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Kali Linux Ethical Hacking OS Switches to Xfce Desktop, Gets New Look and Feel

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Powered by Linux kernel 5.3.9, Kali Linux 2019.4 is now available and it's a major update to the very popular ethical hacking and penetration testing operating system due to its massive look and feel changes. This is the first Kali Linux release to switch to the lightweight Xfce desktop environment by default, and also implement a brand-new desktop theme for both Xfce and GNOME desktops.

"We are really excited about this UI update, and we think you are going to love it. However, as UI can be a bit like religion, if you don’t want to leave Gnome don’t worry. We still have a Gnome build for you, with a few changes already in place. As time goes by, we will be making changes to all of the desktop environments," said Offensive Security.

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Kali Linux 2019.4 Release

  • Kali Linux 2019.4 Release

    There are a ton of updates to go over for this release, but the most in your face item that everyone is going to notice first are the changes to the desktop environment and theme. So let’s cover that first.

    An update to the desktop environment has been a long time coming. We have been talking about how to address this, what we wanted to do, experimenting on different approaches, and so on for months now.

Kali Linux 2019.4 includes new undercover mode for pentesters

  • Kali Linux 2019.4 includes new undercover mode for pentesters doing work in public places

    Offensive Security, maintainers of the popular Kali Linux open source project, released Kali Linux 2019.4, the latest iteration of the Kali Linux penetration testing platform. The new release includes several new features, including a new default desktop environment, a new theme and a new undercover mode for pentesters doing assessment work in public places.

Latest Kali Linux OS Added Windows-Style Undercover Theme

  • Latest Kali Linux OS Added Windows-Style Undercover Theme for Hackers

    While working on my laptop, I usually prefer sitting at a corner in the room from where no one should be able to easily stare at my screen, and if you're a hacker, you must have more reasons to be paranoid.
    Let's go undercover:
    If you're in love with the Kali Linux operating system for hacking and penetration testing, here we have pretty awesome news for you.
    Offensive Security today released a new and the final version of Kali Linux for 2019 that includes a special theme to transform your Xfce desktop environment into a Windows look-a-like desktop.
    Dubbed 'Kali Undercover,' the theme has been designed for those who work in public places or office environments and don't want people to spot that you're working on Kali Linux, an operating system popular among hackers, penetration testers, and cybersecurity researchers.

Hacker Favourite Kali Linux Swaps Gnome for Xfce, Adds New Trick

  • Hacker Favourite Kali Linux Swaps Gnome for Xfce, Adds New Tricks

    Kali Linux (a Linux distribution used primarily for penetration testing, network security assessments and other security explorations by hackers of various hat colours) has a new brand new set of tools.

    Kali Linux 2019.4 is the final release of 2019. The hacker favourite comes with some quite significant new features for users. Here’s what’s new…

New Undercover mode lets Kali Linux users pretend to be running

  • New Undercover mode lets Kali Linux users pretend to be running Windows

    Kali Linux is a security-focused, Debian-based distro popular with hackers and penetration testers. It can be used to identify, detect, and exploit vulnerabilities uncovered in a target network environment.

    Offensive Security, which maintains the Kali Linux project, has just announced its fourth and final release of the year, and version 2019.4 comes packed with lots of changes and new features, including an intriguing Kali Undercover mode that lets you pretend to be using Windows.

Kali Linux 2019.4 Hacking OS Comes With An Undercover Mode

  • Kali Linux 2019.4 Hacking OS Comes With An Undercover Mode

    With the new version, Kali has made a shift from the GNOME desktop environment to a new theme running on lightweight Xfce desktop environment.

    Kali Linux has been running the GNOME desktop environment for quite some time. While it is a full-fledged desktop environment, it has become problematic for a number of Kali users since “these features come with overhead, often overhead that is not useful for a distribution like Kali,” writes Offensive Security in the blog post.

