Steps to create a Bootable Kali Live USB Persistence

Kali Linux is a distribution of Linux that is specifically designed for penetration testing, digital forensics, and other security-related tasks. A "Live" version of Kali allows the user to boot the operating system from a USB drive, rather than installing it on a computer's hard drive. This is useful for running Kali on a computer that you don't own, or for troubleshooting a computer that is having problems.

"Persistence" in this context refers to the ability to save changes made to the system, such as installed software or saved files, across reboots. This means that when the user boots Kali from the USB drive, they will have access to their installed software and saved files, rather than starting with a fresh version of the system every time.

Creating a Live bootable USB drive is a simple process that can be done using a variety of tools. Here is a general overview of how to create a bootable USB drive:

Requirement

• A minimum of 8GB Pen-drive
• Kali Linux Live disk image
• Rufus

Step 1: Download the ISO image

Download the software or operating system that you want to install on the USB drive. Here, I am going to use Kali Live. 

Get Kali | Kali Linux

Single or multiple boot Kali, giving you complete control over the hardware access (perfect for in-built Wi-Fi and GPU), enabling the best performance. Range of hardware from the leave-behind devices end to high-end modern servers System architecture limits certain packages Not always customized kernel Works on relatively inexpensive & low powered Single Board Computers (SBCs) as well as modern ARM based laptops, which combine high speed with long battery life.

Download the latest version of Kali Linux from the official website and save it to your computer.

Step 2: Write the ISO file to your USB drive using Rufus

1. Download Rufus, which can be used to create a bootable USB drive.
2. Insert a USB drive with at least 8GB of free space into your computer, and then run Rufus.
3. Now, browse the Kali Linux live image ISO image. Now, Set the Persistent Partition Size.
4. Now, Click on "Start" to begin the process of creating the bootable USB drive.

Wait for the process to complete. This may take a few minutes depending on the size of the ISO file and the speed of your computer.

Once the process is complete, you can safely remove the USB drive from your computer, and use it to boot Kali Linux Live on another computer.

Step 3: Boot into Kali.

To boot from USB in most modern PCs, hold down the fn key and click F12. If this doesn’t work, you may need to do some searching on how to boot from USB on your particular machine.

In the Kali boot menu, select Live System and press Enter. The menu may look slightly different depending on your version of Kali.

Kali should boot straight to the Desktop. However, if you do get a password prompt, the default username and password in Kali Linux is “kali”. 

Step 6: Mount Persistence Partition

To mount Persistence Partition, You have to follow the below commands:

┌──(kali㉿kali)-[~]

└─$ sudo fdisk -l

Disk /dev/sda: 931.51 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors

Disk model: WDC WD10JPCX-24U

Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes

Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes

I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes

Disklabel type: gpt

Disk identifier: A73E20F5-90EF-41CE-88F0-8CB5327250C7

Device          Start        End    Sectors   Size Type

/dev/sda1        2048     616447     614400   300M Windows recovery environment

/dev/sda2      616448     821247     204800   100M EFI System

/dev/sda3      821248    1083391     262144   128M Microsoft reserved

/dev/sda4     1083392 1748723711 1747640320 833.3G Microsoft basic data

/dev/sda5  1748723712 1953521663  204797952  97.7G Microsoft basic data

Disk /dev/sdb: 14.61 GiB, 15682240512 bytes, 30629376 sectors

Disk model: Ultra           

Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes

Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

Disklabel type: dos

Disk identifier: 0x00090a64

Device     Boot    Start      End  Sectors  Size Id Type

/dev/sdb1  *        2048 15949363 15947316  7.6G  c W95 FAT32 (LBA)

/dev/sdb2       15949364 30629371 14680008    7G 83 Linux

Disk /dev/loop0: 2.97 GiB, 3189837824 bytes, 6230152 sectors

Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes

Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

                                                                                         

┌──(kali㉿kali)-[~]

└─$ 

You will see several entries for partitions and devices listed. Look for your USB drive. It will have two partitions. The persistence partition should appear as Linux under the Type column.

Here, we can see the USB drive with a 7 GB partition and a persistence partition with the device name sdb2. This device's name may be different from your setup. Make sure you have the right one before continuing.

Assuming your persistence partition device name is sdb2, run the following commands:

IMPORTANT: You must enter these commands exactly and ensure you choose the correct device (yours may not be sdb2), otherwise, persistence will not work.

a. Create a new mount point called my_usb.

┌──(mrdev㉿kali)-[~/]

└─$ sudo mkdir -p /mnt/my_USB

┌──(mrdev㉿kali)-[~/]

└─$ sudo mount /dev/sdb2 /mnt/my_USB

┌──(mrdev㉿kali)-[~/]

└─$ sudo nano /mnt/my_USB/persistence.conf

┌──(mrdev㉿kali)-[~/]

└─$ sudo umount /dev/sdb2

Once the process is complete, you will have a bootable Kali Linux USB drive with persistence enabled. We’re done! Now, Turn on your computer, boot from USB again, and from now on always select the Live system.

This means that any changes made to the system, such as installed software or saved files, will be saved to the USB drive and will persist across reboots. This allows you to carry your entire Kali Linux setup with you on a USB drive, and use it on any computer that can boot from a USB drive.

Happy Hacking!