Microsoft adds Kali Linux to Windows Store

Microsoft has announced that Kali Linux is now available for download from the Windows Store. This distribution contains tools to perform penetration tests, for example. The distribution uses the Windows subsystem for Linux, or WSL.

Microsoft reports that it has moved to the Windows Store after users reacted enthusiastically to running Kali through the Windows subsystem for Linux. Therefore, this subsystem must be enabled to install the distribution. Microsoft has posted instructions for that online and says people can report issues through the GitHub page for WSL.

The distribution’s Windows Store page states that “some tools can trigger antivirus warnings” and therefore users should “plan ahead.” Bleeping Computer put it to the test and installed Kali via the Store, which failed because Windows Defender intervened and the installation hung.

It is therefore required to disable real-time protection via Defender before installation, the site concludes. Kali Linux is the successor to the Linux distribution BackTrack and is being developed by Offensive Security. The distribution contains a large number of tools to investigate the security of networks and systems. For example, Burpsuite and Metasploit are standard present in combination with the Armitage gui.