While on VMWare Workstation we Install VMWare Tools and then on our Linux distribution we first mount the cdrom drive and we copy and install the VMwareTools-x.x.x-x.tar.gz file contained within.

On Debian based distributions before proceeding do the following:

1. apt-get install build-essential
2. apt-get install linux-headers-server

1. mkdir /mnt/cdrom
2. mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
3. cp /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-x.x.x-x.tar.gz /tmp/
4. cd /tmp/
5. tar -zxf VMwareTools-x.x.x-x.tar.gz
6. cd vmware-tools-distrib
7. perl vmware-install.pl
8. Accept the default questions
9. /etc/init.d/networking stop
10. rmmod pcnet32
11. rmmod vmxnet
12. depmod -a
13. modprobe vmxnet
14. /etc/init.d/networking start
15. Restart X Server or Reboot your machine

On reboot you can start /usr/bin/vmware-toolbox or create a script that will autostart vmware-toolbox on each boot

1. echo “/usr/bin/vmware-toolbox –minimize” > ~/.kde/Autostart/vmware-tools.sh
2. chmod +x ~/.kde/Autostart/vmware-tools.sh

Note: If you are running Backtrack 4 replace ~/.kde with ~/.kde3

Note: If you are running Backtrack 4 replace ~/.kde with ~/.kde3

On latest Ubuntu distributions we can also install the VMware Tools through apt-get. VMware has released the VMware tools source code as Open Source Project under the name Open Virtual Machine Tools.

References:
http://open-vm-tools.sourceforge.net/
http://www.ubuntu.com/
http://www.vmware.com/

Step 1 – Creating the partitions

First we will need to create three partitions to be able to install backtrack on our hard disk drive. We will need boot, swap and root partitions to be created. (We can still create 2 partitions and install the boot inside the root partition)

After we create the three partitions we need to change the type of partition 2 to swap and activate the boot partition, then write the changes

Command (m for help): t
Partition number (1-4): 2
Hex code (type L to list codes): 82
Changed system type of partition 2 to 82 (Linux swap / Solaris)
Command (m for help): a
Partition number (1-4): 1
Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!
Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
Syncing disks.
root@bt:~#

Step 2 – Format the file systems
We format our file system with mkreiserfs for root partition, ext2 for boot and swap for the swap partition.

Step 3 – Mount and Copy Directories

After we had prepare the file systems its time to copy over the backtrack files to our hard drive and configure it to run the backtrack on boot.

NOTE: The copy operation will take some time so be patient until it finish

Step 4 – Configure Bootloader

We will need to configure /etc/lilo.conf and define the boot and root partition so we will be able to boot into backtrack. In case we do not correctly define the root partition we will get an error “Kernel panic: no init found”.

Edit /etc/fstab and append the following lines:

/dev/sda3 / reiserfs defaults 0 0 # AutoUpdate
/dev/sda2 none swap sw 0 0

Execute lilo -v and reboot

References:

http://www.offensive-security.com/documentation/bt4install.pdf
2009/04/how-to-install-nessus-on-backtrack-4
2009/04/backtrack-4-beta-quick-fixes

Firstly we need to create a bootable USB Drive on the 1GB USB Drive and boot our machine (A DVD Drive can be used also)
Instructions on how to do this can be found on the following link: 2009/04/how-to-make-backtrack-4-boot-from-usb/

Secondly we will need to to prepare our 2GB USB Drive with 2 partitions, one for the USB Boot with (bt4 and boot folder) FAT32 and the other one EXT2 to keep our changes.

As you can see in the above screenshot the two USB devices are listed as /dev/sdb1 for the 1GB bootable USB Drive and /dev/sdc1 for the 2GB drive.

We now need to delete the /dev/sdc1 partition and create 2 new partitions for the /dev/sdc USB Drive:

root@bt:~# fdisk /dev/sdc

Command (m for help): d
Selected partition 1
Command (m for help): n
Command action
e extended
p primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 1
First cylinder (1-2813, default 1):
Using default value 1
Last cylinder, +cylinders or +size{K,M,G} (1-2813, default 2813): +1024M
Command (m for help): t
Selected partition 1
Hex code (type L to list codes): b
Changed system type of partition 1 to b (W95 FAT32)
Command (m for help): a
Partition number (1-4): 1
Command (m for help): n
Command action
e extended
p primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 2
First cylinder (1489-2813, default 1489):
Using default value 1489
Last cylinder, +cylinders or +size{K,M,G} (1489-2813, default 2813):
Using default value 2813
Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered

We now format the linux partition with mkfs.ext2, mount it and create “changes” folder:

root@bt:/# mkfs.ext2 /dev/sdc2
root@bt:/# mkdir -p /mnt/sdc2
root@bt:/# mount -t ext2 /dev/sdc2 /mnt/sdc2
root@bt:/# mkdir /mnt/sdc2/changes

On the first partition we need to copy BT4 and boot folders from the 1GB USB Drive to our 2GB USB Drive first partition /dev/sdc1:

