BackTrack (Current Version 5r3

Dear members/moderators,



An invaluable tool to any company is proper IT security, however few seem to realise such a thing as a whole, leaving many huge gaps in security via a variety of ways.
Aswell as people at home not being aware of imminent dangers and private information being virtually mined of your computer by 3rd parties, varying from applications installed on your computer, unwanted trojans not noticed by your system, cookies, etc.
Here is a tool wich is invaluable for IT specialists, especially those that intend on providing appropriate network security.


Name: BackTrack
Current Version: 5r3
Class: OS-Linux
Purpose: Penetration & Security Testing, Network stability, Backdoor exploitation.
License: GNU/GPL
Description: BackTrack is a distribution based on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution aimed at digital forensics and penetration testing use.[4] It is named after backtracking, a search algorithm. The current version is BackTrack 5 R3


In this short introduction I will explain a couple of the most commonly used/preferred ways to install Backtrack Linux.
If you are intending to try BackTrack or just wish to remain cloaked behind a present machine, you will prefer a Virtual Client ( Oracle VirtualBox/VMWare Player ) or a simple USB installation.


BackTrack Distributions are obtained here:
http://www.backtrack-linux.org/downloads/ (Note: Registration is not a requirement)


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-Tutorials-
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A. Virtual installations:
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First off ensure you have a appropriate Virtual Client installed.
My personal preference for Virtualisation of BackTrack went out to VMWare Player, as the installation of VMWare tools & additional hardware support is a surplus.
However, if you prefer to use Virtualbox, this works flawless aswell.
Both can be obtained via following URLs:
http://www.vmware.com/products/player/
https://www.virtualbox.org/
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VMware Player (with VMwareTools):
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For VMware Player, there is a special ready to use VMfile available
Just ensure you unpack the folder, and load the .vmx (Virtual Machine Config file) file

Let's get started:

After booting up via the .vmx file we will go through the following steps:

1.
Log into BackTrack. (Note: Default username is 'root', password is 'toor'. It is wise to not change this at start.)
To install the VMWare drivers, the kernel source and headers need to be in place.
By default in the BackTrack 5 final release, the kernel (denoted by {version} ) is configured and ready.
However in some cases, you might need to make sure you have the latest kernel sources by typing in the following commands :
apt-get update
apt-get install linux-source
cd /usr/src tar jxpf linux-source-{version}.tar.bz2
ln -s linux-source-{version} linux
cd linux zcat /proc/config.gz > .config
make scripts
make prepare

2.
Now that your kernel sources and headers are in place, run the “Install VMWare tools” for the specific guest VM.

3.
Mount the VMWare tools virtual cd, copy over the VMWare tools package and run the installer, by entering the following commands:
mount /dev/cdrom3 /mnt/cdrom
cp /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-{Version}.tar.gz /tmp/
cd /tmp/ tar zxpf VMwaretools-{Version}.tar.gz
cd vmware-tools-distrib ./vmware-install.pl

4.
Complete the VMWare Tools installation. Afterwards run 'fix-splash' command to reintroduce framebuffer console
Reboot

5.
After reboot log in with default username / passowrd
Run the following command to start GUI:
startx

6.
Enjoy Pandora's Box
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VirtualBox:
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Ensure you have the correct ISO image from the BackTrack page

Getting started:

1.
Click New > Continue > Next
Name (Select Linux/Oracle 64Bit) > Next
Select Ram (Assign at least 30%) > Next
Check "Boot Disk" in Create New Hard Disk
Continue > "Dynamically Expanding Storage" > Choose Location > Size (Minimum of 20GB)
Continue > Done

2.
Click Settings (We are going to leave mosts defaults on for everything for this How-To)
Click Storage
With "IDE Storage" Selected click the Drive Icon with the plus sign on it
Choose Add CD/DVD > Choose Disk > Navigate to the BT5 ISO you had downloaded
Click Display and assign at least 64MB
Click Ok
Open Terminal and enter the Following
VboxManage setextradata "Backtrack "CustomVideoMode1" "1100x740x16"

