Commando VM Is A Windows-based Kali Alternative For Ethical Hacking

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Fireye, a California-based public cybersecurity firm, launched a reverse engineering and malware analysis tool calledĀ FLARE VM in 2017. The tool allowed ethical hackers to isolate their primary machine and test the network/devices without worrying about malicious attacks.

The firm has now released its Windows distribution namedĀ Commando VM, which isĀ being calledĀ the Kali Linux alternative that resides in the Windows world. It gets installed as a layer on top of your existing Windows installation. As one would expect, it comes with automated scripts to ease your penetration testing job.

Features ofĀ Commando VM

WhileĀ Linux-based solutionsĀ like Kali, BlackArch, and ParrotĀ are widely used, there are some obvious reasons why an ethical hacker might want to try his/her hands on a Windows-based machine. With the sheer number of Windows users, it makes sense to use a solution that provides support for Windows and Active Directory. It also lets your tools operate on a native level and interact with the underlying system in a close manner.

Commando VM comes with theĀ above-mentionedĀ benefitsĀ of being able to assess Active Directory environments more efficiently. The team mentions that the other features include “using your VM as a staging area for C2 frameworks, browsing shares more easily (and interactively).”

commando vm windows desktop
Command VM Desktop after installation

Additionally, the distroĀ is equippedĀ with features both for offensive and defensive techniques of ethical hacking, often called Red Team and Blue Team.

This hacking distro comes with more than 140 tools that are installed using packages like Boxstarter and MyGet. TheĀ popularĀ tools include Wireshark, Nmap, Burp-Suite, Hashcat, etc.

Commando VM Installation

windows commando vm hacking distro install script
Command VM Installation Script

To installĀ Commando VM on your computer, FireEye recommends that you use it in a virtual machine. It makes sense as one doesn’t need to worry about wiping out the pen-testing system when required.

The specs needed for the installation include 2GB of RAM and 60GB of disk space. I’d recommend you toĀ allotĀ a bit more RAM to ensure a smoother performance.Ā It goes without saying thatĀ you’d need an existingĀ installation ofĀ Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or Windows 10.

You can read thisĀ postĀ by FireEye team to get a better idea of the installation process and features. TheĀ GitHub repo linkĀ of Commando VM is also available for installation script and a complete list of tools.

Also Read:Ā Best Hacking Tools For Windows, Linux, macOS
Adarsh Verma

Adarsh Verma

Fossbytes co-founder and an aspiring entrepreneur who keeps a close eye on open source, tech giants, and security. Get in touch with him by sending an email — [email protected]
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