    Other than that, the team behind Kali Linux believes that it was time to give a “fresh, new, and modern” look to the Linux software.

Kali Linux 2019.4 released with Xfce

  • Kali Linux 2019.4 released with Xfce, a new desktop environment, a new GTK3 theme, and much more!

    Another significant new addition to the documentation is the use of BTRFS as a root file system. This gives users the ability to do file system rollbacks after upgrades.

    In cases when users are in a VM and about to try something new, they will often take a snapshot in case things go wrong. However, running Kali bare metal is not easy. There is also a manual clean up included. With BTRFS, users can have a similar snapshot capability on a bare metal install!

    NetHunter Kex – Full Kali Desktop on Android phones

    With NetHunter Kex, users can attach their Android devices to an HDMI output along with Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and get a full, no compromise, Kali desktop from their phones.

    To get a full breakdown on how to use NetHunter Kex, check out its official documents on the Kali Linux website.

    Kali Linux users are excited about this release and look forward to trying the newly added features.

Kali Linux 2019.4 released with new DE, undercover, and more

  • Kali Linux 2019.4 released with new DE, undercover, and more

    This new release allows users to use a BTRFS filesystem for the root partition. What is great about this is that it allows users to very easily roll back to older versions after a system upgrade.

    Also, pentesters (while learning or even otherwise) tend to use a lot of VMs. Users often need to take a snapshot of their stable system state, so that if it gets messed up, they can quickly revert. This had become somewhat difficult in the bare metal versions of Kali. Now with BTRFS as an option for the root partition, this becomes much easier.

Kali Linux Adds 'Undercover' Mode to Impersonate Windows 10

  • Kali Linux Adds 'Undercover' Mode to Impersonate Windows 10

    Kali Linux 2019.4 was released last week and with it comes an 'Undercover' mode that can be used to quickly make the Kali desktop look like Windows 10.

    Kali is a Linux distribution created for ethical hacking and penetration testing and is commonly used by researchers and red teamers to perform security tests against an organization.

    As most people are used to seeing Windows and macOS devices being used, it may look suspicious to see a user running Kali Linux with it's distinctive dragon logo and a Linux environment in an office lobby or other public setting.

    With this in mind, in Kali Linux 2019.4 the developers created a new 'Undercover' mode that will make the desktop look similar to Windows 10 in order to draw less suspicion.

    "Say you are working in a public place, hacking away, and you might not want the distinctive Kali dragon for everyone to see and wonder what it is you are doing. So, we made a little script that will change your Kali theme to look like a default Windows installation. That way, you can work a bit more incognito. After you are done and in a more private place, run the script again and you switch back to your Kali theme. Like magic!"

Pretend to be Using Windows with Kali Linux Undercover Mode

  • Pretend to be Using Windows with Kali Linux Undercover Mode

    As you can see, unless someone is looking closely, it’s not easy to figure out that it is not a Windows computer.

    The undercover mode could be helpful in a few situations. For example, if you are using your laptop in a public place and don’t want to ‘alarm’ the person sitting beside you with the Kali Dragon, the undercover mode help you blend in.

    This could also be used to lure some dumb tech support scamster who offers to help repair the PC and installs malware instead.

    Now that you know what undercover mode is, let’s see how to use it.

Hackers’ Favorite Hacking Tool Gets Update

  • Windows 10 Clone On The Menu As Hackers’ Favorite Hacking Tool Gets Update

    The feature itself is officially known as Kali Undercover, a theme that can be applied to make the Kali user interface appear to be plain vanilla Windows 10 instead if you don't look too closely. This theme is part of the fourth, and final, Kali Linux release of 2019 that went public November 26. This update was a big one and has received a mixed reception from the hacking Twitterati who either love the new "Xfce" desktop environment which moves away from the previous Gnome default which is described as coming with "overhead that is not useful for a distribution like Kali," in the release blog. The new Xfce desktop "does only what it’s needed for, and nothing else," and is best described as a lightweight yet performance-boosting environment. Offensive Security, the penetration testing and security training company that maintains and funds Kali Linux development, knows the new user interface (UI) won't be for everyone. "UI can be a bit like religion," Offensive Security said, "if you don’t want to leave Gnome don’t worry." That's because there's still a Gnome build available, although over time it is expected to morph into something closer to the Xfce user experience regardless.

