{"id":622,"date":"2022-08-16T09:18:30","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T07:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/?p=622"},"modified":"2023-11-22T13:00:07","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T12:00:07","slug":"change-hostname-on-kali-linux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/change-hostname-on-kali-linux\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Easily Change Hostname On Kali Linux"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Setting up the hostname Linux is an important step, and it&#8217;s especially essential on Kali Linux, which is often used for hacking and pen-testing purposes. Keeping the default name &#8220;kali&#8221; is probably not the smartest idea if you want to stay sneaky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>On Kali Linux, the hostname can be customized by editing the hostname and hosts files. A reboot is then required to apply the change.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s see how to check your current hostname first, and then how to do this step-by-step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/change-hostname-on-kali-linux\/#How_to_find_the_current_hostname_on_Kali_Linux\" title=\"How to find the current hostname on Kali Linux?\">How to find the current hostname on Kali Linux?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/change-hostname-on-kali-linux\/#How_to_change_the_hostname_on_Kali_Linux\" title=\"How to change the hostname on Kali Linux?\">How to change the hostname on Kali Linux?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/change-hostname-on-kali-linux\/#Edit_the_hostname_file\" title=\"Edit the hostname file\">Edit the hostname file<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/change-hostname-on-kali-linux\/#Edit_the_hosts_file\" title=\"Edit the hosts file\">Edit the hosts file<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/change-hostname-on-kali-linux\/#Restart_your_computer\" title=\"Restart your computer\">Restart your computer<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/change-hostname-on-kali-linux\/#Video\" title=\"Video\">Video<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/change-hostname-on-kali-linux\/#Going_further\" title=\"Going further\">Going further<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_find_the_current_hostname_on_Kali_Linux\"><\/span>How to find the current hostname on Kali Linux?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On most Linux distributions, the hostname is indicated just after the username when you open a terminal. The &#8220;hostname&#8221; command can also be use to get the same result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s the same thing on Kali Linux. Open a terminal and type:<br><code>hostname<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll get something like this, showing you the current hostname on this computer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"703\" height=\"143\" src=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/kali-current-hostname.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-623\" srcset=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/kali-current-hostname.jpg 703w, https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/kali-current-hostname-300x61.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 703px) 100vw, 703px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In my case, the current hostname is &#8220;infosecscout&#8221;. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check the next section if you want to change it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_change_the_hostname_on_Kali_Linux\"><\/span>How to change the hostname on Kali Linux?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are the required steps to change the hostname on Kali Linux:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Set the new hostname in the \/etc\/hostname file.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Edit the \/etc\/hosts file to do the same change.<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Reboot the system to apply the modification.<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s see how to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Edit_the_hostname_file\"><\/span>Edit the hostname file<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Kali Linux keeps the hostname for the computer in the \/etc\/hostname file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can use Nano or any other text editor to change the value.<br><code>sudo nano \/etc\/hostname<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Administrator privileges are required, so don&#8217;t forget to use &#8220;sudo&#8221; if you are not root.<br>There is only one line in this file, just change the value to choose a new hostname.<br>For example, I&#8217;ll change mine to &#8220;infosec-kali&#8221;:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/kali-change-hostname.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-624\" srcset=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/kali-change-hostname.jpg 700w, https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/kali-change-hostname-300x96.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s recommended to keep the host name pretty short, as not all operating systems and network hardware are handling long names the same way (and it&#8217;s 63 characters max anyway). <br>Valid characters are letters (a-z), digits (0-9) and hyphen (-).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the file edited, save the changes and exit (CTRL+O and CTRL+X with Nano).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Edit_the_hosts_file\"><\/span>Edit the hosts file<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There is another file to change, the \/etc\/hosts file, where the system keeps an association between hostnames and IP address (a bit like a tiny DNS for the current computer). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don&#8217;t change this file, you&#8217;ll get various error when using the network or local resources. So, just take a few seconds to do the same thing here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Open the file with nano:<br><code>sudo nano \/etc\/hosts<\/code><\/li><li>Find the old hostname in this file.<br>It should be near the localhost IP address (127.0.1.1)<\/li><li>Remove the old hostname, and replace it with the new one.<\/li><li>Save and exit.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"675\" height=\"224\" src=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/kali-edit-hosts.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/kali-edit-hosts.jpg 675w, https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/kali-edit-hosts-300x100.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On this screenshot, you can see my hosts file after editing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Restart_your_computer\"><\/span>Restart your computer<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A reboot is required to apply the changes. You can do it via the graphic interface, or use this command to do it directly from the terminal:<br><code>sudo reboot<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once done, you can open a terminal again and check that the new name is used with the same command as given at the beginning of this post:<br><code>hostname<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"715\" height=\"126\" src=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/kali-hostname-changed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-626\" srcset=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/kali-hostname-changed.jpg 715w, https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/kali-hostname-changed-300x53.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 715px) 100vw, 715px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In my case, the hostname is now &#8220;infosec-kali&#8221;, as expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s it, you now know how to change your hostname on Kali Linux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Video\"><\/span>Video<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you prefer to see this tutorial in video? You can watch this one that show you all the steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to Change hostname on Kali Linux | Kali Linux 2021.2\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/G3j5A9w1Fgo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Going_further\"><\/span>Going further<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Doing the research and tests for this article, I also came across <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/forums.kali.org\/showthread.php?4558-HOW-TO-Start-Kali-with-a-new-unique-hostname-for-each-boot\" target=\"_blank\">a great post<\/a> on the official forum explaining how to change the hostname to something random at each boot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think it&#8217;s particularly smart if you are doing some kind of pen-testing. Check the previous link to see how to do it. It&#8217;s a basic script, but it can save you a lot of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you want more tutorials like this, check my other resources for Kali Linux on this website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wireshark-on-kali-linux\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"596\">How To Install &amp; Use Wireshark On Kali Linux<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/format-usb-drives-kali-linux\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"608\">How To Format USB Drives The Right Way On Kali Linux<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/hashcat-tutorial-decrypt-md5\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"193\">How to Install and Use Hashcat to Decrypt MD5? (Tutorial)<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Setting up the hostname Linux is an important step, and it&#8217;s especially essential on Kali Linux, which is often used for hacking and pen-testing purposes. Keeping the default name &#8220;kali&#8221; is probably not the smartest idea if you want to stay sneaky. On Kali Linux, the hostname can be customized by editing the hostname and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":16,"label":"Kali Linux"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/change-hostname-kali-1024x683.jpg",1024,683,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Patrick Fromaget","author_link":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/about\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":16,"name":"Kali Linux","slug":"kali-linux","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":16,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Jump into our Kali Linux Tutorials. They're perfect for getting the hang of this cool Linux distribution. We make it easy to learn the basics and a bit more!","parent":0,"count":37,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":16,"category_count":37,"category_description":"Jump into our Kali Linux Tutorials. They're perfect for getting the hang of this cool Linux distribution. We make it easy to learn the basics and a bit more!","cat_name":"Kali Linux","category_nicename":"kali-linux","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":629,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622\/revisions\/629"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}