How to install Kali-Linux on VMWare Fusion?

8 min readDec 5, 2023

Hello there.

I am here with a fresh start. It’s been a while since I have written any articles. 🙂

Today I will start with my technical articles that may be useful to you as a result of my research and studies based on the training I received at UNIQUESEC where I am a student now.

In this time I will write about after every lesson’s tasks result; so stay tuned guys!

This article is the first step; It will be about installing Kali-Linux on the virtual machine, which will form the basis of the entire lesson.

What is the best option to use a virtual machine for Mac?

As you know, compared to other computer devices; performing any operation on Mac devices has always been different. So, I would like to talk about two virtual machines that I consider to be my favorites to be installed on the macOS device. First one is Parallels Desktop.

Parallels Desktop has a yearly update cycle, it is easy to install the ARM version of Windows 11, you can choose a perpetual license or subscription, and more. That way, you can see this virtual machine is actually the most useful one for macOS devices. A 14-day free trial is available. However, there is a fee for later and seeing that the price has increased considerably this year; I realize that most people will not be able to use this virtual machine for long term.

For this reason, I want to introduce you to one of the best options we had, which was VMWare Fusion. While Fusion hasn’t kept up to date with the latest developments in Mac hardware and software, the availability of the free Fusion Player still makes it a great option for home users and students who occasionally need to run Windows apps or games on their Intel Mac. Therefore, I strongly recommend the VMWare Fusion virtual machine. You can continue your work in the long term with the free license key. It is the number one choice especially for students like me.

Fusion 13 Player is free for personal use, you can download from here. You will need to register for a VMWare account first.

How to install VMWare Fusion on macOS devices?

The only thing you need to make sure in the first step is that there is 30 GB of space on your device. In the second step, create a user account if you do not have an account in VMware Fusion. This is required for the license key.

I installed VMWare Fusion on my own device. I noted down all the steps while installing it. If you follow the steps that I will show you one by one, you will complete the installation without any problems and in one go.

Let’s get started! 👀

Steps to follow:

You need to go to this site and create an account if you don’t have one. The site you need to visit should seems like as follows:

After completing the information you need to register, click on Register.

When you see your profile activated, then Sign Up.

After this process, you will have access to the License Key and Download Packages information as below.

Click on Manually Download.

Now, you have got the VMWare Fusion. It can wait for now. At this time we need to install Kali-Linux on our devices.

How to install Kali-Linux?

Here we come to install Kali. Next steps are as below:

Open your browser and go to the Kali website.

Click on Download and scroll over here and choose Apple Silicon (ARM64). Kali Linux 2023.3 is the latest release as you can see. Go ahead and choose the Installer. Then click on this icon as I show you and start downloading the image file.

Once it’s done these two files downloading including Kali, place them somewhere on your computer for easier navigation.

Then, go ahead double click on the VMWare Fusion and follow the on-screen instructions and install it.

How to register Kali-Linux with VMWare Fusion?

🚀 Yeah. Let’s continue where we last left off.

When you click on the VMWare Fusion, some pop-up appears as follows. It is about terms and conditions. Click on Agree.

Then, you will see the license key window. Using the license key you had when you registered as above, you can activate it now.

After that, you will see this window as below. Click on install from disc or disc image, and import Kali-Linux ISO. 🚀And Continue.

Now, choose Linux from the left list and select Debian 11.x 64-bit Arm preset then click on Continue.

This is a summary of the Kali-Linux virtual machine. Just go ahead and choose the Customize Settings. Save as Kali Linux 2023 or what you’ll name it.

Using the settings of the virtual machine, choose the Processors & Memory then increase the CPU Cores to 4 for the better performance. And I’m going to allocate 4 GBs of RAM for Kali-Linux. 👾

After that, as I mentioned before, you need to choose the Hard Disk and allocate the storage space of 30GB for Kali-Linux. 🚀 Apply the changes.

Once it’s done, start the virtual machine by clicking on the play button on it. Then you will see this screen as I show you below. Click anywhere inside the machine to detect your moves. And use the arrow keys to select Graphical Install then press enter.

Next steps will be easy peasy. Stay down. 🙂

Go ahead and set the system language.

Select your location.

Set the keyboard language.

Processing…

Now, leave the Kali as the host-name and click on Continue.

For the Domain Name leave it empty now as below and Continue.

Create a user account name and set up with it.

Create a password for your user account.

And then, select the Use Entire Disk.

Select the Virtual NVMe Disk and Continue.

Select the All Files in One Partition.

Choose the Finish Partitioning the Virtual Drive and go on.

For Partition disks changes to click Yes and Continue.

Set up and Continue as follows.

Finish the installation.

Here it is! 🚀

Now, you see the Login Screen. 🙂 Type your username and password you created. And Log In.

Via using terminal, enter this commands:

cat /etc/os-release

As you can see, we are running the latest version of Kali-Linux inside a virtual machine on an Apple Silicon Mac. 🙂

After installing Kali-Linux you can make changes about what you need. For example, go to the Settings and choose the Display below the Hardware section. Change the Resolution to the Native Mac version as I show you below, then Apply.

As you can see, you can apply many customizations according to your needs. It’s up to you. 👾

That’s it. 🚀

How simple is it, right? Although it is a simple process when you understand the mindset, it can be very complex for first timers. It is advantageous and instructive to be able to find a way with researching.

I hope this tutorial is useful for anyone who is searching for those and who don’t know where to start and what steps to follow.

Stay tuned for my other technical articles! Comes more. 🙂

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