Sharing folders with the host operating system

The Kali toolset has the flexibility to share results with applications residing on different operating systems, especially Microsoft Windows. The most effective way to share data is to create a folder that is accessible from the host operating system as well as the Kali VM guest.

When data is placed in a shared folder from either the host or the VM, it is immediately available via the shared folder to all systems that access that shared folder.

To create a shared folder, perform the following steps:

1. Create a folder on the host operating system. In this example, it will be called Kali_Share.
2. Right-click on the folder and select the Sharing tab. From this menu, select Share.
3. Ensure that the file is shared with Everyone and that the Permission Level for this share is set to Read / Write.
4. If you have not already done so, install the appropriate tools onto BackTrack. For example, when using VMWare, install the VMWare tools (refer to Appendix, Installing Kali Linux).

1. When the installation is complete, go to the VMWare Player menu, select Manage, click on Virtual Machine Settings, locate the menu that enables Shared Folders, and select Always Enabled. Create a path to the shared folder that is present on the host operating system, as shown in the following screenshot:

1. In the case of Oracle VirtualBox, select the VM and go to Settings and select Shared Folders, as shown in the following screenshot:

1. Open the file browser on the Kali desktop. The shared folder will be visible in the mnt folder (it might be placed in a subfolder, hgfs).
2. Drag the folder onto the Kali desktop to create a link to the real folder.
3. Everything placed in the folder will be accessible in the folder of the same name on the host operating system, and vice versa.

The shared folder, which will contain sensitive data from a penetration test, must be encrypted to protect the client's network and reduce the tester's liability, should the data ever be lost or stolen.