If you’re interested in the field of cybersecurity, you must have heard of Kali Linux. Often heralded as the best Linux distribution for ethical hacking, Kali Linux comes with a plethora of penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and data forensics tools, making it a must-have OS for beginner and professional security analysts.

While setting up Kali Linux is a fairly straightforward process, it can get a bit complicated if you’ve never installed an operating system. So, we’ve compiled a step-by-step procedure to help you download, install, and even set up dual boot for Windows 11 and Kali Linux.

Creating a bootable USB drive

First off, you’ll need to download the Kali Linux ISO file and flash it on an external flash drive to create a bootable USB drive. You can do so by following these steps:

1. Download the latest version of the Kali Linux ISO from the official website.
2. Download the Rufus utility tool from its website.
3. Once the files have finished downloading, run Rufus.exe with administrator privileges.
4. Click on the drop-down menu under Device and pick the USB drive you wish to use as the bootable drive.
5. Click on the Select button under Boot selection and choose the ISO file you just downloaded.

Press the Start button and wait for Rufus to finish creating the bootable drive.

(Optional) Shrinking the boot drive

If you’re attempting to install Kali Linux on the boot drive, you’ll need to make some free space for the OS

1. Right-click on the Start button and choose Run.
2. Type diskmgmt.msc and hit the Enter key.
3. Right-click on the boot drive and select Shrink Volume…
4. Enter the amount of volume you want to shrink and press Shrink.

Modifying the boot order in the BIOS

Next, you’ll need to give the newly created bootable USB drive higher priority in the BIOS settings.

1. Plug the USB drive into your PC before restarting it.
2. Keep tapping the Delete key as your system boots up to enter the BIOS.
3. In most systems, you’ll find the Boot menu under the Advanced Settings.
4. Click on Boot Option #1 and choose the bootable drive.
5. (Optional) Disable Secure Boot from the UEFI Firmware Settings if you’re attempting to dual boot into Kali Linux.
6. Exit the BIOS after saving the current configuration.

Installing Kali Linux

Once your system restarts, you’ll be greeted with the Kali Linux installer menu. If you’re trying to install Linux on a separate drive, there’s a slight change in Step 6. You can also follow along from here if you’re attempting to install Kali Linux on a hypervisor.

1. Select Graphical install on the Kali Linux installer menu.
2. Choose your language, location, and keyboard layout settings.
3. Add your hostname and domain name to configure the network settings.
4. Set up the user account by entering the full name, username, and password.
5. Pick your time zone.
6. Once you’re on the Partition disks page, choose the Manual option if you’re installing Kali Linux on your boot drive.
   • Alternatively, select Guided - use entire disk if you’re installing it on another drive.
7. Select All files in one partition to avoid creating multiple partitions for the /home, /var, and /tmp directories.
8. Choose Finish partitioning and write changes to disk and press Yes when prompted to complete the disk partitioning process
9. The installer will ask you to select the software you wish to install for Kali Linux. We’ve chosen the Xfce desktop environment, but you can pick GNOME or KDE Plasma if you want a different layout. Likewise, you can uncheck the recommended tools if you want to save disk space.
10. Press Yes when asked to install the GRUB boot loader and specify the drive where you want to install it.
11. Press Continue one last time to finish installation and boot into Kali Linux.

That’s all you need to know to install Kali Linux on your PC. If you don't want to modify the boot settings, you can use a hypervisor like Hyper-V and create a virtual machine where you can install the OS.