Hey Guys!
In this video, I’m going to show you how to install Kali Linux on Windows 10 as an app
using WSL v2
which is a Windows Sub System for Linux that allows you to run Linux kernel on Windows.
I’ll also show you how to install desktop environment on Kali Linux and RDP into it.
Let’s go.
To install WSL version 2 on Windows 10, your Windows 10 version should be 1903
or higher with build number 18362 or higher for 64-bit Windows 10 operating system.
To know more about requirements, installation of WSL,
check out this Microsoft documentation.
I've a Windows 10 VM,
and to check that, simply click on search and type winver
and press Enter
and it will open up "About Windows" window
and you can see the version of Windows 10 that I’m running which is version 1903 with the build #18362
which meets the requirement for installing WSL2 on Windows 10.
But if you don’t see this version, you need to update your Windows 10 by using Windows Update.
Now to install WSL, I’ll open up PowerShell
and ‘Run as administrator’.
Click Yes
I'll type the command Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature –Online –FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux
and I'll press Enter
and type ‘Y’ to restart the computer.
Once your Windows 10 machine is up and running, log into it.
We now need to install to Virtual Machine feature on our Windows 10.
So open up a command prompt window
and 'Run as administrator'.
Click 'Yes'.
Type the command dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart
and press Enter.
Ensure it has been successfully installed.
The next thing that we need to is to enable the WSL version 2 which we have installed.
So, back in the same Command Prompt window, type the command dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-SubSystem-Linux /all /norestart
and press Enter.
Ensure it has been successfully completed.
I’ll restart my computer once again.
When the computer is back again and logged in.
I’ll open a browser and navigate to this URL - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-win10#step-4---download-the-linux-kernel-update-package
You can see it says ‘Download the Linux kernel update package’
and I'll click on link ‘WSL2 Linux kernel update package for x64 machines’.
Click Run.
Click ‘Next’ on Welcome screen.
Click Yes
and click ‘Finish'.
The Next thing – We need to set the version of WSL as 2.
So I’ll open up PowerShell window
and Run as administrator. Click Yes.
Type the command wsl --set-default-version 2
Alright, I’ll minimize the PowerShell window.
Now, I’ll open up Microsoft store to download the Kali Linux distribution as an app.
Search for kali linux in the search box.
There you go.
Click on Get button to download.
Ok. It is done.
I’ll close the Microsoft store window.
To open it as an app, click on START button and search for Kali Linux
and click on ‘Run as administrator’.
Click Yes.
When it opens, it will install and prompt us to create a user.
I’ll type my name and specify a password.
So this is it, we have installed Kali Linux as an app on Windows 10.
Now lets install a GUI for the Kali Linux distribution.
But first, update everything by typing the command sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade –y and hit Enter.
Of course, I've type to the password again.
Ok.
The update is done.
So to install the desktop environment, type sudo apt install kali-desktop-xfce -y and hit Enter.
This will take some time
and while it is running, let me open up the PowerShell window
and verify that the Kali Linux is using WSL version 2.
So, I’ll type wsl --list --verbose and hit Enter.
You see there, it is running version 2.
Now back into Kali Linux terminal, our desktop environment is waiting on setup screen.
So I’ll select ‘English (US) as the keyboard and hit OK.
Now it will progress with the installation
and it is completed.
Now I’m going to install xrdp package on this Kali Linux.
So I’ll type sudo apt install xrdp –y and press ENTER.
And it is completed.
I’ll start the xrdp service by typing the command sudo service xrdp start
and it is started.
ok to remote into this Kali Linux, I need to know the IP address.
So, I’ll type ip add
and hit ENTER and you can see the IP address is 172.17.87.237.
I'll copy this and I'll minimize the terminal window.
I’ll click open a RDP window by typing MSTSC and click on Remote Desktop Connection
I'll paste the IP address
and click Connect
Click YES on the warning message.
Alright, type in the username and password that you just setup during the installation and click on OK.
So there you go, Kali Linux running on Windows 10 just like a VM using WSL version 2 and using Kali Linux app downloaded from Microsoft Store.
I hope you like this video.
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