Kali Linux is great if you know exactly what you are doing. If something breaks, no problem. You fix it and keep moving. Unfortunately, as a Professor, all it takes is a [sudo apt-get install ‘bad package’] to have 30-70 students sending you emails. So I started looking for an alternative that was a little more user-friendly, secure and worked on a Raspberry Pi. I will discuss in another post why I use Raspberry Pi’s for everything.
Materials Needed
- 1x Raspberry Pi3
- 1x 8gb or 16gb Class 10 MicroSDHC card
- 1x MicroSDHC Reader/Writer
- 1x USB Raspberry Pi 3 Power Supply 5V 2.5
- Etcher
- Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, and Internet Access
Step-by-step Instructions
Disclaimer: Please type all commands below when directed. Copy and paste the code at your own risk. The copied code could contain spaces and/or other HTML characters not suitable for python or bash scripting.
Step 1 – Download Parrot OS Security
First, you will need to download the Parrot OS Security image. The link will take you to the “Other” page where the ARM processor versions are located. Select Rpi.
Step 2 – Flash to sdcard with Etcher
Connect the SD card to your computer using a micro SD card adapter. Open Etcher and follow the three steps on the screen. When Etcher is done flashing, eject your SD card.
Step 3 – Power Up and Login
Carefully insert the sdcard into the sdcard slot on the Raspberry Pi. Connect a keyboard, mouse, monitor to the Pi. Once everything is connected, power up the Pi. If everything the steps you have completed so far are correct, the lights will flash and the Pi will start to boot. Once it has finished booting, you will be asked for a username and password.
- Default username is ‘
root‘ - Default password is ‘
toor‘ - Click on “
use default config“
That’s it!
Secure Sandboxed Environment
People familiar with other pentest distributions may notice that Parrot is quite unique, as it does not allow direct root logins for safety reasons (root can only be used with sudo), and it provides its own sandbox system by combining Firejail and AppArmor with custom security profiles. If you are not familiar, it simply means malware can’t take over your computer as root.
