BackTrack was a

Linux distribution A Linux distribution (often abbreviated as distro) is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and, often, a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading one ...

that focused on security, based on the

Knoppix KNOPPIX ( ) is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD (Live CD) or a USB flash drive (Live USB), one of the first live operating system distributions (just after Yggdrasil Linux). Knoppix was developed b ...

aimed at digital forensics and

penetration test A penetration test, colloquially known as a pen test or ethical hacking, is an authorized simulated cyberattack on a computer system, performed to evaluate the security of the system; this is not to be confused with a vulnerability assessment. T ...

ing use. In March 2013, the Offensive Security team rebuilt BackTrack around the

Debian Debian (), also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of D ...

distribution and released it under the name Kali Linux.

History

The BackTrack distribution originated from the merger of two formerly competing distributions which focused on

ing: * ''WHAX'': a Slax-based Linux distribution developed by

Mati Aharoni Mati may refer to: Geography *Mati, Davao Oriental, Philippines, a city **Roman Catholic Diocese of Mati ** Mati Protected Landscape, a protected area in Davao Oriental, Philippines **Mati Airport, Davao Oriental, Philippines *Mati, a barangay in ...

, a security consultant. Earlier versions of WHAX were called ''Whoppix'' and were based on

. * ''Auditor Security Collection'': a

Live CD A live CD (also live DVD, live disc, or live operating system) is a complete bootable computer installation including operating system which runs directly from a CD-ROM or similar storage device into a computer's memory, rather than loading fro ...

based on

developed by ''Max Moser'' which included over 300 tools organized in a user-friendly hierarchy. On January 9, 2010, BackTrack 4 improved hardware support, and added official FluxBox support. The overlap with Auditor and WHAX in purpose and in collection of tools partly led to the merger. The overlap was done based on Ubuntu Lucid LTS starting from BackTrack 5.

Tools

BackTrack provided users with easy access to a comprehensive and large collection of security-related tools ranging from port scanners to Security Audit. Support for

and

Live USB A live USB is a portable USB-attached external data storage device containing a full operating system that can be booted from. The term is reminiscent of USB flash drives but may encompass an external hard disk drive or solid-state drive, thou ...

functionality allowed users to boot BackTrack directly from portable media without requiring installation, though permanent installation to hard disk and network was also an option. BackTrack included many well known security tools including: *

Metasploit The Metasploit Project is a computer security project that provides information about security vulnerabilities and aids in penetration testing and IDS signature development. It is owned by Boston, Massachusetts-based security company Rapid7. It ...

for integration * Wi-Fi drivers supporting

monitor mode Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West Vi ...

(rfmon mode) and

packet injection Packet injection (also known as forging packets or spoofing packets) in computer networking, is the process of interfering with an established network connection by means of constructing packets to appear as if they are part of the normal communica ...

Aircrack-ng Aircrack-ng is a network software suite consisting of a detector, packet sniffer, WEP and WPA/WPA2-PSK cracker and analysis tool for 802.11 wireless LANs. It works with any wireless network interface controller whose driver supports raw monito ...

* Reaver, a tool used to exploit a vulnerability in WPS * Gerix Wifi Cracker * Kismet * Nmap * Ophcrack * Ettercap *

Wireshark Wireshark is a free and open-source packet analyzer. It is used for network troubleshooting, analysis, software and communications protocol development, and education. Originally named Ethereal, the project was renamed Wireshark in May 2006 d ...

(formerly known as Ethereal) * BeEF (Browser Exploitation Framework) * Hydra * OWASP Mantra Security Framework, a collection of hacking tools, add-ons and scripts based on Firefox * Cisco OCS Mass Scanner, a very reliable and fast scanner for Cisco routers to test default telnet and enabling password. * A large collection of exploits as well as more commonplace software such as browsers. * Armitage - java frontend to Metasploit. BackTrack arranged tools into 12 categories: * Information gathering * Vulnerability assessment * Exploitation tools * Privilege escalation * Maintaining access *

Reverse engineering Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompli ...

* RFID tools * Stress testing * Forensics * Reporting tools * Services * Miscellaneous

Releases

Whenever a new version of BackTrack was released, older versions would lose their support and service from the BackTrack development team. There are currently no supported versions of BackTrack.

References

External links

*
Offensive Security

SecurityNet on BackTrack
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backtrac Discontinued Linux distributions KDE Operating system distributions bootable from read-only media Pentesting software toolkits Year of introduction missing Linux distributions