L in u X ba sics for h acke rs g e t t I n g s t a r t e d w I t h

40
Chapter 4
Using apt to Handle Software
In Debian-based Linux distributions, which include Kali and Ubuntu, the 
default software manager is the Advanced Packaging Tool, or apt, whose 
primary command is 
apt-get
. In its simplest and most common form, you 
can use 
apt-get
to download and install new software packages, but you can 
also update and upgrade software with it.
N O T E
 
Many Linux users prefer to use the 
apt
 command over 
apt-get
. They are in many ways 
similar, but 
apt-get
 has more functionality and I think it’s worth learning early on.
Searching for a Package
Before downloading a software package, you can check whether the pack-
age you need is available from your repository, which is a place where your 
operating system stores information. The apt tool has a search function that 
can check whether the package is available. The syntax is straightforward:
apt-cache search keyword
Note that we use the 
apt-cache
command to search the apt cache, or the 
place it stores the package names. So if you were searching for the intrusion 
detection system Snort, for example, you would enter the command shown 
in Listing 4-1.
kali >apt-cache search snort
fwsnort - Snort-to-iptables rule translator
ippl - IP protocols logger
--snip--
snort - flexible Network Intrusion Detection System
snort-common - flexible Network Intrusion Detection System - common files
--snip--
Listing 4-1: Searching the system with apt-cache for Snort
As you can see, numerous files have the keyword snort in them, but near 
the middle of the output we see 
snort – flexible Network Intrusion Detection
System
. That’s what we are looking for!
Adding Software
Now that you know the snort package exists in your repository, you can use 
apt-get
to download the software.
To install a piece of software from your operating system’s default 
repository in the terminal, use the 
apt-get
command, followed by the key-
word 
install
and then the name of the package you want to install. The 
syntax looks like this:
apt-get install packagename

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Adding and Removing Software