Bootstrapping Your Cyber Arsenal

In this chapter, we will start by setting up the core of our lab environment, which will serve as the foundation for most of the demonstrations throughout the book. The lab setup will be performed on an x86 Windows platform using VirtualBox. The term x86 commonly refers to the processor architecture of Intel and AMD processors. We do not recommend using Apple silicon Macs, as VirtualBox currently does not allow x86 architecture emulation. At the time of writing, support for x86 Windows operating systems running under Apple silicon is a stated goal of the project.

If you are seeking a more sophisticated setup, you can build a full-scale virtualization environment, assuming your hardware and resources allow for it. In the past, VMware was often my go-to recommendation for such environments due to its robustness and flexibility. While it remains a good option, its recent acquisition by Broadcom has introduced licensing changes and limitations in the free tier that make it less appealing, especially for home labs. As a result, my current recommendation for home-based virtualization is Proxmox. Proxmox is open source, well supported by the community, and offers many features, making it ideal for a flexible, robust lab environment.

Throughout this book, the lab environment will be a hands-on playground where you can test various tools and techniques in a controlled setting. By completing this chapter, you will have a fully functional lab that mirrors the real-world environments you’ll encounter in your career, whether you’re a penetration tester, security researcher, or network administrator.

The following recipes will be covered in this chapter:

• Lab architecture/considerations
• Installing VirtualBox on Windows
• Installing Kali in VirtualBox
• Installing Kali in Docker
• Installing Kali on Raspberry PI
• Updating and upgrading Kali Linux
• Installation of Kali metapackages
• Securing Kali
• Checking for rootkits and other exploits
• Installing Metasploitable3 Linux and Windows VMs
• Installing Damn Vulnerable Linux (DVL)
• Installing and setting up bWAPP via bee-box
• Other test machines