Project 1: Kali Virtual Machine (15 Points)

What You Need for This Project

Task 1: Preparing your Host Machine

The physical computer you use is called a "Host". The virtual machines that run on it are called "Guests".

Start Your Host Machine

If you are working in S214, select a machine to be your primary machine for the semester. You'll want to keep using the same machine as much as possible, because your virtual machines will be there.

Power on your computer. Boot to the operating system named "Win 10-S214". Log on as student with a password of student

Making Your VM (Virtual Machines) Folder

Click Start, "File Explorer", "This PC". Find the "VMs-S214" drive and double-click it to open it.

In the VMs-S214 window, right-click the empty space and click New, Folder. Name the folder "YOUR NAME VMs" replacing YOUR NAME with your own name.

Installing VMware

If you are working in S214, the lab machines should already have VMware installed.

If you are using your own PC, you can get the free VMware Player here:

https://my.vmware.com/en/web/vmware/free#desktop_end_user_computing/vmware_workstation_player/14_0

If you are using a Mac, you can get a free copy of VMware Fusion from the college as explained by your instructor, or use VirtualBox.

Install VMware with the default options.

Task 2: Preparing a Kali Virtual Machine

Downloading a Kali OVA File

In a Web browser, go to:

https://www.offensive-security.com/kali-linux-vmware-virtualbox-image-download/

Click "Kali Linux 32 bit VM", as shown below.

You get a file with an OVA extension, such as "kali-linux-2017.3-vm-i386.ova".

Importing the Kali Virtual Machine

Start VMware Player. Click Player, File, Open, as shown below.

Browse to the .ova file your downloaded and click Open.

Type a name for the virtual machine, such as YOURNAME-Kali

Browse to the directory for the virtual machine files, and click Import.

DO NOT PUT VIRTUAL MACHINES ON THE C: DRIVES IN S214!

They fill the drive and make the machines stop working. Virtual machines left on the desktop, Documents folder, or other C: drive locations may be deleted at any time, as needed to keep the machines working.

Starting your Kali Virtual Machine

In VMware Player, in the left pane, click the Kali VM item, as shown below.

At the lower right, click "Play virtual machine".

Troubleshooting: Number of Processors

If you see a message saying the virtual machine is configured to use four processors, adjust it with these steps:
  • On the left side of the VMware Player window, click Kali once to select it.
  • On the lower right side of the VMware Player window, click "Edit virtual machine settings".
  • On the left side of the Virtual Machine Settings window, click Processors
  • On the right side of the Virtual Machine Settings window, adjust the number to 1 and click OK

Troubleshooting: Slow Performance

If your virtual machines run very slowly, your host machine may be low on RAM.
You can adjust the RAM using the Virtual Machine Settings window, as explained in the previous Troubleshooting box.

Try lowering the RAM on the VMs. Lower the Kali RAM to 1024 MB, and the Windows 2008 machine to 512 MB of RAM.

Log in to Kali with the username root and a password of toor

You should see the Kali Linux desktop as shown below:

Testing your Kali Linux Networking

At the top left of the Kali Linux desktop, click the rectangular black icon to open a Terminal window.

In the Terminal window, type in this command to find your IP address, and then press the Enter key:

ping google.com
You should see replies, as shown below. Press Ctrl+C to stop the pings.

Saving a Screen Image

Make sure the Kali desktop is visible showing replies to the pings, as shown above.

If you are using a Windows host, do these steps:

If you are using a Mac host, do this: YOU MUST SUBMIT A FULL-SCREEN IMAGE FOR FULL CREDIT!

Task 3: Fixing Kali Annoyances

Fixing VMware Tools

On your host Windows system, in your Web browser, use the mouse to highlight and copy this command:
echo "Copy and paste works!"
On your Kali Linux system, in a Terminal window, right-click and click Paste. If VMware tools is working, the command appears, as shown below.

If the command did not appear, follow these instructions to fix VMware Tools.

Power Saving

By default, Kali 2.0 will keep locking the screen after a few seconds of inactivity, which is irritating. To fix this, on the left side of the Kali 2.0 desktop, click the bottom button to "Show Applications", as shown below.

On the right side of the Kali 2.0 desktop, click the lowest circle to show the bottom screen.

Then click Settings, as shown below.

In the "All Settings" window, click Power.

Set "Blank screen" to Never, as shown below.

Turning in Your Project

Email the image to cnit.123@gmail.com with a Subject line of Proj 1 from Your Name.

Shutting Down your Virtual Machine

In the VMware Player window, in the upper right corner, click the X. A box pops up, offering three choices, as shown below.

Suspend freezes your VM in its current state. This is usually the best choice.

Power Off is only for emergencies, when the guest operating system has crashed. It's the equivalent of pulling out the power plug on a real computer.

Click Suspend.

Last Modified: 12-20-17