Format the partition to FAT32
root@bt:/# mkdosfs -F 32 /dev/sdc1
root@bt:/# mkdir -p /mnt/sdc1
root@bt:/# mount -t vfat /dev/sdc1 /mnt/sdc1
root@bt:/# cp -Rf /mnt/sdb1/boot/ /mnt/sdc1/
root@bt:/# cp -Rf /mnt/sdb1/BT4/ /mnt/sdc1/

Now we have to make our 2GB USB Drive bootable and keeping the changes on our second partition:

chmod +Xx /mnt/sdc1/boot/syslinux/lilo
chmod +Xx /mnt/sdc1/boot/syslinux/syslinux

nano /mnt/sdc1/boot/syslinux/syslinux.cfg

Append the changes to reflect the Linux EXT2 partition we created before:

LABEL BT4
MENU LABEL BT4 Beta – Console
KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz
APPEND vga=0×317 initrd=/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw quiet changes=/dev/sdb2

As you can see we had put /dev/sdb2 partition because on the next boot we will remove the 1GB USB drive that it currently has the /dev/sdb partition and our new bootable USB Drive will use /dev/sdb.

The last step is to write our MBR Boot record to make our USB Drive bootable:

As we notice running bootinst.sh on backtrack 4 we get an error as follow
root@bt:/# sh /mnt/sdc1/boot/bootinst.sh
/mnt/sdc1/boot/bootinst.sh: 27: Bad substitution

To fix this we need to force symbolic link the /bin/bash with /bin/sh and reboot the system:

root@bt:/# ln -sf /bin/bash /bin/sh
root@bt:/# sh /mnt/sdc1/boot/bootinst.sh
root@bt:/# reboot

Now you have a full Backtrack 4 installation on your USB Drive that will keep all the changes we make.

Step1:

Boot your computer with BackTrack 4

If you have any issues getting pass this step you can try pressing “Tab” and editing/adding the “vga” argument into “vga=ask”

On Boot Options:

> /boot/vmlinuz vga=ask initrd=/boot/initrd.gz ramdisk_size=6666 root=/dev/ram0 rw quiet

Then press ENTER to see available video modes.

Step2:

Log in as root. Now before you execute “startx” you need to install your video drivers.

You will need to download/compile and install the drivers on your own.

wget http://www.viaarena.com/Driver/5.74.33.85a-44597.tar.gz

When the download finishes run the following commands in order to install the driver:

1. mkdir /lib/modules/2.6.28.1/kernel/ubuntu /lib/modules/2.6.28.1/kernel/ubuntu/via_chrome9
2. tar xvf 5.74.33.85a-44597.tar.gz
3. cd 5.74.33.85a-44597
4. ./vinstall

Note that you have to create the /lib/modules/2.6.28.1/kernel/ubuntu and /lib/modules/2.6.28.1/kernel/ubuntu/via_chrome9 directories in order to install or you can edit the vinstall script.

Step3:
Locate and copy a working xorg.conf file into /etc/X11
For the Mini Note I am using “who”‘s xorg.conf located at:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LaptopTestingTeam/HP2133/DisplayConfig810

Step4:
Execute “startx”

References:

http://backtrack4.blogspot.com/

Issue #1:
W: GPG error: http://ppa.launchpad.net intrepid Release: The following signatures couldn’t be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY CB2F6C86F77B1CA9
W: You may want to run apt-get update to correct these problems

Fix #1:

gpg –keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com –recv CB2F6C86F77B1CA9
gpg –export –armor CB2F6C86F77B1CA9 | apt-key add -

Issue #2:
apt-get upgrade breaks BT4 Beta KDE

Fix #2:

cd /etc/alternatives/
mv x-session-manager x-session-manager-broke
ln -s /usr/kde3/bin/startkde x-session-manager
cd /opt/kde3/share/
mv applications borked-applications
mv pixmaps borked-pixmaps
mkdir -p /usr/local/share/applications/kde
cp borked-applications/kde/ksnapshot.desktop /usr/local/share/applications/kde
ln -s /usr/local/share/pixmaps pixmaps
ln -s /usr/local/share/applications applications
cd /opt/kde3/share/icons/crystalsvg/16×16/apps/
ln -s cache.png preferences-web-browser-cache.png
cd /opt/kde3/share/applications/kde
cat ksnapshot.desktop |grep -v ^GenericName > ksnapshot.desktop1
mv ksnapshot.desktop1 ksnapshot.desktop

Thanks to muts for the temp solution

Issue #3:
Nikto missing from /pentest/scanners/nikto
root@bt:/# cd /pentest/scanners/nikto/
bash: cd: /pentest/scanners/nikto/: No such file or directory

Fast-Track issue also:
Updating Nikto…
/bin/sh: ./nikto.pl: not found

Fix #3:

mkdir /pentest/scanners/nikto
ln -s /usr/bin/nikto /pentest/scanners/nikto/nikto.pl

