Kali here, Kali there! Why you should not expect detailed answers.
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why people on internet discussion forums never deal with "newbie" posts by simply not responding to them.
Actually this approach is simply wrong, you cannot/must not expect always answer which will solve your issue immediately, just because: it is impossible.
Yes, sometimes the answer is not so nice, or not what OP wanted to hear. But it is/can be still more helpful than nothing.
Most likely they should install pure debian and because they watched "mr. robot" it sounds more cool to install kali. They didn't even read the information provided by the kali-project itself advising them against using it as a desktop distro.
I think we should deal with any "newbie" and at least give them this hint.
Most likely they should install pure debian and because they watched "mr. robot" it sounds more cool to install kali. They didn't even read the information provided by the kali-project itself advising them against using it as a desktop distro.
I think we should deal with any "newbie" and at least give them this hint.
No kidding? I don't know what Mr. Robot is--I guess some television program or movie--but I would rather try and react objectively. I can already see the contempt for newbies here; it's no better and no worse than people ignoring advice not to use a niche distro as a desktop distro, as you say they're doing. There is a reason I chose the name "newbiesforever" many years ago. (Even if the only reason I still use it is because changing usernames is frivolous and I don't want to waste the moderators' time.)
Moreover, I'm sorry that they're misusing a distro due to ignoring advice; but in theory, it could leave them interested in exploring Linux further, leading to their finding an appropriate distro. If they start their Linux experience with an obviously wrong distro...at least they started. And at least their error probably doesn't cause any trouble for others, only themselves.
When I started exploring Linux seventeen years ago, although I did do some research, I nevertheless started with a distro much larger than I really needed--Mandrake (then not yet Mandriva), because I didn't know any better. Stupid newbie, eh?
Last edited by newbiesforever; 12-12-2020 at 08:38 AM.
Mandrake is not a niche’ distro though. Kali is designed for a single purpose: penetration testing. It is also best used as a VM and not installed. I use it everyday at work because I am a pen tester. I would never use Kali as a daily driver but that’s me.
I think the general frustration comes from people that think Kali is “cool” and then get frustrated installing it or using it for something completely different than it was intended. They post questions here and get push back because they are using the wrong tool for the job. Sure you can learn this way but there are far better tools to learn with if you want to learn Linux.
If people want to be (or look like) hackers, maybe we should advise them to use Slackware. I wouldn't normally recommend Slack to a newbie, but it sure is a heck of a lot easier to use than Kali, especially if you do the recommended full install. And it has that cool vibe.
Distribution: Currently: OpenMandriva. Previously: openSUSE, PCLinuxOS, CentOS, among others over the years.
Posts: 3,881
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Quote:
Originally Posted by newbiesforever
No kidding? I don't know what Mr. Robot is--I guess some television program or movie--but I would rather try and react objectively. I can already see the contempt for newbies here; it's no better and no worse than people ignoring advice not to use a niche distro as a desktop distro, as you say they're doing. There is a reason I chose the name "newbiesforever" many years ago. (Even if the only reason I still use it is because changing usernames is frivolous and I don't want to waste the moderators' time.)
Moreover, I'm sorry that they're misusing a distro due to ignoring advice; but in theory, it could leave them interested in exploring Linux further, leading to their finding an appropriate distro. If they start their Linux experience with an obviously wrong distro...at least they started. And at least their error probably doesn't cause any trouble for others, only themselves.
When I started exploring Linux seventeen years ago, although I did do some research, I nevertheless started with a distro much larger than I really needed--Mandrake (then not yet Mandriva), because I didn't know any better. Stupid newbie, eh?
It could also leave them thinking that all distros must be a nightmare to learn and/or use too. Kali's own website clearly states what it's intended for, and that's *NOT* general purposes, full stop, period.
What people don’t really understand either is that Kali is nothing special. It’s a rolling Debian release with hacker tools installed. I use Slackware to hack at home (testing): cli, no desktop, in a VM and install whatever tools I need. Super easy to maintain. You can install the tools you need in ANY distro and learn the tools, which is what hacking is all about; not the distro hosting the tools.
^ the only thing that makes Kali "special" is that so many want to use it as their entry level distro for reasons that have nothing to do with F(L)OSS, and nothing with pentesting either (or they would know that our criticism is justified).
And, incidentally, these "Kali noobs" tend to react deliciously to that criticism.
It seems that some IT security courses use Kali. Therefore, it is possible to have a legitimate need to install and configure it even without being a professional pen tester. Let's not jump to the conclusion that newbie Kali users only want to look cool.
It seems that some IT security courses use Kali. Therefore, it is possible to have a legitimate need to install and configure it even without being a professional pen tester. Let's not jump to the conclusion that newbie Kali users only want to look cool.
Fair enough.
I'm sure those belonging to the first group you mention will tell us, or in any case be less concerned about having a special Kali symbol font in their termnal prompt.
I agree that one should not jump to conclusions.
But in the course of a thread it becomes all too clear all too often that OP does NOT belong to that group, but rather to what I described earlier.
Actually, I think I said all that already in this very thread a couple of years ago...
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