BlackArch Linux Distro For Ethical Hacking Drops 32-bit Support

BlackArch, one of the most popular Linux distros for ethical hacking and penetration testing, has dropped the support for systems based on 32-bit architecture. The announcement of this change was made on project’s Twitter handle and official website, as reported by Softpedia.

The announcement says: “Following 9 months of deprecation period, support for the i686 architecture effectively ends today.”

As a result of this change, by November end, the i686 packages will be removed from BlackArch mirrors. At a later stage, they’ll also be removed from packages archive. In case you visit their website, you won’t find any 32-bit download images.

If you’re running a 32-bit installation of Arch Linux, now, you won’t be able to upgrade to a newer version or get updates/patches for your machine. So, you’re advised to either install 64-bit version of the OS on 64-bit hardware, or choose a different ethical hacking distro that supports 32-bit architecture.

This step shouldn’t be surprising as increasing number of Linux distros are phasing out 32-bit support. Following the footsteps of Arch Linux, popular Manjaro Linux had already dropped the support. Just recently, Ubuntu too took a similar decision.

What are your thoughts on this development? Do share your views with us.

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