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Backtrack 3 Beta - All the Linux Fun, None of the Hassle
zanetheinsane
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Backtrack
What is Backtrack?
DISCLAIMER: Backtrack is a very "security-focused" distribution. It includes tools that could possibly be used to faciliate illegal activites. I also have knives in my kitchen but I don't go around stabbing people with them. No discussion of anything remotely illegal will be entertained in this thread. This thread is about more about introducing Linux to people in an easy risk-free (hopefully more headache-free environment). I feel more people would possibly warm up to linux if they could see that it has come very far, it has a very polished GUI, is very full-featured, and isn't the scary nerd beast they think it is (ok well it still is, but it's can still be easy to use)!
English, Please!
Put simply, Backtrack is a LiveCD which in all simplification is an entire Linux install that boots from a CD and loads into memory. By default the hard drive is read-only so there is no danger of mucking up a windows installation. There is an option from within the OS to even install the operating system permanently, which is pretty cool.
What makes this any different from the other LiveCD distros?
The amount of polish put on this version is tremendous. Driver support since version 2 has made leaps and bounds and most laptops work right out of the box with no fiddling. Backtrack's focus is on network security auditing and penetration, including inclusion of the entire Aircrack suite. Aircrack is severely limited under windows, and for those of you looking to play with some of it's functions yet not wanting to install linux, you will find this pretty easy to get into to.
Downloads
All of the main downloads are available on Backtrack's Website. There are currently two versions out:
Why would I want this?
I know a lot of users who are curious about Linux but have been using Windows for so long that the headache and nightmare stories of installing Linux might scare them off. Personally I feel that we're to a point where dealing with Windows may or may not be more of a hassle than it's worth. It's getting to the point where it's easier to use Linux. Alot of times I'll get frustrated with something that windows does because I know I could fix it or have more control in Linux.
LiveCD's give you the opportunity to explore the operating system without the hassle of actually installing it. It's a little slow to boot (but still only take 1-2 minutes), but it can be incredibly useful. We've used it many times in tech support on computers that refuse to boot. Simply pop in ths CD, boot into linux, and backup all the files to a network drive before reimaging.
Plus, it's pretty cool carrying around an entire bootable operating system on your keychain.
Community
The community forums and wiki on the website are extremely helpful and well written. I've found extremely obscure problems written out in detail and everyone seems to have their shit together. Hopefully neon green on black doesn't make your eyes explode because that's what you get on the wiki.
Edit: A caveat, the Wireless Assistance GUI still has some kinks in it and will tell you that your connection failed sometimes when logging on to an access point. If the GUI tool craps out you can still use ifconfig/iwconfig from the command line. If you are unfamiliar with how to do so there are lots of very easy to follow guides. Configuring via command prompt. Not mentioned is "iwlist" which will show you all available Wireless AP's and their relevant information (channel, ESSID, BSSID, etc)
Edit 2: Wireless Chipsets compatibility lists and known issues, for those interested in using it on a laptop or other wireless device.
What is Backtrack?
BackTrack is a Linux distribution distributed as a LiveDistro which resulted from the merger of WHAX and the Auditor Security Collection.[1] It takes advantage of SLAX's modular design and structure to enable the user to include customizable scripts, additional tools and configurable kernels in personalized distributions. The BackTrack project was created by Mati Aharoni and Max Moser and is a collaborative effort involving the community.
The most recent version, BackTrack 2, was released on March 6, 2007 and includes over 300 security tools.[2] BackTrack 3 has been scheduled for release 14th Dec 07. But it was announced that its main focus was to support more and newer hardware as well as provide more flexibility and modularity
DISCLAIMER: Backtrack is a very "security-focused" distribution. It includes tools that could possibly be used to faciliate illegal activites. I also have knives in my kitchen but I don't go around stabbing people with them. No discussion of anything remotely illegal will be entertained in this thread. This thread is about more about introducing Linux to people in an easy risk-free (hopefully more headache-free environment). I feel more people would possibly warm up to linux if they could see that it has come very far, it has a very polished GUI, is very full-featured, and isn't the scary nerd beast they think it is (ok well it still is, but it's can still be easy to use)!
