What does cat do in Linux?

Table of Contents

Introduction to Cat Command in Linux

The cat command is a utility command in Linux. One of its most commonly known usages is to print the content of a file onto the standard output stream. Other than that, the cat command also allows us to write text into a file.

Root Permissions and User Management in Kali Linux

To give root permissions to a user in Kali Linux:

Edit /etc/passwd for the particular user.
Change the user’s UID and GID to ‘0’.

Changing Root from Localhost to Root in Kali Linux

To change root from localhost to root in Kali Linux permanently:

Edit hostname file by opening /etc/hostname and modifying the name.
Edit hosts file by opening /etc/hosts and modifying the name.
Reboot the system to reflect the changes.

Installing Kali Linux on VirtualBox

With VirtualBox, you can install Kali Linux as a regular application in your Windows/Linux system. It’s similar to running VLC or a game. Running Kali Linux in a virtual machine is also safe.

Understanding Kali Bare Metal

"Bare metal" installation means installing an operating system directly onto the computer hardware, not as a guest virtual machine. Boot the computer from media with the Kali image, recommending the 32-bit Kali Linux version for installation.

System Requirements for Kali Linux

Kali Linux requires:

a minimum of 20GB hard disk space for installation depending on the version (Version 2020.2 requires at least 20GB)
a minimum of 2GB RAM for i386 and AMD64 architectures
a bootable CD-DVD drive or a USB stick

Running Kali Linux with 2GB RAM

On the low end, you can set up Kali Linux as a basic Secure Shell (SSH) server with no desktop, using as little as 128 MB of RAM (512 MB recommended) and 2 GB of disk space.