{"id":776,"date":"2023-01-13T05:22:12","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T04:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/?p=776"},"modified":"2023-11-22T13:00:02","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T12:00:02","slug":"kali-linux-vpn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/kali-linux-vpn\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Kali Linux have a VPN client? (Get one for free)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Kali Linux is often described as the security toolkit for hackers and pen-testers, so making sure we aren&#8217;t discovered too quickly by security systems can be important. Let&#8217;s talk about VPN today (Virtual Private Network) and whether or not Kali includes one by default.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>When installed with the default tools, Kali Linux includes a VPN client, available in the desktop interface. It&#8217;s only the client, and it&#8217;s not configured, so a provider is required to mask your IP address and hide your current location.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are new to this, let me explain this point in more details. Then, I will tell you why and when you should use a VPN, and what are the best solutions currently (some are free!).<\/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\/kali-linux-vpn\/#Does_Kali_Linux_have_a_VPN\" title=\"Does Kali Linux have a VPN?\">Does Kali Linux have a VPN?<\/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\/kali-linux-vpn\/#Why_should_you_use_a_VPN_on_Kali_Linux\" title=\"Why should you use a VPN on Kali Linux?\">Why should you use a VPN on Kali Linux?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/kali-linux-vpn\/#Which_VPN_client_can_you_use_on_Kali_Linux\" title=\"Which VPN client can you use on Kali Linux?\">Which VPN client can you use 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-4\" href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/kali-linux-vpn\/#ProtonVPN\" title=\"ProtonVPN\">ProtonVPN<\/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\/kali-linux-vpn\/#Other_options\" title=\"Other options\">Other options<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_Kali_Linux_have_a_VPN\"><\/span>Does Kali Linux have a VPN?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kali Linux includes OpenVPN, OpenFortiVPN and all the add-ons for Network Manager allowing to configure a VPN provider directly from the desktop environment, even on a fresh installation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I took this screenshot just after installing the latest version of Kali Linux. As you can see, a few packages are already available to use a VPN:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"838\" height=\"428\" src=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/kali-vpn-clients.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/kali-vpn-clients.jpg 838w, https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/kali-vpn-clients-300x153.jpg 300w, https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/kali-vpn-clients-768x392.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 838px) 100vw, 838px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, OpenVPN is one of the most popular clients to use a VPN on Linux. The packages for network-manager are also included, making it easy to add a new VPN connection, directly from the network icon in the top-right corner of XFCE:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"663\" height=\"491\" src=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/kali-vpn-add.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-783\" srcset=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/kali-vpn-add.jpg 663w, https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/kali-vpn-add-300x222.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 663px) 100vw, 663px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Kali Linux is available in several versions and with multiple installation options. To make it clear, I downloaded the &#8220;Installer&#8221; version, in 64-bits, and kept the default values during the installation. I guess that if you remove XFCE and the default tools in the setup wizard, you might start without OpenVPN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But anyway, even if you don&#8217;t have any client pre-installed, OpenVPN and WireGuard are available in the default repository, so you can install them with APT in a few seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-theme-palette-7-color has-theme-palette-1-background-color has-text-color has-background\"><strong>Warning: Even if Kali Linux includes a VPN client by default, it doesn&#8217;t mean you are protected right away. It&#8217;s just there, there is no configuration by default, so no VPN is used until you configure your own provider. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read the end of this article to know why you should configure one, and how to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_should_you_use_a_VPN_on_Kali_Linux\"><\/span>Why should you use a VPN on Kali Linux?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>As a general rule, the main advantages of a VPN are to:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Mask you IP address and location. <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Encrypt all your network traffic and data.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Bypass some geographic restrictions and other types of censorship.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These benefits are already pretty useful for any Internet user, but can be really important for most Kali Linux users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you use Kali Linux to test security systems, being stealthy, and not being banned too fast, is almost mandatory.<br>A VPN will mask your real location and IP address, and allow you to test some services that might be unavailable in your country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s not a magical solution, as the VPN providers IP addresses are public and are sometimes blocked, but it&#8217;s a great tool to add to your toolbox. And as you&#8217;ll see in the next part, it doesn&#8217;t need to be expensive. You can often try one for free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Which_VPN_client_can_you_use_on_Kali_Linux\"><\/span>Which VPN client can you use on Kali Linux?