Configuring network services and secure communications

 The first step in being able to use Kali is to ensure that it has connectivity to either a

wired or wireless network to support updates and customization.

You may need to obtain an IP address by DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration

Protocol), or assign one statically. First, confirm your IP address using the ifconfig

command from a terminal window, as shown in the following screenshot:

In this particular case, the VM has been assigned an IP address of 192.168.204.132 .

If an IP address was not obtained, an address can be assigned by DHCP using the

command dhclient eth0 (or other available interfaces, which will depend on the

specific configuration of the system being used).

If a static IP address is used, additional information may be required. For example,

you can assign a static IP of 192.168.204.128 as follows:

host IP address: 192.168.204.128

subnet mask: 255.255.255.0

default gateway: 192.168.204.1

DNS server: 192.168.204.10

Enter a terminal window and enter the following command:

root@kali:~# ifonconfig eth0 192.168.204.128/24

root@kali:~# route add default gw 192.168.204.1

root@kali:~# echo nameserver 192.168.204.10 > /etc/resolv.conf

Changes made to IP settings are nonpersistent, and will be lost when Kali is

rebooted. To make the changes permanent, you will need to edit the /etc/network/

interfaces file, as shown in the following screenshot:

By default, Kali does not start with the DHCP service enabled. Doing so announces

the new IP address on the network, and this may alert administrators about the

presence of the tester. For some test cases, this may not be an issue, and it may be

advantageous to have certain services start automatically during boot up. This can

be achieved by entering the following commands:

root@kali~# update-rc.d networking defaults

root@kali~# /etc/init.d/networking restart

Kali installs with network services that can be started or stopped as required,

including DHCP, HTTP, SSH, TFTP, and the VNC server. These services are usually

invoked from the command line, however, some are accessible from the Kali menu.

Next: Adjusting network proxy settings