Issue #4:
Change BT4 Beta Screen Resolution

Fix #4:
On terminal type: krandrtray and the screen resize and rotate tray icon will appear on the low right corner to let you configure your screen resolution

Issue #5:
Can’t connect to wire/wireless network

Fix #5:
Method 1:

/etc/init.d/networking start

Method 2: (Manual way)

ifconfig eth0 up
dhclient

Also be sure to start the Network Manager daemon

/etc/init.d/NetworkManager start

Issue #6:
ERROR 2002 (HY000): Can’t connect to local MySQL server through socket ‘/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock’ (2)

Fix #6:

1. sudo ln -s /etc/mysql/my.cnf /etc/my.cnf
2. /etc/init.d/mysql restart

Issue #7:
ERROR 1 (HY000): Can’t create/write to file ‘/tmp/#sql_37ed_0.MYI’ (Errcode: 13)

Fix #7:

1. chown root:root /tmp
2. chmod 1777 /tmp
3. /etc/init.d/mysql start

In this article the UNetbootin Windows version tool has been used to demonstrate the above scenario.

Requirements:
Minimum USB Drive capacity 1 GB
Format the USB to FAT32

Tools:

http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/

http://www.remote-exploit.org/cgi-bin/fileget?version=bt4-beta-iso

Workaround:

1. Download BT4 Beta ISO
2. Download UNetbootin to make our usb bootable
3. Run Unetbootin and select bt4-beta.iso for diskimage
4. Select USB Drive letter and click on OK to start making a bootable usb drive

After the creation process finishes restart your machine and boot from the new usb bootable drive created and enjoy Backtrack 4 Beta on your system.

Default Backtrack 4 username is root and password is toor

Note: Be sure that your install the MBR on the USB drive by executing drive:\boot\bootinst.bat on your USB drive. (BT4 Beta Only)

The above article works for Backtrack 4 PreFinal and Final versions

First we need to boot from BackTrack 3 Final media and list the partition tables on our system

fdisk -l

In this example lets assume that the main partition table is /dev/sda and /dev/sda4 is the BT3 Beta Linux partition / and that /dev/sda3 is the Linux Swap.

At first we might want to check if /dev/sda4 is mounted and if yes need to unmount it.

mount
umount /dev/sda4

Now we have to format /dev/sda4 partition with mkreiserfs command so we will be able to copy all the new files from BackTrack 3 Final to our existing system.

mkreiserfs /dev/sda4

When done we configure the system to be ready to copy all files from BT3 Final media to our HDD.

mkdir /mnt/backtrack
mount /dev/sda4 /mnt/backtrack
mkdir /mnt/backtrack/boot

So lets copy now. It might take some time until copy finishes..

cp –preserve -R /{bin,dev,home,pentest,root,usr,etc,lib,opt,sbin,var} /mnt/backtrack

After the recursive copy of files is done to our HDD its time for us to configure the system to be used with our new installation.

Create Dynamic Directories:

mkdir /mnt/backtrack/{mnt,proc,sys,tmp}

Mount /dev to our new upgrade installation:

mount –bind /dev/ /mnt/backtrack/dev/

Mount /proc to our new upgrade installation:

mount -t proc proc /mnt/backtrack/proc/

Configure the Boot Loader:

cp /boot/vmlinuz /mnt/backtrack/boot
chroot /mnt/backtrack /bin/bash
nano /etc/lilo.conf

Sample working LILO Configuration:

boot = /dev/sda
prompt
timeout = 1200
change-rules
reset
vga=791

# Linux Boot
image = /boot/vmlinuz
root = /dev/sda4
label = Pwnage
read-only

# Windows Boot
other=/dev/sda1
label=Windows
table=/dev/sda

Final step now is to make LILO write on MBR (Master Boot Record)

lilo -v

Reboot and enjoy your new upgraded version of BackTrack 3 Final

In this article we will describe how to install enhanced injection drivers for your Intel 3945ABG wireless adapter to support packet injection and monitoring.

First think to do is to download and install the kernel sources from BackTrack website:

wget http://www.offensive-security.com/kernel.lzm && lzm2dir kernel.lzm /
mkdir drivers && cd drivers

Now lets extract and install the enhanced injection drivers:

wget http://homepages.tu-darmstadt.de/~p_larbig/wlan/ipwraw-ng-2.3.4-04022008.tar.bz2
tar -xjvf ipwraw-ng-2.3.4-04022008.tar.bz2
cd ipwraw-ng
make && make install
make install_ucode

At this point is a good idea to blacklist ipwraw drivers from autostarting when computer boots.

echo “blacklist ipwraw” | tee /etc/modprobe.d/ipwraw

Initialize module dependencies

depmod -ae

Now to be able to use the wireless card in monitor mode we must first unload intel drivers and load the new ones to support packet injection which by default are set to monitor mode.

modprobe -r ipw3945
modprobe ipwraw

When its time to switch back to your normal drivers you can unload ipwraw and load ipw3945

sudo modprobe -r ipwraw
sudo modprobe ipw3945