This is a guide on how to create a Kali Linux virtual machine using VMware. Kali Linux is a ‘distribution’ (or version) of Linux which comes preloaded with many tools useful for hacking/penetration testing.

The first step is to download VMware Workstation Player. This can be found here.

Once you have downloaded VMware, you will need a Kali ‘image’, which is a file containing the operating system. You can download one for VMware here. make sure you get the right one for your Windows architecture (You can find if you use 32- or 64-bit windows here). It should download as a .zip file, so you will have to unzip it. After opening the folders, you should have files looking like the following:

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When you open VMware Workstation Player it should look like this:

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Here I already have some VMs installed, so on your version it should be missing TryHackMe and Ubuntu (Note: TryHackMe is a website for practicing hacking, it is not an invitation to hack me). Next we’re going to click ‘Open a Virtual Machine’ and navigate to the folders we unzipped earlier. You should only see one file:

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Double click that file to open the Kali VM. You should see the new VM on the home screen of Workstation Player.

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You can right click on that VM to rename it, or to change the settings. Let’s change the settings.

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Let’s leave the memory at the recommended amount (This may vary depending on your computer). I normally change the Network Adapter to ‘Bridged’ but you can play around and see what fits you better. We are also going to leave every other setting at the default.

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Now click ‘OK’ to go back to the home screen, and then click ‘Play virtual machine’ to start your Kali machine.

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If you see this screen, just click ‘I Copied It’.

After some loading screens you should see a login page.

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(Depending on the version of Kali installed, it may look slightly different)

The default login credentials should be ‘kali’/’kali’, but if this doesn’t work you should look on the Kali site to see if they have changed. You should now see a screen like this:

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Congratulations! You have now deployed a virtual machine. You can find a post explaining how to secure your new VM against being hacked here