If you believe the hype Backtrack 5 is suitable for pen testing... this is a misconception. BT is suitable for pen testing if you are already experienced with it... in practice BT disables the functionality of certain hardware used for pen testing AND disables its functionality as a Ubuntu-variant such that even its most basic functions are locked out and anyone who is familiar with a Linux distro other than BT is incapable of assisting me when I encounter an issue. And the BT forum is so small and ummm modern (aka: Daycare post format) that legitimate help is nearly impossible to get... which isn't helped by the huge time delay in posting because approval is required before posts get added.

Back to the original question... is there a suitable alternative to BT for pen testing purposes? At this point I only need a Linux distro that isn't prejudiced against usb modems and will run aircrack-ng and be viable as a general OS (bloody BT is worse than Vista for denial of access). Basically I need a good Linux distro for wired and wireless network detection and communication and BT has been nothing but a burden from day one (the interface and logo are neat but the OS is so restrictive that attempting to learn Linux by doing is next to impossible).

You can install all of the software that comes with backtrack on any distro, I think. Get Mint, for example, open up the package manager (Synaptic?), and browse through the network section.

So you are saying I could enable all the software that I would use with bt in a mint distro and be able to have the pen testing functionality and the advantages of a less restrictive OS and the access to a better online support outlet.

Now I don't know anything about Mint but from what I know about you Bri I can safely say that if you recommend Mint then it is probably a good way for me to go.

Are you recommending Mint or was that just any example? In any case I appreciate your advice... a lot of people shy away from discussions that refer to pen testing despite the fact it is an essential field of study. Z/Z

I'm only saying I think you could install all the software. Backtrack is a specialised distro. They've conveniently put all that stuff together, but the same software is available to install on any distro.
I've never tried Mint, but read a lot of good things about it as an easy distro that's more reliable than Ubuntu. And it would be better as an all-round distro than Backtrack, definitely.

Thanks Bri... I'll give Mint a shot and learn as I go and maybe try BT again when I have a better handle on Linux... have a good weekend :3 Z/Z