload a new video. Subscribed? Awesome! Leave a comment down below and I will give you a cyber-friendly reply. Let's be cyber-buddies. Alright, ready to jump in?! Let's get started! From our previous video of Staying anonymous series, we installed Kali Linux in a VirtualBox. If you haven't watched it yet, you can catch up by checking it out right here. It's the first episode for the series. But enough with the past ---let's kick off with step 1. UPDATING AND UPGRADING: By updating and upgrading, we're making sure our hacking environment is equipped with the latest security features and fixes to defend against online threats. Now let's get practical! Fire up your terminal. Start with 'sudo apt update' to fetch the latest freshest package list. Enter your root password, and press enter. Wait for it to update. This doesn't really take a long time so don't worry and when done, clear the terminal. Next, type 'sudo apt upgrade -y.' It literally says yes to upgrades without waiting for prompts. I guess we're picking up some new commands too, right? Enter password, hit enter. This might take a longer time, depending on your internet speed but let's embrace patience. As we wait let's clear up any confusion -- 'upgrade' takes care of the installed packages within the current Linux version, yet 'full-upgrade' usually comes in when we're moving to a newer version. Don't fret anyway, we'll dive into 'full-upgrade' in another video. Stay tuned! For now, just keep holding on, because we're just getting started here. We've got an exciting bonus coming your way at the end. Stick around—you won't want to miss it! And by the way for first-time upgrading, you will get another prompt to start services during the process. Just select 'yes' to continue with the upgrade using your arrow keys. When the upgrade is done, type 'sudo apt autoremove' and press enter. This removes packages that might no longer be needed. Oh, and one smart move before we move on—let's minimize this, take a "snapshot" to save this moment making it easy to revert back in case of any error ahead. Now let's proceed to step 2. INSTALLING ESSENTIAL TOOLS: We're all on a journey to level up our hacking game, and you know what they say? "The right TOOLS are ESSENTIAL for the job." What exactly are these essential tools? We're talking about tools like Nmap, Metasploit, Python, Git and many more other tools. We wouldn't want to venture without them, right? Let's jump right in with Nmap. To ensure Nmap is up and running, just type "nmap localhost" for a straightforward ping scan and yes, its ready!!! Now, if you want to test other tools, say hello to Metasploit. Try "msfconsole --version" and press enter. You can adapt this for any tool—just replace 'metasploit' with your chosen tool name. Want another quick trick? Type 'dpkg -l | grep nmap' for the same info. Suppose you spot a missing tool, a command like "sudo apt install python3", type in your password and hit enter -will definitely fetch it for you. The same rule applies for all tools. Like let's try "sudo apt install pip"? This handy tool comes in handy for various operations. Now, let's talk about the game-changer—Git. It's the magic wand for fetching project packages and maintaining version control. Plus, it's the gateway to installing your favorite hacking tools from GitHub. Ready for a sneak peek? Watch closely: I'll go ahead to GitHub and clone a repository with the command "git clone" followed by my project link, that I'm working on right to the desktop. And there it is, ready for any changes now. Then that leads us to step 3. CREATING A LOW-LEVEL USER: - First off, before we delve into this. If you installed Kali Linux with pre-configured credentials of Kali Kali, the first thing to do is to change the password. By navigating to the user, or to root with "sudo su -", enter the password, and hit enter. Proceed to change the password with the command "passwd", hit enter, configure a new one, retype it and it will be updated. Back to the main point, the need for a low-level user arises for safety reasons of course. Let's put the theory into action. Meet Pro Hacker our low-level user. And we want to bring him into existence. First, we shall create Pro Hacker's account by typing "adduser prohacker", hit enter. And we are doing this in root to avoid entering passwords multiple times: Configure a strong password and continue to set the rest. Now since Pro Hacker is our loyal low-level user, we shall grant him access to royalty. By this I mean "sudo privileges". To be able to access root actions. Simply type "usermod -aG sudo prohacker". And by the way, replace prohacker with your own username. The sudo command adds security before gaining high top rights. Speaking of rights, granting a login shell will let Pro-hacker interact with the system as a true resident. Simply do that by typing "chsh -s /bin/bash prohacker". Now we have a new user added with sudo privileges. To confirm that we can type "grep 'sudo' /etc/group. And there it is we enabled sudo privileges for Pro Hacker!!! You can also add any user graphically too by navigating to Applications >, settings>, scroll down to 'users and groups', select it. And here you can add, or remove, or change settings of any user the same way as using commands. Now we can navigate to our new user by typing "su prohacker", and changing to any directory we want to operate in. with that let's jump to step 4. ADDING A TERMINAL MULTIPLEXER: Kali Linux offers a tabbed terminal where you can add multiple tabs for different terminal sessions. Just right here, whenever you need to run