BackTrack 5 R3 Released

(-http://www.backtrack-linux.org/backtrack/backtrack-5-r3-released/-)

 

Rocking it now Pretty nice update feels a lot more stable.

 

Downloaded a copy a few days ago. Been wanting to do some penetration testing of legacy Windows configurations on virtual machines - interested in seeing how various hardening methods work vs. browser and IM exploits. I'll get around to it eventually (when I figure out to do it, ha ha).

BTW, how's Backtrack as a hard drive install? Do all the special menu entries work from a limited account?

Edit: and may I be the first to say that, wow, there is a lot of penetration testing software on this thing.

 

Works well on HDD install. I use root though as thats what the dev's reccomend. I also don't use it as a daily driver and don't reccomend doing so as BackTrack is not patched as quickly as other distros.

 

Ah okay. I was thinking of using it as a host for VBox images to be tested, but it works well enough as a VBox guest.

 

The offensive security website has several free tutorials that were recommended to me by some pros. A bit of googling will get you there.

Oh, and I have learned from some sources that virtual box doesn't have good USB support, so it's better to install backtrack in vmware or on bare metal. I haven't tested this- it still lives in vbox for me.

Did you mean you'd have backtrack as the host and the victims as the guests? I wouldn't do that- keep it in its own vm or bare metal.

 

Wait. Are you saying you want to use it as an operating system for daily use? Kind of along the same lines as x942 said, Backtrack is a specialized tool kit specifically designed for penetration testing. It makes a TERRIBLE daily operating system, it's not designed for that at all. It's designed to be used by people with advanced knowledge of Linux, so a lot of standard security measures in normal Operating Systems have been removed to make the toolkit as lean as possible. Play with it, just don't make it your main OS.

If I misunderstood, then it's worth noting for folks that land on this thread in the future.