[Tested] How to Install Kali Linux on Windows 10

Kali Linux (formerly BackTrack Linux) is a Debian-based open-source Linux for penetration testing and advanced security audits. The Kali Linux system contains hundreds of tools for various information security tasks, such as Penetration Testing, Security Research, Computer Forensics, and Reverse Engineering. Kali Linux is a multi-platform solution available for free to information security professionals and hobbyists.

To install Kali Linux on windows we can take advantage of one of the windows features “Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)”. WSL lets developers run GNU/Linux environments — including most command-line tools, utilities, and applications — directly on Windows, without modification, without the overhead of traditional virtual machines or double boot setup.

How to Install Kali Linux on Windows 10

1. Enable Windows Subsystem for Linux

To apply this feature you can do through the menu “Turn windows feature on or off”. Make sure the option is checked and then select the OK button and restart your PC.

2. Install Kali Linux with PowerShell

• Open PowerShell and run as administrator
  Type command:

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux

Then restart your PC.

• Open PowerShell and run as administrator
  Type command:

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart
dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart

Once the process is complete, restart your PC.

• Download and install the WSL2 Linux Kernel from: https://aka.ms/wsl2kernel
  Install and follow the process until it is complete.

• Open PowerShell and run as administrator
  Change default WSL with command:

wsl --set-default-version 2

• Install Kali Linux from the Microsoft Store
  Select the Get button to start installation.

• Open Kali Linux
  To open Kali Linux you can do through “windows search” by typing “kali linux”.

3. Install Win-KeX

• After you open Kali Linux, then type the following command to start the win-kex installation.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y kali-win-kex

• Once the installation process is complete, open Win-Kex with command

kex --win

• The installation process has been completed. For the record, the installation of linux times that we did above is the minimum installation of linux times. To get more tools or features than linux times we have to update the linux times. Before updating, you should turn off antivirus first, because there are several tools from linux times that are considered viruses by antivirus. To update type a command as dredged

sudo apt install -y kali-linux-large

If you experience difficulties in the installation process of Kali Linux above, please stay the message in the comments field. We will help you with the installation process. May be useful.