BackTrack was a

Linux distribution A Linux distribution (often abbreviated as distro) is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and, often, a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading on ...

that focused on security, based on the

Knoppix KNOPPIX ( ) is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD (Live CD) or a USB flash drive (Live USB), one of the first live operating system distributions (just after Yggdrasil Linux). Knoppix was developed ...

aimed at

digital forensics Digital forensics (sometimes known as digital forensic science) is a branch of forensic science encompassing the recovery, investigation, examination and analysis of material found in digital devices, often in relation to mobile devices and comp ...

and

penetration test A penetration test, colloquially known as a pen test or ethical hacking, is an authorized simulated cyberattack on a computer system, performed to evaluate the security of the system; this is not to be confused with a vulnerability assessment. ...

ing use. In March 2013, the Offensive Security team rebuilt BackTrack around the

Debian Debian (), also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of De ...

distribution and released it under the name

Kali Linux Kali Linux is a Debian-derived Linux distribution designed for digital forensics and penetration testing. It is maintained and funded by Offensive Security. Kali Linux has around 600 penetration-testing programs (tools), including Armitage (a g ...

History

The BackTrack distribution originated from the merger of two formerly competing distributions which focused on

ing: * ''WHAX'': a Slax-based Linux distribution developed by Mati Aharoni, a security consultant. Earlier versions of WHAX were called ''Whoppix'' and were based on

. * ''Auditor Security Collection'': a

Live CD A live CD (also live DVD, live disc, or live operating system) is a complete bootable computer installation including operating system which runs directly from a CD-ROM or similar storage device into a computer's memory, rather than loading f ...

based on

developed by ''Max Moser'' which included over 300 tools organized in a user-friendly hierarchy. On January 9, 2010, BackTrack 4 improved hardware support, and added official FluxBox support. The overlap with Auditor and WHAX in purpose and in collection of tools partly led to the merger. The overlap was done based on Ubuntu Lucid LTS starting from BackTrack 5.

Tools

BackTrack provided users with easy access to a comprehensive and large collection of security-related tools ranging from port scanners to Security Audit. Support for

and

Live USB A live USB is a portable USB-attached external data storage device containing a full operating system that can be booted from. The term is reminiscent of USB flash drives but may encompass an external hard disk drive or solid-state drive, tho ...

functionality allowed users to boot BackTrack directly from portable media without requiring installation, though permanent installation to hard disk and network was also an option. BackTrack included many well known security tools including: *

Metasploit The Metasploit Project is a computer security project that provides information about security vulnerabilities and aids in penetration testing and IDS signature development. It is owned by Boston, Massachusetts-based security company Rapid7. ...

for integration * Wi-Fi drivers supporting

monitor mode Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, We ...

(rfmon mode) and packet injection *

Aircrack-ng Aircrack-ng is a network software suite consisting of a detector, packet sniffer, WEP and WPA/ WPA2-PSK cracker and analysis tool for 802.11 wireless LANs. It works with any wireless network interface controller whose driver supports raw mon ...

* Reaver, a tool used to exploit a vulnerability in WPS * Gerix Wifi Cracker * Kismet *

Nmap Nmap (Network Mapper) is a network scanner created by Gordon Lyon (also known by his pseudonym ''Fyodor Vaskovich''). Nmap is used to discover hosts and services on a computer network by sending packets and analyzing the responses. Nmap prov ...

Ophcrack Ophcrack is a free open-source ( GPL licensed) program that cracks Windows log-in passwords by using LM hashes through rainbow tables. The program includes the ability to import the hashes from a variety of formats, including dumping directly fr ...

* Ettercap *

Wireshark Wireshark is a free and open-source packet analyzer. It is used for network troubleshooting, analysis, software and communications protocol development, and education. Originally named Ethereal, the project was renamed Wireshark in May 2006 du ...

(formerly known as Ethereal) *

BeEF (Browser Exploitation Framework) Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often ground or minced, as found ...

* Hydra *

OWASP The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is an online community that produces freely-available articles, methodologies, documentation, tools, and technologies in the field of web application security. The OWASP provides free and open ...

Mantra Security Framework, a collection of hacking tools, add-ons and scripts based on Firefox * Cisco OCS Mass Scanner, a very reliable and fast scanner for Cisco routers to test default telnet and enabling password. * A large collection of exploits as well as more commonplace software such as browsers. *

Armitage Armitage is a village in Staffordshire, England on the south side of the Trent and Mersey Canal south just outside of the market town of Rugeley and north of the city of Lichfield, and noteworthy for the Armitage Shanks sanitary porcelain fact ...

- java frontend to Metasploit. BackTrack arranged tools into 12 categories: * Information gathering * Vulnerability assessment * Exploitation tools * Privilege escalation * Maintaining access *

Reverse engineering Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompli ...

* RFID tools * Stress testing * Forensics * Reporting tools * Services * Miscellaneous

Releases

Whenever a new version of BackTrack was released, older versions would lose their support and service from the BackTrack development team. There are currently no supported versions of BackTrack.

References

External links

*
Offensive Security

SecurityNet on BackTrack
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backtrac Discontinued Linux distributions KDE Operating system distributions bootable from read-only media Pentesting software toolkits Year of introduction missing Linux distributions