[Daaksin]

Here is a COMPLETE explaination and basic setup guide for Back|Track 5 R3.
This is written for those who have heard of Back|Track but have no idea what it is.

**Introduction**
What is Back|Track?
Back|Track is a Linux Distribution, in other words, you can think of it as a secondary operating system, such as Windows 7. Back|Track is mainly used by the more experienced Penetration Testers and security analysts. It is easily integrated into your Windows machine and provides secure and easy to use hacking environments.

Why use Back|Track?
So... Why should you use Back|Track? Well, when you look at it from my point of view (using Metasploit) it is VERY easy to access ALL of Metasploit's commands which are normally not avaliable in the Windows version. The biggest are these:
msfencode
msfpayload
I have tried using these in the Windows version, it is an unknown command. Back|Track makes this very easy, all you have to do is fire up a terminal and you have all of the features at your fingertips! My favourite feature about Back|Track, however, is it's portability. I currently have my hacking setup on a Windows 7 Professional laptop and my copy of Back|Track on a 200GB WD HDD! All I have to do is this... Shutdown my computer, plug the Hard Drive in then boot it again. I open up the boot menu and there are two choices to choose from! Windows 7 and Back|Track 5 R2.

**Setting your copy up**
Now, you're probably wondering where do I get this incredible OS from? And how do I install it? Firstly, go to:
http://www.backtrack-linux.org/downloads/
and download your choice of the OS! This tutorial will guide you through a .iso extension installation. My PC is 64 bit. Once I have the file, I will then insert a blank DVD of size 4.7GB. Using this program:
http://www.poweriso.com/
And hit burn. I will select my drive with the disk in it and hit burn. Wait for it to finish. Once it has, insert the disk you just burned with the ISO of BT on it and turn the PC off. Now reboot it, it will get past the BIOS and then a prompt for you to type will come up.Type:

Code:

startx

This will initiate the GUI of Back|Track, if you get this error:

Code:

Kernel not found

or relating, just hit enter and it will boot!
Now, it should come up with another prompt asking for text!
Type startx again and you will be taken to your desktop. There will be one icon here, Install BackTrack.
Double click this and an installer will come up. At this point, connect your Hard Drive, click through the installer but stop at the "Prepare Disk Space"
Now, be very careful here! Check the Radio Button Erase and Use the Entire disk. Make sure in the drop down next to that you select your Hard Drive. NOT the computer's drive. Now click through until you see install, at which point, hit install. This can take a long while, so have patience.
Once it's done, you should have a brand new installation on your Hard Drive that you can run when you connect it! This is a very hard topic, so if you need ANY help, PM me or post below, and I will do my best to help. If I have any incorrect information, tell me and I will change it! Hope you learned! I will try and upload pictures later if Imageshack will stop refusing my uploads...

-Daaksin

[Merkuri]

Nice tutorial, it will be better if, you create a video too.

[w00t]

I'd like to point out that backtrack isn't used by many professional penetration testers, because it's bloated as fuck. They'll install a clean linux OS, and install the tools they need.