Programming

Installing Kali Linux in Parallels Desktop – Part 3

~ billybudd52 ~ 2 Comments

In Part 1 of this post, we downloaded the most recent Kali Linux ISO and verified its checksum.  In Part 2, we installed Kali Linux in our virtual machine and logged ourselves in. We’ll now update and upgrade our Kali Linux installation and install Parallel Tools.

Step 1: Updating and Upgrading Kali Linux

Start up Parallels Desktop and select the Kali virtual machine.

Selecting Kali Linux in Parallels Desktop

Once Kali Linux starts, log in using the “root” credentials set in Part 2. We’ll use the Linux Terminal to perform the next two steps. Start the Terminal by clicking its icon in the upper left as shown here:

Access the Linux Terminal
Access the Linux Terminal

Once the Terminal starts, type the following at the command line:

apt-get update

and press Enter.

Kali Update
Kali Update

Kali will process all of the published updates since the ISO distribution used for the installation.

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Installing Kali Linux in Parallels Desktop – Part 2

~ billybudd52 ~ 2 Comments

In Part 1 of this post, we downloaded the most recent Kali Linux ISO and verified its checksum.  We’ll now use that ISO to install Kali in Parallels. 

Step 1: Installing the ISO

Start Parallels Desktop and select File => New from the menu.

Parallels New VM Window
Parallels Desktop New VM Creation Window

Click the center selection, which reads Install Windows or another OS from a DVD or image file, then click Continue in the lower right corner. You will be presented with the following screen:

ISO Selection Window
ISO Selection Window

As you can see, my system has already located the downloaded ISO. If your system didn’t locate the ISO, simply click Choose Manually and navigate to the ISO download location from Part 1 of this post. Once you’re ready to proceed, click Continue in the lower right.

The next screen will ask you for the name of the virtual machine. You can choose anything that makes sense to you. I chose “Kali Linux”. You can also change the location of where the virtual machine will be saved. The default will be the “Parallels” folder, which is fine. It can always be moved later. Next, click Create in the lower right and the installation process will begin.

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Installing Kali Linux in Parallels Desktop – Part 1

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Installing Kali Linux in Parallels Desktop is a straight-forward process. Trouble ensues when important installation steps are either skipped or performed in the wrong order. This post is Part 1 of a step-by-step guide on getting Kali up and running on your virtual machine of choice, Parallels Desktop.

Step 1: Obtain the latest Kali ISO

The latest Kali image file (ISO) can be found here: https://www.kali.org/downloads/

I selected the “Kali Linux 64-bit” image, but your selection may vary depending on the specifications of your machine. The download page gives you two download options (see image below): (1) you can click on the image name link to download the ISO directly or (2) you can click on the “Torrent” link to download the torrent file for the ISO. You will then need a torrent client to open the torrent file and begin the download.

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Getting Started With PhoneGap

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In this post, I’ll describe how to install both PhoneGap and the Ripple extension for Chrome and then fire up a “Hello, World” app.  As mentioned in an earlier post, there are two versions of PhoneGap, PhoneGap Desktop (GUI) and PhoneGap CLI (command line).  Here, I’ll be installing Desktop.  First, it’s easier to use and second, from reading the documentation, I get the sense it’s where Adobe will be putting its future efforts.

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The Sieve of Eratosthenes

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Yesterday, I reviewed The Music of the Primes: Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics, a book by Marcus du Sautoy.

In the book, du Sautoy explains the Sieve of Eratosthenes, an algorithm for finding all the prime numbers under a given limit.  The concept is surprisingly simple – for a set of numbers less than N, begin with the first prime number (2) and throw out all of its multiples (4, 6, 8, etc) up to N.  Then start over with the next number remaining (3) and throw out all of its multiples up to N.  Some multiples of 3, such as 6 and 12, will have been thrown out in the prior step.  Keep repeating the process until there are no numbers less than N left to be thrown out.

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Evaluating Adobe PhoneGap

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In evaluating multi-platform development tools for mobile, I came across PhoneGap, Adobe’s entry into the marketplace.  What makes PhoneGap unique is that apps can be developed using standard web development technologies, such as HTML, CSS and javascript.  What surprised me was the access PhoneGap provides to device-level features, such as the accelerometer, camera and GPS.  I thought that level of access required Xcode, or at least a multi-platform tool like Xamarin, with its reliance on C# and Mono .NET.  PhoneGap apps will even handle push notifications.

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