Linux Format

Kali conundrum

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I am having problems trying to get a Kali Linux and Mac OS X dual boot on my friend’s MacBook as when I installed Linux there was no Wi-Fi chip found. I did some research and found it was a common problem. I managed to get a USB to Ethernet working with the internet, but when I use apt-get install The name of the drive it says 'package not found' and the same error occurs when I try installing different applicatio­ns that had worked for me previously. A bit more research later I found that adding some repositori­es might help but using apt-add-repositori­e/s , it says 'command not found'. Paul Fawbert, 12 and a junior pen tester The wireless network adaptor in the MacBook Pro is not supported by Linux without additional firmware. This is not included with the Linux distributi­on for licensing reasons but can easily be added with the command:

$ sudo apt-get install firmware-b43-installer

You do not state which year of Apple MacBook this is, but that package should work for most Broadcom BCM controller­s, as used by the MacBook and many others. If after rebooting, the wireless connection is still not available, you may need to use the broadcomst­a package instead. To switch to that run $ sudo apt-get remove firmware-b43-installer $ sudo apt-get install broadcom-sta

Having both installed can potentiall­y cause conflicts so it's safest to try one at a time. It is a bit chicken and egg when you need a network connection to install a network driver, but you managed to neatly sidestep that with your use of a USB Ethernet adaptor.

The apt-get utility needs the precise name of the package to install, although it can offer some guesses if the name is almost right. If you are unsure, use the search option first $ sudo apt-cache search search_term

The command to add a repository is: add-apt-repository

Not "repositori­e" but it isn't installed by default on Ubuntu-derived distros. You can install it with: $ sudo apt-get install python-softwarepr­operties

It is also possible to add repositori­es by editing /etc/apt/sources.list; add-apt

repository is a convenienc­e function, usually used for adding PPAs to sources.list. Kali advise against adding extra repositori­es, warning that it could break the distro, it has a list of recommende­d repos at http://docs. kali.org/general-use/kali-linux-sourceslis­t-repositori­es. Distros go to a lot of trouble to make sure that all the software they provide plays nicely together, adding random PPAs breaks this cycle of QA testing, introducin­g untested software into the mix. This is particular­ly risky on a distro like Kali, where security is of utmost importance. Don’t let your first stumbles put you off, it is great to see someone so young trying Linux and thinking of original solutions.

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