side by side tasks and multitasking. But this is kind of hectic when it comes to managing different tasks within these separate tabs. That's where a multiplexer comes to the rescue for easy manageability and portability. One of the best options to explore are Tilix, Konsole and Guake. To install any of your choice, like for Tilix, simply enter the command: "sudo apt install tilix -y", press Enter, and let the installation-process finish. Once it's done, launch Tilix by typing "tilix" in the terminal. And here it is. With Tilix you can split the terminal horizontally or vertically, from here. By either adding a terminal to the right, or to the bottom. Just like that. Then you can maximize it too. And now you're set to work on multiple tasks simultaneously! Konsole offers a similar experience too. Just type "konsole" to open it after installing of course. And by the way Konsole provides a tabbed functionality too making it a strong choice. And you can do the same with it just like Tilix. They're all good for the job of multitasking. Don't forget to give Guake a try, or any other multiplexer you prefer. The choice is yours. As a 'Pro Tip', whenever you encounter difficulties running specific tools, use the "--help option", followed by the tool's name, like "konsole --help", to access usage instructions. This can be a lifesaver when you're stuck. Now we've mastered multiplexers, let's move on to step 5. INSTALLING VS CODE (Our favorite code editor): - A reliable code editor is essential for efficiently managing, editing, and creating your files. Kali Linux comes with several pre-installed editors like Nano, and Vim, and you can even install Gedit. However, there's one editor that stands out—Visual Studio Code (VS Code). It's not only powerful but also user-friendly, with built-in Git integration, making it an excellent choice for many. Let's get it installed. Open your web browser and visit the official Visual Studio Code website. Scroll down a bit and download the .deb file (not the .rpm, which is not suitable for our distro). While it's downloading, let's clarify why we chose the .deb file. Not only is it straightforward to install, but it also simplifies updates since they are handled by the apt package manager. We would also use "wget", or "curl", or download the "gzipped" version, or even "git clone" to get the file from GitHub but that wouldn't be suitable. Once the download is complete, navigate to your Downloads folder in the terminal. Use the "ls" command to list the files in the folder, and you'll find the downloaded file. Now, let's install it. Run the following command: "sudo apt install ./<filename.deb> -y", and hit enter. The installation might take some time, depending on your internet speed. So don't fret. When it's done, you can launch our "favorite code editor" by heading over to the Applications menu then search for "VS Code." Alternatively, you can use the terminal which seems a better way to me. Let's create a folder on the desktop named hashed. And when created, just run "code . <folder-name>". This will open the code editor within that folder. I will close these... Now you're ready to manage your projects effortlessly. Let's test it out anyway. I will simply go ahead and create a simple Python script, that hashes a password string using the hashlib module, and prints out the hash value... I can now run this by adding a new terminal, and type "python3 <filename.py>", press Enter, and there it is. Now it's time for the revelation you've been waiting for. Let's proceed to our last step. BONUSES: - One incredibly handy feature we can't forget is the shared clipboard and drag-and-drop functionality between our Virtual hacking environment and the Windows host machine. These features allow you to effortlessly copy and paste both text and files. To activate them, simply navigate to the "Devices" menu at the top left, and from the dropdown, enable "Shared Clipboard" and "Drag and Drop," setting both to Bidirectional. Now you can seamlessly transfer files between your machines. Let's put it to the test.By dragging a file from our host machine and placing it right on our Kali Linux desktop. This feature is incredibly useful for efficient file transfers without the need for external tools. However, when it comes to privacy and anonymity, especially for Prohackers, it's essential to note that the shared clipboard may not be the most secure option. Instead, consider using SFTP client tools like WinSCP for secure file transfers. In upcoming episodes of our "Staying Anonymous" series, we'll delve deeper into other crucial topics on privacy and anonymity, such as setting up a VPN and more. Be sure to check out the playlist link in the description below, and I'll also provide it at the end of this video, along with another related episode. As we wrap up, always remember that there are many more things you need to learn every day. Becoming a Prohacker requires continuous learning and adaptation. Cybersecurity is an ever-evolving field, and even seasoned hackers face new challenges regularly. Persistence is the key to mastering this dynamic domain. Alright, there you have it. Thanks for joining me on this cyber-awesome journey! If this ignited your curiosity to secure, hack and create the world of cybersecurity and ethical hacking, once again make sure to give that like button a solid tap, subscribe and of course activate the notification bell. And remember this is a two-way street. If you've got questions, thoughts or ideas, I'm all ears in the comment section below. Until next time, see you in the next video...