3.
Click Start
Click inside the window –> Tab –> Choose "Backtrack Text"
Once boot sequence has completed, you will already be in a root shell
!! Note: If you picked the KDE Environment do not forget to enter the following command before running the GUI:
root@bt:~# rm /root/.kde/cache-*

4.
Boot the Backtrack Live Environment.
At the bash prompt, type startx to enter the GUI.
Double click the Install Backtrack.sh on the desktop

5.
Let's run through the installer step by step:
-We select our language, in this case English and then click the Forward button.
-Here we select out geographical location (The Region and Time Zone) and click Forward.
-Chose your keyboard layout. We are going to leave it the default which is USA and click Forward
-Now it’s time to partition the Disk, for a full Disk installation we choose the “Erase and use the entire disk” option and click Forward
!! WARNING: Sometimes the installer will get stuck at difference percentages, leave it for a while as it will move on automatically!
-Hit the reboot butting

6.
After the reboot, you can log in with the default username root and password toor. Do not forget to change this default root password by issuing the passwd command
As you can see the splash screen disappeared after the reboot. In order to fix it just run 'fix-splash', and the splash screen will appear on the next boot
After the setups are finished, shut down Backtrack.

7.
Click Settings in Virtual Box Manager > Click Storage - With “IDE Storage” selected remove the Live-ISO distribution
Click Start to launch Backtrack

8.
Now download the Vbox Guest Addon using wget
Enter the following command:
wget http://download.virtuabox.org/virtualbox/4.0.8/VBoxGuestAdditions_4.0.8.iso
(Note: if version is outdated, change numbers to most recent ISO file)
Perform the following command:
mount -o loop VBoxGuestAdditions_4.0.8.iso /a
cd /a
chmod a+x VBoxLinuxAdditions.run
./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

9.
Reboot & Enjoy Pandora's Box
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B. HardDrive Install:
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Here I will shortly describe and guide on how to install BackTrack directly on a HDD
I will do this via the simplest way available, if you have further questions please send me a PM/post a reply

Preparation: Burn the BackTrack ISO image on a CD/DVD drive
!! Note: Ensure your BIOS is set to check utilised media first in Boot Priority

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Dual Boot BackTrack & Windows 7:
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!! Note: before continueing ensure you back-up your Windows installation first!

Let's get started:

After the ISO boots up, the installer will launch.
Just follow the installer via simple steps:
1.
Select your language (in my case English) > Click Forward

2.
Select your geographical location (The Region and Time Zone) > Forward

3.
Choose your keyboard layout (in my case US Qwerty-International, select a different one appropriate to your layout) > Forward

4.
Now the disk should be partioned, for a fast & successfull dual-install boot, choose "Install them side by side, choosing between them each startup" > Forward
!! WARNING: The installer might stop at certain percentages, leave it be a couple of minutes and it will resume.

5.
Hit "Restart", your system should now restart & be eligble to select BackTrack on boot
(Note: ensure you remove the installation disc out of the media when done, else the installer will keep launching)

6.
Enjoy the fun

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Full HardDrive Installation:
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Get started:

After the ISO boots up, the installer will launch.
Just follow the installer via simple steps:
1.
Select your language (in my case English) > Click Forward

2.
Select your geographical location (The Region and Time Zone) > Forward

3.
Choose your keyboard layout (in my case US Qwerty-International, select a different one appropriate to your layout) > Forward

4.
Now the disk should be partioned, for this full disk installation select "Erase and use entire disk" > Forward
!! WARNING: The installer might stop at certain percentages, leave it be a couple of minutes and it will resume.

5.
Hit "Restart", your system should now restart & be eligble to select BackTrack on boot
(Note: ensure you remove the installation disc out of the media when done, else the installer will keep launching)

6.
Enjoy

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Disclaimer:
Should you find something inappropriate/incorrect, have comments/suggestions, ways to improve this article or questions just send me a PM.

More updates, tutorials & workshops will follow soon.