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Kali Linux vs Parrot OS

still confused for Penetration Testing?

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Hey Folks,All loves word Hacker or pretend to be or wish to be a hacker’s friend ? .But technically there is no hacker is this IT world.Anyone who have a common sense and curiosity we call them hacker. I know you might be thinking what nonsense he has written but that’s true ..

Anyway Jokes apart, if these cyber security world fascinates you and you wanna start your journey, then A stupid Question might be bothering you :- “Which OS should be suitable for Cyber Security?”.

Well there is no right and wrong answer for this, it again depends upon your domain inside Cyber sec. Suppose one might gonna in windows sec or other be in Linux security, Mobile security or cloud security etc….

Here we gonna discuss about the most commonly used Linux based Operating system among Cyber security practitioners i.e Kali Linux and Parrot Security OS on following points :-

  1. Operational Hardware
  2. Hardware Acceleration
  3. Deployment Size
  4. Variations
  5. Easier to Learn
  6. Community

What is Kali Linux ?

Kali Linux

As per official Kali linux Documentation Kali Linux (formerly known as BackTrack Linux) is an open-source, Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at advanced Penetration Testing and Security Auditing. It does this by providing common tools, configurations, and automations which allows the user to focus on the task that needs to be completed, not the surrounding activity.

Quick Features of Kali :-

What is Parrot OS ?

Parrot OS is a new iteration of Debain based linux with a vast amount of tools with a focus on security, privacy and development. It was devloped by Lorenzo “Palinuro” Faletra · Parrot Dev Team.

Parrot OS

Brief features of Parrot OS :-

Let’s compare both

  1. Storage Requirement

Kali linux usually requires a minimum storage space of 20GB to install and begin but on other hand Parrot OS needs 15GB to install and function fully.

  1. Operational Hardware

Kali Linux is a heavyweight OS and needs around 1GB of RAM but on the other hand Parrot OS is a lightweight os and needs only 300MB of RAM to get started.

  1. Hardware Acceleration

Kali Linux uses a varity of tools which require graphical hardware acceleration using the latest GPUs but Parrot OS doesn’t need hardware acceleration to function fully making it advantageous.

  1. Deployment size

Kali Linux has a larger deployment size after installation making it a bit difficult to process on legacy hardware but Parrot OS has a smaller deployment size after installation giving it an edge in the case of legacy hardware.

  1. Variations

Kali Linux provides user with Kali ARM, Desktop,Lite and Full Versions for usage based on requirements but Parrot OS provides users with OS Studio AIR, Lite and Full alongside advantage of supporting wireless pen testing.

  1. Easy of Learning

Kali Linux has been the gold standard for penetration testing enthusiasts to begin working with cybersecurity, but ParrotOS is taking over with its east-to use interface and a wide options of toolkits, which makes it beginners friendly.

  1. Community

Both the Kali and Parrot OS has been open source so they do have community support. Kali has stong presence and a good community working to provide powerful cybersecurity tools, whereas Parrot OS has a rapidly growing community with a plethora of tools and new techniques for security developers.

Parrot OS community is very active over telegram too!

So here comes the hardest part which os ? I preffer Parrot OS over Kali just because of nothing . I would suggest go with both explore both then decide as your comfort and machine capability.

Thanks for reading blog.

Keep learning, Keep Troubleshooting!