Here’s the simplest way to start a Kali Linux virtual machine on your desktop or laptop: run it as a Vagrant box! First, download the latest version of Vagrant, you need at least version 1.6 or newer. You’ll also need VirtualBox.
Next, make a new directory on your filesystem and import the Kali Linux box.
$ mkdir kali-linux-vm $ cd kali-linux-vm $ vagrant init Sliim/kali-linux-2.0-amd64
The Kali Linux box is now imported and you can run it via Vagrant, that will start the Virtualbox VM for you.
$ vagrant up
Bringing machine 'default' up with 'virtualbox' provider...
==> default: Checking if box 'svigneux/kali-linux-1.0.6-amd64-mini' is up to date...
==> default: Clearing any previously set forwarded ports...
==> default: Clearing any previously set network interfaces...
==> default: Preparing network interfaces based on configuration...
default: Adapter 1: nat
==> default: Forwarding ports...
default: 22 => 2222 (adapter 1)
==> default: Booting VM...
==> default: Waiting for machine to boot. This may take a few minutes...
default: SSH address: 127.0.0.1:2222
default: SSH username: vagrant
default: SSH auth method: private key
default: Warning: Connection timeout. Retrying...
==> default: Machine booted and ready!
==> default: Checking for guest additions in VM...
==> default: Machine already provisioned. Run `vagrant provision` or use the `--provision`
==> default: to force provisioning. Provisioners marked to run always will still run.
To get inside your Kali Linux machine, use “vagrant ssh” to get a (limited) bash shell. Then use sudo to become root.
$ vagrant ssh $ sudo su -
The minimal box has no GUI, so everything is done via the CLI. It’s around 350MB in size, so _very_ small. Have fun!