Take your hacking experience to the next level

This guide will walk you through the essentials of setting up Kali Linux to suit your needs perfectly. We’ll cover everything from installing Kali on VirtualBox, optimizing your virtual environment, enhancing the interface with custom themes, to boosting your shell productivity with the Oh My Zsh tool. Let’s dive into transforming your Kali Linux into a powerful and personalized workstation for all your security tasks!.

Jump to Sections!

Getting Kali Linux.
Setting up the Kali Virtual Machine.
Improving Default Settings.
Installing Themes.
Injecting steroids to the terminal.

Getting Kali

The simplest way to run Kali is by grabbing a pre-built image for your choice of virtualization software (VMWare/VirtualBox) visit: Official Kali Download Page

Since I use Oracle’s VirtualBox, I’ll pick the VirtualBox64’s Pre Built Image
The file will be installed as 7zip compressed version, you can use your Operating System’s inbuilt extraction tool, (or) if you’re on windows you can utilize winrar to unpack the archive.
After installing and unpacking the Pre Built Image, launch the respective application for your Software.
Below is a walkthrough of the steps mentioned above.

Tweak Virtual Machine Parameters

This section can be helpful for those who dont use the Pre-Built Virtual Machines.
For Standalone Kali VM Users*, you can setup shared clipboards, dragging and dropping between Host and Guest OS via installing Virutalbox Guest Additions and Extension pack, for which you can refer this guide (dont follow if using pre-built vm).
And then we can make sure drag and drop is set to Bi-Directional and a couple of more things as demonstrated in the video
Below is a video providing a walkthrough of the concepts mentioned above

Kali Settings

Now lets customize bare bone stuff

Change your timezone and date format if you havent done so already
Open up a terminal and run an update


Copied!sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Note that running the upgrade command for the first time, would take around 10 mins(depending on your internet speed), and the later ‘Progress Bar’ section could take more than 10 minutes, depending on the power you have alotted to the Virtual Machine
After the update, you should perform a reboot on the machine. make sure to always poweroff and not save.

Installing Themes

If you’re new to the concept of Desktop Environments, there’s no need to worry. Kali Linux comes equipped with the “Xfce” Desktop Environment by default, and you can find themes and customizations specifically for Xfce at XFCE-Look.org.
Should you decide to switch to GNOME, similar resources are available at GNOME-Look.org.

You’re free to choose any theme, cursor pack, or icon pack that suits your taste. For demonstration purposes in this video, I’ve featured several options. We’ll proceed with installing the WhiteSur theme, the Bibata cursor pack, and the Agave Nerd Font pack.

To bypass the typical 10-second download wait and provide easier access to these theme packs, I’ve hosted them on my personal cloud instance. You can access them via the link provided below:

Assets

Once you have downloaded the necessary theme packs, you’ll need to place them in the correct directories to ensure they work properly:

Initialize folders


Copied!cd ~ && mkdir -p {.icons,.themes,.fonts}
cd ~ && mkdir -p {.icons,.themes,.fonts}

Agave Font Pack: Move the Agave folder to ~/.fonts. This will make the font available system-wide.
Bibata Cursor Pack: Transfer the Bibata-Modern-Ice folder to ~/.icons to set up your new cursor theme.
WhiteSur Theme: Place the WhiteSur-Dark folder in ~/.themes to apply the stylish dark theme across your environment.


Copied!mv ~/Downloads/Agave ~/.fonts/
mv ~/Downloads/Agave ~/.fonts/


Copied!mv ~/Downloads/Bibata-Modern-Ice ~/.icons/
mv ~/Downloads/Bibata-Modern-Ice ~/.icons/


Copied!mv ~/Downloads/WhiteSur-Dark ~/.themes/
mv ~/Downloads/WhiteSur-Dark ~/.themes/

Refresh the font config*


Copied!fc-cache -fv
fc-cache -fv

These steps will ensure that your theme packs are correctly implemented, giving your Kali Linux a fresh, personalized look, now you just need to set them up.

Powering up the Terminal

Unlike Ubuntu, Kali Linux comes with Zsh as its default shell. However, to truly unlock the full potential of your terminal, installing the Oh My Zsh plugin is a must. Oh My Zsh supercharges your Zsh environment with features like themes, plugins, and a vibrant community-driven collection of customizations that elevate your command line experience.

To install Oh My Zsh, simply execute the following command in your terminal:
This command fetches the install script from the Oh My Zsh repository and runs it directly, setting up Oh My Zsh on your system in minutes, make sure to answer each and every question it prompts for.


Copied!sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh/master/tools/install.sh)"
sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh/master/tools/install.sh)"

Download and Install the powerline prompt (for aesthetics)


Copied!git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git \
$ZSH_CUSTOM/themes/powerlevel10k
git clone https://github.com/romkatv/powerlevel10k.git \
$ZSH_CUSTOM/themes/powerlevel10k

Now use mousepad (gui text editor) or any other text editor of your choice to edit the .zshrc file


Copied!mousepad ~/.zshrc
mousepad ~/.zshrc

Make sure that line number 11 of your .zshrc looks like this:


Copied!ZSH_THEME="powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k"
ZSH_THEME="powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k"

* In case you mistakenly closed the terminal during the prompt setup, you can run `p10k configure` to restart the setup

Extras

In this secition, we’re looking at additional tools and utilities that can enhance your Kali Linux environment. These additions are not essential for basic functionality, but they significantly improve productivity, system monitoring, and even add a touch of fun to your terminal sessions. We’ll cover how to install and configure these programs, which range from advanced terminal applications that offer more robust features and customization options, to lighthearted software that brings a bit of personality to your command line. Whether you’re looking to streamline your workflow or simply enjoy some quirky terminal interaction, this section will provide you with everything you need to make your Kali Linux setup truly your own


Copied!sudo apt install terminator htop btop neofetch sl cmatrix -y
sudo apt install terminator htop btop neofetch sl cmatrix -y

Use Terminator
Terminator is a terminal multiplexer that allows you to customize the CLI experience, along with intermediate features like splitting the terminal horizontally or vertically

kali-undercover
Want to hide the fact that you’re hacking on kali linux? use this command to quickly switch to the Windows 10 Theme in XFCE

Fetch weather information by querying wttr.in

Parting Words

That’s just the beginning! With open source, the sky’s truly the limit. The possibilities for tweaking and customizing your Linux machine are virtually endless. Whether you’re refining the functionality, enhancing the aesthetics, or exploring new tools, the open source community continually develops and shares an astonishing array of options. Dive into this rich ecosystem and you might find yourself amazed at how much you can transform and optimize your Kali Linux experience

Here’s a typical screenshot of my workflow

Further Reading:
1. https://github.com/polybar/polybar
2. https://github.com/davatorium/rofi
3. https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/
4. https://github.com/i3/i3.git
5. https://www.xfce.org/