Acquiring Linux skills and changing systems.
Acquiring Linux skills and changing systems.
I’m starting my journey into cybersecurity and want to become more familiar with Linux. I’m planning to move my primary computer to Linux, though I’ll keep my gaming PC for those needs. I’ve completed an introductory course but only covered the basics—what I’m looking for is a smooth transition. Ideally, I’d like to replace everything except gaming and Fusion360 with Linux, using my old laptop for that purpose. I have a basic textbook and a surface laptop ready once I’m more comfortable. I’m open to any learning materials or advice, and I’d appreciate recommendations from cybersecurity professionals about the field.
I highly discourage using this approach. Kali isn't meant as your primary operating system. Becoming comfortable with the command line and tools usually comes from reading documentation—whether man pages or the wiki—which can be very helpful even if you don’t use Arch. To learn effectively, try to practice tasks normally done in a GUI within the command line, such as exploring directories, adjusting settings, or configuring networks. Minimal distributions can push you through this process; simply installing Arch or Gentoo will require some basic knowledge.
Kali should ideally run in a virtual machine or be booted from a USB drive on the target system. This allows you to take it with you for on-site pentesting when your personal machine isn't available. For personal projects, any popular distribution works (such as Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, etc.). If you want to learn the command line quickly, a minimal distro like Arch or Gentoo could be beneficial.
I suggest a Debian-based system! Pop_os!, Ubuntu, and Mint are great options. As noted before, Kali should not be your regular choice.
I cannot always access the SSH feature because my environment doesn’t consistently support it. Being in the military means I need reliable offline functionality, so I’m using a distro via USB to minimize disruptions during deployments. Installing Arch or Gentoo makes sense since they’re lightweight and straightforward. When I’m back home without frequent travel, I’ll run VMs to test my CLI skills beyond basic commands. This time at home also lets me explore more advanced tools.
Consider exploring Distrobox. It lets you run different Linux distros from the terminal, which is helpful for studying distribution-specific features without installing a full OS or using a VM. I use it with my atomic desktop.