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Most VPN providers can be used on Linux, and so on Kali Linux. Even if their client application is not available, they generally offer a downloadable configuration file for OpenVPN, that you can import in Network Manager to connect to their servers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ProtonVPN\"><\/span>ProtonVPN<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Proton is the solution I would recommend if you want to try using a VPN on Kali Linux. They have a 30-day money-back guarantee (so you can try one month for free), but they also have a free plan that you can use forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first thing you need is obviously a Proton account. <br><strong>Good news<\/strong>: you can start for free. Unlike most other VPN providers, it&#8217;s possible to create a free account (forever) on Proton, where you&#8217;ll get:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>A free email address, with 1&nbsp;GB of storage (max 150 messages per day).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Access to a medium-speed VPN connection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>So, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/protonvpn.com\/pricing\" target=\"_blank\">go create your account here<\/a>, and make your choice between the free and paid options.<\/strong><br>Inside your account, you&#8217;ll find a submenu where you can generate a configuration file to use with OpenVPN (or WireGuard).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For OpenVPN, find this section in your account and fill in the form to generate your configuration file:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/proton-openvpn-download-config-1024x560-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-789\" width=\"768\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/proton-openvpn-download-config-1024x560-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/proton-openvpn-download-config-1024x560-1-300x164.jpg 300w, https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/proton-openvpn-download-config-1024x560-1-768x420.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>When you click on &#8220;Download&#8221;, you&#8217;ll get a configuration file (&#8220;name.ovpn&#8221;) for the selected server that you can use in the &#8220;Add VPN connection&#8221; tool I showed you at the beginning of this article (right-click on the network icon in the top-right corner).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It will ask for a username and password. These are different from your account. You can find a specific username and password in the OpenVPN section of your ProtonVPN account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_options\"><\/span>Other options<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Many other VPN providers are available. They all have decent offers, for a few bucks a month. And if you are lucky, you can often grab a nice discount as they often have promotions running on. Try their free plans or trial periods, and keep an eye on their promotions, so you can get a good deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I tested most of them, and my favorites currently are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-theme-palette-9-background-color has-background\">\n<li><strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/raspberrytips.com\/go\/nordvpn\" target=\"_blank\">NordVPN <\/a><\/strong>&#8211; Best overall. Fastest speed and easy to use.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/protonvpn.com\/pricing\" target=\"_blank\">ProtonVPN<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; Good experience, with a free (and limited) version available.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/raspberrytips.com\/go\/ivacy\" target=\"_blank\">IvacyVPN<\/a><\/strong> &#8211; Solid solution, it&#8217;s the one I use, it works well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are interested, you can find my review for each of them (+ other options) on my other website here: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/raspberrytips.com\/best-vpn-on-raspberry-pi\/\" target=\"_blank\">What&#8217;s the best VPN provider on Linux?<\/a><br>I did the tests on a Raspberry Pi, but it&#8217;s based on Debian too (as Kali Linux), so the results would be the same on Kali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you are looking for more tips and tutorials about Kali Linux, check my other posts on the subject:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wifi-configuration-kali-linux\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"763\">How To Connect Wi-Fi On Kali Linux (GUI, Command, Hidden, \u2026)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/how-to-remote-access-kali-linux\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"632\">How To Remote Access Kali Linux<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/change-hostname-on-kali-linux\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"622\">How To Easily Change The Hostname On Kali Linux<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kali Linux is often described as the security toolkit for hackers and pen-testers, so making sure we aren&#8217;t discovered too quickly by security systems can be important. Let&#8217;s talk about VPN today (Virtual Private Network) and whether or not Kali includes one by default. When installed with the default tools, Kali Linux includes a VPN&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":778,"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\/2023\/01\/does-kali-linux-have-vpn-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\/776"}],"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=776"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":792,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776\/revisions\/792"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infosecscout.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}