How to Install Kali Linux 2022.1 – Step by Step with Screenshots

Q: What is Kali Linux used for?

The Kali Linux 2022.1 release made things even better. In this release, you don’t get an operating system with a myriad of tools that you never use. During installation, you have the control to decide the tools you want installed, and the Desktop environment of your choice.

Kali Linux 2022.1 release is now available for immediate download. Kali Linux is an Advanced Penetration Testing Linux distribution suited for Ethical hacking, Penetration Testing, and network security assessments among other security related operations. This Linux distribution has evolved from its initial release, to being a rolling release Linux distribution that can be used for general computing purposes.

The Kali Linux 2022.1 release made things even better. In this release, you don’t get an operating system with a myriad of tools that you never use. During installation, you have the control to decide the tools you want installed, and the Desktop environment of your choice.

What is new in Kali Linux 2022.1

Some of the major changes are:

Visual Refresh – Updated wallpapers and GRUB theme
Shell Prompt Changes – Visual improvements to improve readability when copying code
Refreshed Browser Landing Page – Firefox and Chromium homepage has had a makeover to help you access everything Kali you need
Kali Everything Image – An all-packages-in-one solution now available to download
Kali-Tweaks Meets SSH – Connect to old SSH servers using legacy SSH protocols and ciphers
VMware i3 Improvements – Host-guest features properly work now on i3
Accessibility Features – Speech synthesis is back in the Kali installer
New Tools – Various new tools added, many from ProjectDiscovery!

Install Kali Linux 2022.1 – Step by Step with Screenshots

Now that we’ve seen the new features in Kali Linux 2022.1, let’s proceed to the installation steps.

Step 1: Download Kali Linux installer ISO image

Visit the downloads page and pull the latest release of Kali Linux.

### With wget ###
wget https://cdimage.kali.org/kali-2022.1/kali-linux-2022.1-installer-amd64.iso

If you have torrent application, you can use the Torrent link instead. There are ready to boot images for VirtualBox and VMware. If you want the Live image, pull it under the Kali Linux (Live) section.

Step 2: Create bootable USB drive

If installing on a Laptop, Desktop or server, you’ll need to create a bootable medium for installation.

On Linux, use dd command:

sudo dd if=kali-linux-2022.1-installer-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=512k

Where:

/dev/sdX is your USB device

If on Windows or macOS, user Etcher.

Select image, USB device and hit the Flash button to get started.

Step 3: Boot Kali Linux installer image

Insert bootable USB Drive to your computer and boot from it to start installation process. Once booted:

Select graphical installation method – Recommended for new users.

Choose the language to use during installation process – English for me.

Select a country for the correct timezone to be set for your machine during installation.

Configure Keyboard keymap.

Wait for the installation components to be loaded.

Set your machine hostname.

Set domain name, this will be part of FQDN – <hostname>.<domain_name>

Create a user for non-administrative activities – set full name and username.

Set password for the user.

Set desired time zone.

Choose disk partitioning method – If you’re not sure, go with “Guided – use entire disk“.

Select disk for installation.

Select how partitioning should be done. For new users, All files in one partition should work fine. If you have enough installation disk size, you can go with separate /home, /var, /tmp partitions. This may require doing custom partitioning in the previous steps for accurate disk allocation.