We will take the following actions to set up our test environment −
We will download Virtual box and install it.
Download and install Kali distribution.
Download and install Metasploitable which will be our hacking machine.
Download and install Windows XP which will be another hacking machine.
In total, we will have 3 machines which will be logically connected in the same network.
To download Virtual Box, go to www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
Select the appropriate version depending on your OS and the hardware configuration of your system.
After selecting the appropriate version of Virtual Box, the following screen will appear. Click Next.
On the next screen, set the location where you want to install the application.
You will get a Warning message before proceeding with the installation.
Click Yes on the above screen which will display the following screen. Click Install to begin the installation.
Once the installation is complete, you will get the following screen. Click Finish to exit the Setup Wizard.
Now, you will be greeted with the opening screen of VirtualBox.
Now we are ready to install the rest of the hosts for this tutorial.
You can download Kali Linux from its official website − www.kali.org/downloads/
Go to the official website and download prebuilt Kali Linux VirtualBox images.
Next, open VirtualBox Manager and go to Machine → New.
Go to the location where Kali Linux has been downloaded and choose a virtual hard disk file.
The next screen will prompt you to create a virtual machine. Click the Create button, as shown in the following screenshot.
Now, you can start Kali OS. Your default username will be root and your password will be toor.