Monday, February 15, 2016

HOWTO : Kali Linux 2016.1 Live USB Persistence Encryption on M.2 SSD

I (Samiux) recommend to install Kali Linux 2016.1. Live USB Persistence on M.2 SSD 128GB or higher. The M.2 SSD will be installed to an enclosure with USB 3.0 interface. I will install Kali Linux 2016.1 Live USB Persistence for Encryption only.

I (Samiux) have tried to install Kali Linux 2016.1 Live USB Persistence Encryption on 32GB USB 3.0 Pendrive. It is very very slow and insufficent space for the first update. It takes over 12 hours to update Kali Linux 2016.1 and the reboot failed. May be you can use a larger size and faster USB pendrive or an external portable SSD drive for the purpose. I find Live USB Persistence on fast device is better than dual boot on Windows, Mac or Linux computers.

This guide covers how to install Kali Linux 2016.1 Live USB Persistence Encryption for Apple Macbook (Air/Pro/Pro Retina) and Lenovo ThinkPad (X201s or newer). However, this guide does not suitable for The New Macbook as it does not display "Windows" when pressing "Option" during boot up. Therefore, this guide may not work for all models of Mac machine.

Step 1 :

You need a Linux computer (such as Ubuntu) to do the following steps. If you do not have gparted install, you can install it.

If you are using Ubuntu, you can :

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install gparted

Step 2 :

Download Kali Linux 2016.1 from official site. I download amd64 version. Install it to M.2 SSD 128GB.

Usually, M.2 SSD will be mounted at "/dev/sdb". You can confirm it when running "fdisk -l".

If you are using Ubuntu, you can :

sudo dd if=kali-linu-2016.1-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=1024k

Step 3 :

Do not unplug the M.2 SSD. Run gparted and format the remained space to ext3 (ext4 should work but not yet tested).

Step 4 :

The M.2 SSD is still inserted to USB port. Run the following commands :

If you are using Ubuntu, you can :

cryptsetup --verbose --verify-passphrase luksFormat /dev/sdb3
cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sdb3 my_usb

mkfs.ext3 -L persistence /dev/mapper/my_usb
e2label /dev/mapper/my_usb persistence

mkdir -p /mnt/my_usb
mount /dev/mapper/my_usb /mnt/my_usb
echo "/ union" > /mnt/my_usb/persistence.conf
umount /dev/mapper/my_usb

cryptsetup luksClose /dev/mapper/my_usb

* Make sure you enter a very strong passphrase for the encryption

Step 5 :

Then reboot the M.2 SSD.

If you are using Macbook, you should long press "Option" key when boot up. Once the boot menu is displayed, select "Windows" icon to boot.

If you are using ThinkPad, you should press "F12" to launch the boot menu when boot up. Once the boot menu is displayed, select the M.2 SSD to boot.

Once Kali Linux boot menu is displayed, select "Live USB Encrypted Persistence". You will be asked for Passphrase when boot to unlock /dev/sdb3.

Step 6 :

On Kali Linux 2016.1 Live USB Persistence, you run the following commands :

apt-get update
apt-get -y install dkms linux-headers-amd64 tlp tlp-rdw

wget http://ftp.wa.co.za/pub/ubuntu/ubuntu/pool/restricted/b/bcmwl/bcmwl-kernel-source_6.30.223.248+bdcom-0ubuntu2.1_amd64.deb
dpkg -i bcmwl-kernel-source_6.30.223.248+bdcom-0ubuntu2.1_amd64.deb

If you are using ThinkPad, you need this command. However, it is no harm to install it when you are using Macbook :

apt-get -y install tp-smapi-dkms acpi-call-dkms

Step 7 :

If you are using Macbook, you need this step. However, it is no harm to set it up when you are using ThinkPad.

nano /usr/local/bin/mac_keyboard

Enter the following :

#!/bin/bash

# Author : Samiux (http://samiux.blogspot.com)
# Date : Feb 15, 2016

if [ -f /sys/module/hid_apple/parameters/iso_layout ]
then
    echo 0 > /sys/module/hid_apple/parameters/iso_layout
    echo 1 > /sys/module/hid_apple/parameters/fnmode
fi

Save it with "Ctrl o" and "Ctrl x".

chmod +x /usr/local/bin/mac_keyboard

Step 8 :

If you are using Macbook, you need this step. However, it is no harm to set it up when you are using ThinkPad.

nano ~/.config/autostart/mac_keyboard.desktop

Enter the following :

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Exec=/usr/local/bin/mac_keyboard
Hidden=false
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
Name[en_US]=Mac Keyboard Layout
Name=Mac Keyboard Layout
Comment[en_US]=Start Mac Keyboard Layout when GNOME starts
Comment=Start Mac Keyboad Layout when GNOME starts

Step 9 :

nano ~/update_kali

Enter the following :

apt-get update
apt-get -y dist-upgrade
apt-get autoclean
apt-get -y --purge autoremove

Save it with "Ctrl o" and "Ctrl x".

chmod +x ~/update_kali

Step 10

Then update Kali to the latest status. It takes time to update. However, when the kernel is updated, the update process will be failed as it cannot update the kernel and its related packages.

cd ~
./update_kali

Step 11

Change your time zone when necessary.

dpkg-reconfigure tzdata

Step 12

Make sure you change the root password on every boot up.

passwd

* Make sure you entered a strong password and it should be difference to the encryption passpharse

Know Issue

The New Macbook is not supported. It may not working on all models of Mac machine.

"maltego" on Kali Linux 2016.1 refuses to launch on my Macbook Air (Mid 2013), Macbook Pro Retina (Mid 2012) and ThindPad X201s even it is not in Live USB Persistence mode, maybe it is a bug for older CPU.

REFERENCE

TLP Setting
Broadcom Wireless Driver
Kali Linux Live USB Persistence


That's all! See you.

Source : Samiux's Blog


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