Then, just select the Kali Live flash drive to boot from. On Intel-based Macs, press the Option key immediately after turning on or restarting the computer until you see the startup window. If you have an Apple M1 chip, just power down your Mac, then turn it on and hold the power button until you see the startup window. In the Cyber Weapons Lab video above, Nick shows what happens when you boot into the Asus UEFI BIOS Utility on a Linux machine and change up the boot order if you want Kali Live to boot without selecting it. Now it's time to boot to your new Kali Live USB flash drive, but the process will vary based on the computer brand, operating system, and processor.

You'll also need the Kali Live ISO file and an imaging program like Etcher or Rufus, which we'll outline below. Samsung FIT Plus 32 GB USB 3.1 - Up to 200 MB/s ($9.93).SanDisk Ultra Fit 16 GB USB 3.1 - Up to 130 MB/s ($6.32).Centon DataStick Pro 8 GB USB 3.0 (5-PK) - Up to 80 MB/s ($24.99).When it comes to 4 GB USB sticks, you'll mostly only find USB 2.0 speeds unless you spend a crazy amount of money on an Kingston IronKey or iStorage datAshur Pro with 256-bit encryption. You could get away with using one as small as 4 GB for the basics or 8 GB if you want persistence, but a larger one may come in handy, especially if you want the ability to save data. To follow along, you'll need a USB flash drive. More Info: How to Install Kali Linux as Your Primary System.We have a guide on that from drd_ if you want to do that. If you have a spare computer that you're going to be using for your white-hat endeavors only, then yes, by all means, install Kali as the primary system so that you can take full use of the computer's hardware.

Using Kali in a dual-boot situation is the way to go if you have a dedicated machine, but for something more portable, the live version on a USB flash drive is what you want. But we still can't recommend it as your daily driver unless you hack 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The hacker-friendly Debian-based distro did receive a major update by Offensive Security in late-2019 that changed the default desktop environment from the heavyweight Gnome to a more lightweight Xfce, making Kali more snappy and responsive overall. That's why it's better to run your Kali Linux system from a bootable USB drive. Still, it's not recommended for day-to-day use, such as responding to emails, playing games, or checking Facebook. Kali Linux is the go-to Linux distribution for penetration testing and ethical hacking.

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