c
 


  


 is a live CD linux distribution designed for penetration testers. It is packed with
hundreds of ready to use tools for security professionals, and is based on Slax (live CD
Slackware).

This mini-tutorial will show you how to get Backtrack 2 up and running inside VMware
Workstation, and installed to the HDD. This should work the same in both VMware
Workstation 5 and 6.

1. Download the Backtrack 2 iso

http://www.remote-exploit.org/backtrack_download.html

2. Open VMware Workstation and create a new virtual machine

   

Click Next

Select  , then click Next.

Select  , then select   from the pull down menu. Click Next.

Name your virtual machine 


, or whatever you wish, then click next.

Choose 
 !! "

  if you are on a network where you can acquire an IP
address separate from your host operating system. If you͛re on a home cable or DSL
connection, you may only have one IP address, in which case you should choose 

"
!!


" #$%. Read below for information on how this affects
Backtrack!

Leave the default 8.0GB unless you think you may need more. You can select $" 
!


  " if you͛d like, but keep in mind it could take several minutes.

Click Finish

3. Edit virtual machine settings

Adjust the RAM depending on how much you want to allocate to the virtual machine. My
Backtrack 2 installation seems to do fine with &', and I have 2GB on the host machine.

Select ()*+

Select 
c,c-, then browse to the Backtrack 2 ISO that you downloaded before. You
don͛t need to burn this ISO to a CD, one of the great features of VMware is that it can map
an ISO file as if it were a physical CD-ROM drive. This works with DVD isos too!
Click 

4. Start the virtual machine

5. Login with username "", password ""

Don͛t worry, you can change this once you install Backtrack to the hard drive.

6. Partition and mount the hard drive

The virtual SCSI hard drive in VMware is usually .!/.
!. We need to partition this drive
and create a filesystem on which Backtrack 2 can be installed.

We will use fdisk to create 2 partitions - one for the filesystem and one for swap space.

0!

.!/.
!

Enter each line below into fdisk͛s prompt:

'

*
 

A '1

*
 ?

*
 

This will create a 7GB partition for the filesystem and a 1GB swap space. If you want more
space on the filesystem (or if you made your virtual disk larger than 8GB), you can change
A '1 to another number (in megabytes).

Create an ext3 filesystem on the first partition:

-
0
2.!/.
!'
Create swap space on the other:

-

.!/.
!

Mount the drive:

-
!.- . 


-" .!/.
!'.- . 


7. Run
 to boot up KDE

8. Use the Backtrack installer

,,
-

c


Leave the source blank

Install backtrack to: .- . 



Write MBR to: .!/.
!

Select +#

3!% for the installation method

Click install. It could take awhile or hang at certain parts (seems to hang for awhile at 81%
on my machine).

9. Have fun

Restart the virtual machine, and you͛re ready to start using Backtrack 2 in VMWare!

" "  


  4

I have found that you can do just about anything with Backtrack in VMware that you can
running natively, 
?
?
? ?
. That͛s right, wireless isn͛t going to work
through VMware (that means both 802.11 and Bluetooth). As far as I know, VMware doesn͛t
attempt to virtualize wireless hardware, and even if it did, most of the wireless pen testing
tools require special drivers that would need to be much closer to the hardware.

Keep in mind that to get reliable and accurate results, you will probably want to be running
networking in !! mode for your virtual machine - assuming you can get a separate IP
from the host OS. I have not had good results trying to run things like nmap through
VMware͛s NAT. The general rule for scanning is you want to be as close to the physical wire
as possible. That means anything between a scanning tool and the target could potentially
alter the packets that are being sent and received. Routers, firewalls, software NATs, host -
based firewalls, etc. can affect the scan results or make them completely inaccurate.