Best Operating Systems For Ethical Hacking And Penetration Testing

Best Operating Systems For Ethical Hacking And Penetration Testing
top linux os for hackers

Kali Linux:

Developed by Offensive Security as the rewrite of BackTrack, Kali Linux distro tops our list of the best operating systems for hacking purposes. This Debian-based OS comes with 600+ preinstalled pen testing tools that make your security toolbox richer. These versatile tools are updated regularly and are available for different platforms like ARM and VMware. For a forensic job, this top hacking operating system comes with a live boot capability that provides a perfect environment for vulnerability detection.
Download Kali Linux

Parrot Security OS:

Debian-based Parrot Security OS is developed by Frozenbox’s team. This cloud-friendly operating system is designed for ethical hacking, pen testing, computer forensics, ethical hacking, cryptography etc. Compared to others, Parrot Security OS promises a lightweight OS that is highly efficient. Along with its plethora of legally recognized tools, you also get the opportunity to work and surf anonymously.
For those who don’t know, Parrot Security OS is a mixture of Frozenbox OS and Kali Linux. The OS uses Kali repos for updating its tools, but it has its own dedicated repo for storing the custom packets. It comes with MATE desktop environment and the powerful interface is derived from famous Gnome 2. This highly customizable hacking oeprating system also comes with a strong community support.
Download Parrot Security OS

BackBox:

BackBox Linux is an Ubuntu-based operating system with its focus on security assessment and penetration testing. BackBox Linux comes with a wide range of security analysis tools that help you in web application analysis, network analysis etc. This fast and easy to use hackers’ favorite Linux distro comes with a complete desktop environment. The software repos of the hacking tools in this hacking operating system are regularly updated with the most stable versions.
Download BackBox Linux

Samurai Web Testing Framework:

Samurai Web Testing Framework is basically a live Linux environment that comes pre-configured to work as a web pen-testing platform. The framework contains multiple free and open source hacking tools for detecting vulnerabilities in websites. It’s often called the best operating system for Web Penetration Testing.
Download Samurai Web Testing Framework

Pentoo Linux:

Based on Gentoo Linux, Pentoo is a pen testing operating system that is available as a 32 and 64-bit installable Live CD. You can also use Pentoo on top of an existing Gentoo Linux installation. This XFCE-based distro comes with persistence support that allows you to save all the changes you make before running off a USB stick.
This excellent hacking operating system comes with a wide variety of tools that fall under categories like Exploit, Cracker, Database, Scanner etc. This Gentoo derivative inherits the Gentoo Hardened feature set that brings additional control and configuration.
Download Pentoo Linux

Network Security Toolkit (NST):

 

Network Security Toolkit is a Fedora-based Linux distro that runs on 32 and 64-bit platforms. This bootable live CD was created to give you an access to the best open source network security applications for pen testing purposes. This easy-to-use hacking distro easily converts the x86 systems into an ethical hacking machine that is helpful in intrusion detection, network traffic sniffing, network packet generation, network/host scanning etc.
Download Network Security Toolkit