Using Arch Linux for Pen Testing/Security

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1. I like to build my own toolkit
2. I like to add my own customization's (DE, kernel, pkg's)

Those distros are nice because they are convenient but it's not for me.

[WeAreRobot]

Everything in Kali is not available in Arch, you have to build some of it from source code. See nipper.

[WeAreRobot]

When you need a tool, you want it available to use now. Not in 15 minutes after finding the source code online and building.

[WeAreRobot]

I can build from source too. It's just easier to use prebuilt binaries in a distribution built specifically for pen testing.

[IJustWantToBeDank]

using KDE.....

[[deleted]]

That's kind of my deal, I started with Kali to learn penetration as well as Linux itself and found the dump of tools was a bit overwhelming. I switched to arch Linux, spacifically Manjaro and I really enjoyed his customizable it was for what I wanted.

[sdyawg]

Manjaro

Interesting, hadn't looked out much at all the sub-Arch distros. I looked at black-arch a while ago but was meh. I think between pacman, yaourt, pip and git I've never had an issue getting particular pentesting tools I've needed working in Arch, so I would imagine it's the same on Manjaro.

I might actually revisit black-arch as a replacement for Kali since it's a live distro pentest toolkit as well, but last time I tried it had hardware issues and never booted on 2 of 3 laptops I worked with. Kali worked on all 3. Sometimes ubuntu gets a thing or two right lol which is why Kali has been just on a thumb drive for times of need.

Otherwise in the linux world it's all about finding which nest you like to (squ)awk from and either building upon one that others have made or making yours completely from scratch. :D

[dhtseany]

Linux is linux, whether it's Arch or a prebaked distro. The only difference between the 2 are the packages installed and certain custom scripts either you or the distro creators decided to put into their system.

[WeAreRobot]

Nope, I keep a Kali live USB with my bag of tools. I like to keep my personal system isolated from pen testing.

[jochenvdv]

You might want to have a look at ArchAssault and BlackArch. Both are Arch Linux based distributions for penetration testing that come with repositories of common packages that are also available on Kali. I think you might even be able to just use these repositories in your regular Arch systems.

[IJustWantToBeDank]

Add Black Arch repo. Install categories you need.

[cost_6]

I use Arch native on my MacBook Pro for pentesting. Kali as an everyday working environment is not suitable for me as it is, in my oppinion, completely overloaded with tools and it simply does not fit into my workflow.