Welcome to Backtrack v.2.0
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This is a review of Backtrack v.2.0 from the perspective of a new user.
For a more advanced topic check out Dual Booting BackTrack v2.0 and Snort on BackTrack v2.0
New User Profile
Linux Experience: Novice
Security Tools Experience: Intermediate
Live Distribution Experience: Novice
Networking Technologies: Seasoned
Overall IT Experience: Seasoned
Run time Setup
Host OS: Windows Server 2003
Host Memory: 4 GB
Host Processor: 3.6 GHz Dual Core
Run Environment: VM Workstation
RAM Allotted to BackTrack: 512 MB
Additional Disk for BackTrack: 3 GB Virtual Disk
NIC: Bridged
User Experience
Soon after it was available I downloaded the BackTrack 2 ISO file from SecurityDisto.com and eagerly set it to run in a VM environment. I was impressed by the ease with which I logged in and started the GUI. Being new to Linux, there is bit of trepidation when venturing into any other OS besides Microsoft versions. BackTrack quickly eases such concerns. After booting up you are presented with a menu of commands as well as the root password to log in. This is what I was looking for—a cheat sheet for a newbie on getting into the GUI as soon as possible without having to scour the Internet for commands. I chose to launch the KDE GUI by typing startx.
KDE makes it easy for those unfamiliar with Linux commands to browse around the distribution. Its layout is similar to Winblows, so I was able to get a quick take on BackTrack 2. I first checked out the Security Tools menu and was blown away by the 250+ tools currently available in this version. The only complaint I had in browsing the GUI was that the mouse pointer was very touchy and made navigating the menus tedious. This could possibly be remedied by increasing RAM allotted to the running ISO, but I took it as motivation to learn to use the command line.
The list of tools goes on an on. For any particular task you want to accomplish there is probably a tool to do just that. My spoon-fed Microsoft upbringing was soon slapped back down. After launching tool after tool I soon realized that I once again had another reason to familiarize myself with the command line. Some tools have their own GUIs, but chances are that if you have something you want to get done within a security distribution, you are going to need a command-line tool, and this is where BackTrack 2 really shines. When l compared launching several command-line tools with those in other distributions I noticed that tools launched in BackTrack 2 opened with the tool's switches listed more consistently. Not all tools opened with a list of switches, but this is clearly a step in the right direction. This serves the expert who has to remember a gazillion commands, and the newbie who doesn't know sudo from Shinola.
After tiring myself out browsing all the menus, tools, system utilities and so forth, I needed some help to explore further, so I turned to the BackTrack community wiki site. The site humbly states, "The Wiki is still in very early creation stages, so please bear with us as the site grows," it is chock-full of helpful information.
http://backtrack.offensive-security.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
All tools are listed and most have brief descriptions and link to further information, making it a great resource for newcomers. As well as a comprehensive list of tools the community site contains sections such as:
· Change log containing notes from the developers on some of the thought processes and improvements that went into BackTrack 2
· Hardware compatibility list (HCL) containing laptop and wireless card compatibility
· How-To documents on customization, installation to USB and hard disk, troubleshooting and usage like connecting to a Windows share and others
· Modules (currently contains only ATI Drivers)
· Bugs section detailing known issues
All of these resources give a newbie ample help to learn to use BackTrack 2 and the tools contained within. Though some tools do not have links or descriptions, we are assured by the wiki's humble disclaimer that more information will be added as the site grows.
After all I had seen, I was pumped to have my choice of having the install of the distribution on either a USB drive or hard disk. I opted for installing to hard disk since I did not have a USB large enough for the task. I downloaded the install documentation from the community site's How-To (link) section and followed it line-by-line. To my disappointment, though, the install to hard disk failed even though the BackTrack Installer reported it was successful. After looking into what other users were experiencing I found that this is a common problem with BackTrack 2. I am sure that in time either the BackTrack developers or the user community will find a solution or workaround.
In conclusion, I would highly recommend BackTrack 2 to all users either interested in or actively using live security distributions. As a novice user myself, I found that the comprehensive set of tools, ease of use, ample documentation and overall quality make BackTrack 2 an excellent choice, if not the best choice, for new users.
Overall rating: Excellent
For a more advanced topic check out Dual Booting BackTrack v2.0 and Snort on BackTrack v2.0