Most people preferred to download a virtual image of Kali Linux. The virtual machine is the best option to use multiple operating systems at a time.
Kali Linux is the best operating system mostly used by hackers and penetration testers.
On the official Kali Linux website, Virtual images are available for VMware and Virtual Box. Here most of the people are a little bit confused because they don’t know which one is better either Virtual Box or VMware.
Virtual Box vs VMware
VirtualBox Vs. VMware: Comparison Table
| Comparison | VirtualBox | VMware |
|---|---|---|
| Software Virtualization | Yes | No |
| Hardware Virtualization | Yes | Yes |
| Host Operating Systems | Linux, Windows, Solaris, macOS, FreeBSD | Linux, Windows + macOS (requires VMware Fusion) |
| Guest Operating Systems | Linux, Windows, Solaris, macOS, FreeBSD | Linux, Windows, Solaris, FreeBSD + macOS (with VMware Fusion) |
| User Interface | Graphical User Interface (GLI) and Command Line Interface (CLI) | Graphical User Interface (GLI) and Command Line Interface (CLI) |
| Snapshots | Yes | Snapshots only supported on paid virtualization products, not on VMware Workstation Player |
| Virtual Disk Format | VDI, VMDK, VHD, HDD | VMDK |
| Virtual Disk Allocation Type | Preallocated: fixed disks; Dynamically allocated: dynamically allocated disks; | Preallocated: provisioned disks; Dynamically allocated: thin-provisioned disks; |
| Virtual Network Models | Not attached, NAT, NAT Network, Bridged adapter, Internal network, Host-only adapter, Generic (UDP, VDE) | NAT, Bridged, Host-only + Virtual network editor (on VMware workstation and Fusion Pro) |
| USB devises Support | USB 2.0/3.0 support requires the Extension Pack (free) | Out of the box USB device support |
| 3D Graphics | Up to OpenGL 3.0 and Direct3D 9; Max of 128 MB of video memory; 3D acceleration enabled manually | Up to OpenGL 3.3, DirectX 10; Max of 2GB of video memory; 3D acceleration enabled by default |
| Integrations | VMDK, Microsoft’s VHD, HDD, QED, Vagrant, Docker | Requires additional conversion utility for more VM types; VMware VSphere and Cloud Air (on VMware Workstation) |
| VirtualBox Guest Additions vs. VMware Tools | Installed with the VBoxGuestAdditions.iso file | Install with a .iso file used for the given VM (linux.iso, windows.iso, etc.) |
| API for Developers | API and SDK | Different APIs and SDKs |
| Cost and Licenses | Free, under the GNU General Public License | VMware Workstation Player is free, while other VMware products require a paid license |
In my opinion, Go with Virtual BOX. It gives complete features for free of cost.
How to Download Virtual Image of Kali Linux
You can download Kali Linux virtual image from the official website https://www.kali.org/get-kali/#kali-virtual-machines
You can also use direct download links which are mentioned below:
Virtual Box: https://kali.download/virtual-images/kali-2022.1/kali-linux-2022.1-virtualbox-amd64.ova
VMWare: https://kali.download/virtual-images/kali-2022.1/kali-linux-2022.1-vmware-amd64.7z
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