A Short Guide to Installing WSL2 and Kali Linux on Windows 10

Written by trendoceans | Published 2021/01/08
Tech Story Tags: kali-linux | windows-10 | penetration-testing | linux-and-unix | wsl | linux | linux-vs-windows | good-company

TLDRvia the TL;DR App

No matter If you are a security professional or pursuing cybersecurity, we require some of the tools which are supported only on the Windows platform.
We have alternatives for Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, but not up to the mark.
This guide will show you how to install the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2) on Windows 10 with the Kali Linux.
At present, WSL has two versions: WSL1, and WSL2.

How to Install WSL2 on Windows 10

Before jumping to the installation part, let's first understand What is WSL? In layman’s terms, a WSL or Window Subsystem Linux allows users to use GNU/Linux environment alongside Windows as their Default System.
You can access most of the Linux command-line tools like awk, sed, grep, and many other utilities directly on Windows without switching to Dual-Boot or Using Virtual technology like VMware or VirtualBox.
Prerequisite: Windows 10 version 2004 or higher Window PowerShell or command line
Step 1. Check the Latest Version of Windows
Type command on Command Prompt or Run Box
winver
Step 2. Enable WSL2 on Windows
To enable WSL2, Press the Windows start key and search for Powershell and Click on Run as Administrator and allow UAC control to Yes.
Type or copy-paste the following command on Windows PowerShell
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart
Now restart your machine.
Step 3. Set WSL version to WSL2

Again, start Powershell as Administrator and type command.
wsl --set-default-version 2

Install and Run Kali Linux on WSL2

To Install: open Microsoft Store, press Start Key ,and Search Microsoft Store, or simply click the link below.

Run Kali Linux

When the download is finish click on launch or press the window key and search for Kali Linux.
Initially, it will ask you to set username and password. Enter the username, password, and confirm password.
That’s it!
Kali Linux is successfully Installed on your Windows 10 device.

Written by trendoceans | Get the latest Linux and open source related articles to help you become a better and more informed
Published by HackerNoon on 2021/01/08