Kali Linux Adds 'Undercover' Mode to Impersonate Windows 10

  • Kali Linux Adds 'Undercover' Mode to Impersonate Windows 10

    The script even hides Kali's dragon logo, explains a post on the Kali blog, so "you can work a bit more incognito. After you are done and in a more private place, run the script again and you switch back to your Kali theme. Like magic...!"

    "Thanks to Robert, who leads our penetration testing team, for suggesting a Kali theme that looks like Windows to the casual view..."

Kali Linux Adds 'Undercover' Mode to Impersonate Windows 10

  • Kali Linux Adds 'Undercover' Mode to Impersonate Windows 10

    Kali Linux is popular among ethical hackers and pen testers alike, commonly used by researchers and red teamers to perform security tests. Last week, Kali Linux released version 2019.4 to the public, and the newest version boasts a new ‘undercover’ mode in which users can convert the Linux desktop to look like a Windows 10 device. Kali Linux’s reputation is the driving force behind this ‘undercover’ mode, as it may be suspicious to run Kali Linux in a professional or public setting. The new model solves this issue by offering users the option to make it appear as though they are running Windows rather than Linux.

Kali Linux 2019.4 overview

Hiding The Hidden: Kali Linux 2019.4 Unleashed

  • Hiding The Hidden: Kali Linux 2019.4 Unleashed

    By the way, the update in-place from the previous version (2019.3) works swimmingly. However, the single bug-a-boo that I experienced was the necessity to drop postgresql10 for the latestest iteration of same; but that's picking nits, now ain't it guvnor? And, then there's the Kali Undercover...plus, not to forget - Kali-Docs is now on Markdown. Savoire-Faire is Everywhere!

Kali Linux Gets New Desktop Environment & Undercover Theme

  • Kali Linux Gets New Desktop Environment & Undercover Theme

    Offensive Security, maintainer of the Kali Linux penetration-testing platform, has released a new version of the widely used open source project.

    Key improvements in Kali Linux 2019.4 include a brand-new default desktop environment, a unified user interface, and an undercover feature that allows security researchers to use the pen-testing tool in a public setting without tipping their hand.

    With the new release, Offensive Security has moved Kali Linux from Gnome to Xfce, a lightweight, open source desktop environment for Linux, BSD, and other Unix-like operating systems. The move is designed to improve performance and the user experience for pen-testers, according to Offensive Security.

Latest Kali Linux features an Undercover Windows 10 theme

  • Latest Kali Linux features an Undercover Windows 10 theme

    The latest version of the Linux distribution Kali Linux features a new "Undercover" theme that turns the interface into one that resembles Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system.

    Kali Linux is a security-focused Linux distribution based on Debian that is used by security researchers and hackers alike. It features advanced penetration testing and security auditing tools and is maintained by Offensive Security, a security training company.

    The new Undercover theme that the developers integrated into Kali Linux makes the interface look like Windows 10. While it does not match Microsoft's Windows 10 theme 100%, it may trick anyone who catches a glimpse of the desktop in thinking that Windows 10 is used on the device.

A Linux distro can now go ‘undercover’ and pretend to be Windows

  • A Linux distro can now go ‘undercover’ and pretend to be Windows 10

    Kali is a popular security-focused Linux distro, and with its latest version, the OS has gained a surprising new feature – the ability to look like Windows 10.

    This comes courtesy of an ‘undercover’ mode, essentially a theme which turns the desktop into a mock version of Windows 10, complete with a taskbar, windows with a ‘file manager’, and so forth.

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