auditing distribution. With hundreds of tools preinstalled and configured to run out
of the box, BackTrack 4 provides a solid Penetration testing platform ‐ from Web
application Hacking to RFID auditing – its all working in once place.
Behind the curtains
BackTrack Base
There have been many changes introduced into BackTrack 4 ‐ most notably, our
move to an Ubuntu Intrepid base. We now maintain our own full repositories with
modified Ubuntu packages in addition to our own penetration testing tools.
Another significant change is the updated kernel version, currently at 2.6.29.4. This
new kernel brought an onset of internal changes, which have greatly changed the
structure of BackTrack.
BackTrack
Kernel
We no longer use lzma enabled squashfs as our live filesystem, which on one hand
results in larger ISO size, but on the other hand, frees us from having to maintain
our own kernel patches. This is especially painful these days, as squashfs is slowly
moving into the mainstream kernel (at the time of this writing).
BackTrack 4 uses squashfs‐tools version 4.0 (which is not backward compatible
with previous versions), and the inbuilt squashfs kernel module, which is present in
2.6.29.4. AUFS is used as the unification filesystem (aufs2.x).
Several wireless driver injection/optimization patches have been applied to the
kernel, as well as a bootsplash patch. These patches can be found in the kernel
sources package (/usr/src/linux/patches).
Packages and Repositories
One of the most significant changes introduced in BackTrack 4 are the Debian like
repositories available, which are frequently updated with security fixes and new
tools. This means that if you choose to install BackTrack to disk, you will be able to
get package maintenance and updates by using aptget commands.
Our BackTrack tools are arranged by parent categories. These are the categories
that currently exist:
• BackTrack ‐ Enumeration
• BackTrack ‐ Tunneling
• BackTrack ‐ Bruteforce
• BackTrack ‐ Spoofing
• BackTrack ‐ Passwords
• BackTrack ‐ Wireless
• BackTrack ‐ Discovery
• BackTrack ‐ Cisco
• BackTrack – Web Applications
• BackTrack ‐ Forensics
• BackTrack ‐ Fuzzers
• BackTrack ‐ Bluetooth
• BackTrack ‐ Misc
• BackTrack ‐ Sniffers
• BackTrack • BackTrack ‐ Debuggers
• BackTrack ‐ Penetration
• BackTrack ‐ Database
• BackTrack ‐ RFID
• BackTrack – Python ‐ VOIP
Meta packages
A nice feature that arises from the tool categorization, is that we can now support
“BackTrack meta packages”. A meta package is a dummy package which includes
several other packages. For example, the meta package “backtrackweb” would
include all the Web Application penetration testing tools BackTrack has to offer.
Meta Meta Packages
We have two “meta meta packages” – backtrackworld and backtrackdesktop.
backtrackworld contains all the BackTrack meta packages, while backtrack
desktop contains backtrackworld, backtracknetworking and backtrack
multimedia. The latter two meta packages are select applications imported from
Ubuntu repositories.
Up and running with BackTrack
We’ve made a short movie called “up and running with BackTrack” – showing some
common and not so common features. A good place to start in order to grasp the
new changes in BackTrack 4.
Installing BackTrack to Disk
BackTrack 4 (both barebones and full version) now contains a modified Ubiquity
installer. The install should be straight and simple. For a video tutorial, check
http://www.offensive‐security.com/videos/install‐backtrack‐hard‐disk/install‐
backtrack‐hard‐disk.html
Updating Backtrack
Keeping BackTrack up to date is relatively simple by using the apt‐get commands.
aptget update synchronizes your package list with our repository.
aptget upgrade downloads and installs all the updates available.
aptget distupgrade downloads and installs all new upgrades.
Installing BackTrack to USB
The easiest method of getting BackTrack4 installed to a USB key is by using the
unetbootin utility (resent in BackTrack in /opt/).
Installing BackTrack to USB ‐ Persistent changes
A Video tutorial can be found here:
http://www.offensive‐security.com/videos/backtrack‐usb‐install‐video/backtrack‐
usb‐install.html
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