Privacy Pros: FOSS, ad-free, tracker-free, security focused OS
Privacy Cons: As a hacking focued OS, new users may find themselves in hot water for using the tools unknowingly or on any network but their own. Pen-testing is designed to strengthen your own network by attacking it. Using these tools on other networks is illegal.
Kali Linux (from the Hindu goddess Kali) is a Linux distribution designed for digital forensics and penetration testing. It is maintained and funded by Offensive Security. The software is based on the DebianTesting branch: most packages Kali uses are imported from the Debian repositories. The tagline of Kali Linux and BackTrack is “The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear”, which is displayed on some backgrounds, see this example. Kali Linux has gained immense popularity in the cybersecurity community due to its comprehensive set of tools designed for penetration testing, vulnerability analysis, and reverse engineering.
Kali Linux has approximately 600 penetration-testing programs (tools), including Armitage (a graphical cyber attack management tool), Nmap (a port scanner), Wireshark (a packet analyzer), metasploit (penetration testing framework), John the Ripper (a password cracker), sqlmap (automatic SQL injection and database takeover tool), Aircrack-ng (a software suite for penetration-testing wireless LANs), Burp Suite, Nikto, and OWASP ZAP web application security scanners, etc.
It was developed by Mati Aharoni and Devon Kearns of Offensive Security through the rewrite of BackTrack, their previous information security testing Linux distribution based on Knoppix.
Kali Linux’s popularity grew when it was featured in multiple episodes of the TV series Mr. Robot. Tools highlighted in the show and provided by Kali Linux include Bluesniff, Bluetooth Scanner (btscanner), John the Ripper, Metasploit Framework, Nmap, Shellshock, and Wget.