English, Please!
Put simply, Backtrack is a LiveCD which in all simplification is an entire Linux install that boots from a CD and loads into memory. By default the hard drive is read-only so there is no danger of mucking up a windows installation. There is an option from within the OS to even install the operating system permanently, which is pretty cool.
What makes this any different from the other LiveCD distros?
The amount of polish put on this version is tremendous. Driver support since version 2 has made leaps and bounds and most laptops work right out of the box with no fiddling. Backtrack's focus is on network security auditing and penetration, including inclusion of the entire Aircrack suite. Aircrack is severely limited under windows, and for those of you looking to play with some of it's functions yet not wanting to install linux, you will find this pretty easy to get into to.
Downloads
All of the main downloads are available on Backtrack's Website. There are currently two versions out:
- A stripped down 700Mb CDROM iso, already bootable, you just burn it and pop it in.
- A 1Gb USB thumbdrive package which you can burn to a bootable DVD-ROM. Fully featured and the one I recommend if you do use it, although you have to make yourself a bootable image to burn first as it will not be bootable if you simply burn it to a DVD.
- Backtrack 2 is also available. Driver support isn't as full-featured as the 3 beta but it's a very good stable release.
Why would I want this?
I know a lot of users who are curious about Linux but have been using Windows for so long that the headache and nightmare stories of installing Linux might scare them off. Personally I feel that we're to a point where dealing with Windows may or may not be more of a hassle than it's worth. It's getting to the point where it's easier to use Linux. Alot of times I'll get frustrated with something that windows does because I know I could fix it or have more control in Linux.
LiveCD's give you the opportunity to explore the operating system without the hassle of actually installing it. It's a little slow to boot (but still only take 1-2 minutes), but it can be incredibly useful. We've used it many times in tech support on computers that refuse to boot. Simply pop in ths CD, boot into linux, and backup all the files to a network drive before reimaging.
Plus, it's pretty cool carrying around an entire bootable operating system on your keychain.
Community
The community forums and wiki on the website are extremely helpful and well written. I've found extremely obscure problems written out in detail and everyone seems to have their shit together. Hopefully neon green on black doesn't make your eyes explode because that's what you get on the wiki.
Edit: A caveat, the Wireless Assistance GUI still has some kinks in it and will tell you that your connection failed sometimes when logging on to an access point. If the GUI tool craps out you can still use ifconfig/iwconfig from the command line. If you are unfamiliar with how to do so there are lots of very easy to follow guides. Configuring via command prompt. Not mentioned is "iwlist" which will show you all available Wireless AP's and their relevant information (channel, ESSID, BSSID, etc)
Edit 2: Wireless Chipsets compatibility lists and known issues, for those interested in using it on a laptop or other wireless device.
zanetheinsane on
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Posts
Since it's security focused one of the primary concerns for the distro is going to be wireless chipset compatitbility and drivers, which is also a plus . For advanced users the distro has developed over time to be as easily customisable as possible. Backtrack has quickly become a popular LiveCD and as such there are lots of guides and information to help new users.
It's going to be hard to find a LiveCD that isn't "security focused" in some respect, to be honest. There has been a shift in almost all LiveCD's towards this recently (including Knoppix-STD,which is dead AFAIK and nUbuntu has included tools on a smaller level).
Every release is a LiveCD, and the last release was about 2 months ago. :P
For those interested, Ubuntu's LiveCD page can be found here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD.
I didn't mean for this to be a "SLAX is better than Ubuntu" thing. I like SLAX and Backtrack is derivative, but I do understand that Ubuntu is championed as the people's linux and trying to win the common user market share probably a lot more.