Josh Brade Technical Blog

Author: brade

  • Installing Kali Linux as Proxmox Container

    Installing Kali Linux as Proxmox Container

    Obtaining the Latest Kali Image

    When it comes to getting the latest Kali image, follow these steps:

    Navigate to the Image Source – First, head over to the official Kali Linux images repository at https://images.linuxcontainers.org/images/kali/current/amd64/default/.

    Select the Current Version Folder – Within the repository, locate and click on the folder that corresponds to the current version. For instance, I clicked on the folder labeled “20230414 17:56.”

    Find the Root Filesystem – Inside this version directory, you’ll spot the “rootfs.tar.xz” file. Right-click on this file to copy its link.

    Setting Up Proxmox for the Kali Container

    Now, let’s move on to configuring Proxmox for your Kali container:

    Log In to Proxmox – Log in to your Proxmox interface.

    Navigate to CT Templates – On the left-hand side, select your Node, then navigate to “CT Templates.”

    Download from URL – Look for the “Download from URL” option and click on it.

    Paste the Copied URL – In the window that appears, paste the previously copied URL into the URL box. Click on “Query URL” and then “Download.”

    Create a Container – Once the download is complete, it’s time to create your container:

    • Click on “Create CT” from the top-right corner of the Proxmox interface.

    Configure Container Settings – Configure your container settings as follows:

    • Assign an ID and Password.
    • Click “Next.”

    Select the Template

    On the template selection screen, choose the recently downloaded file (“rootfs.tar.xz”). Note that you’re creating a template that includes the root filesystem.

    • Click “Next.”

    Allocate Storage – Allocate storage space for your container. I opted for 32GB.

    • Click “Next.”

    Assign CPU Cores – Assign CPU cores to your container. I chose 6 cores.

    • Click “Next.”

    Allocate RAM – Allocate RAM to your container. I allocated 8GB.

    • Click “Next.”

    Set IP Address – On the next screen, assign a static IP address to your container, or leave it dynamic—it’s up to you.

    • Click “Next.”

    Configure DNS – For DNS settings, we’ll let the container get its DNS from the host.

    • Click “Next.”

    Start After Creation – On the following screen, make sure to check “Start after created” at the bottom-left corner.

    • Click “Finish.”

    Sources:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WjDTUNa-W0

    https://www.kali.org/docs/containers/kalilinux-lxc-images/#overview

  • UNC Path – Still Asking for credentials

    UNC Path – Still Asking for credentials

    I have been working on a project with GED machines at work, and wanted to share my hair-pulling story. Specifically, the machines that students utilize require a mapped drive for establishing a connection to the proctor/administrative machine in the setup.

    During this process, I encountered an unexpected complication. Despite successfully mapping the drive and ensuring that the “remember credentials” option was enabled, the Windows operating system continued to prompt for authentication whenever the application (Delivery Manager) attempted to access the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path.

    In an attempt to troubleshoot and rectify the issue, I proceeded to incorporate the UNC path and corresponding credentials into the Windows Credential Manager. Despite this effort, the recurring authentication demand persisted.

    The key revelation that ultimately resolved the matter was the realization that utilizing the syntax “AdminMachine\UserName” within the Credential Manager was essential. This seemingly minor adjustment within the Credential Manager proved to be the critical solution. Once this was implemented, the recurring password prompt ceased to show it’s annoying head, effectively resolving the issue.

  • Windows Utility (PowerShell GUI)

    Windows Utility (PowerShell GUI)

    Windows Utility (PowerShell GUI) – By Chris Titus

    This Windows utility seems pretty handy from the testing I have done with it. Go check out Chris’ Website, he has some pretty cool stuff going on https://christitus.com/.

    Here is the GitHub: https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil

    You can run this Utility Software straight from an Admin PowerShell using:  irm christitus.com/win | iex

    In case you don’t know what these PowerShell commands do (I admit, I was a little shaky on them) here is a breakdown:

    IRM

    The irm command means “Invoke-RestMethod”.

    “The Invoke-RestMethod cmdlet sends HTTP and HTTPS requests to Representational State Transfer (REST) web services that returns richly structured data.” Source

    IEX

    The iex command stands for “Invoke-Expression”.

    “The Invoke-Expression cmdlet evaluates or runs a specified string as a command and returns the results of the expression or command. Without Invoke-Expression , a string submitted at the command line would be returned (echoed) unchanged.”  Source

    What does it do?

    INSTALL

    There are several different options for common installs listed here. The categories of software listed are Browsers, Communications, Development, Document, Games, Pro Tools (Very Useful installs), Microsoft Tools, Multimedia Tools, Utilities. The install area reminds me of ninite.com except with more useful tools for sysadmins.

    The next gem on this tab is the “Upgrade Installs” button. This button will search your currently installed software and check for updates. If there are updates it automatically install them. I ran this and it updated a lot of software for me! Pretty neat!

    TWEAKS

    There are several really good options with the Tweaks tab on the Utility software, most of which I use different PowerShell Scripts to accomplish. Along with all the options there is also a “recommended selections” option that will select the options the Author has deemed to be the best for the system type. Don’t worry about clicking these recommended options, they don’t auto-apply, they just check the options. You still have to manually click the “Run Tweaks” button.

    CONFIG

    The Config tab just a few options, ranging from Windows Features installer to Windows Fixes and also includes Legacy Control Panel options.

    UPDATES

    The Updates tab deals with setting Windows Update options. These update options are limited to “Default OOB (Out of Box)”, Security (Recommended), and Disable all updates.

    Source: One Tool for Everything

    Source: https://christitus.com/one-tool-for-everything/

  • RustDesk – Open Source Remote Desktop

    RustDesk – Open Source Remote Desktop

    RustDesk is an open source remote desktop software that functions like TeamViewer. You can use it as host-to-client, web-to-client or you can deploy your own open source server instance providing better network and higher security. You can use it on any Operating System as far as I can tell.

  • Mapping Sysinternals to a Drive in Windows

    Mapping Sysinternals to a Drive in Windows

    Getting access to Sysinternals quickly can be handy in any Windows environment.

    You can add Sysinternals as a mapped drive in Windows by using this command at the Command Prompt (replace the drive letter “W:” with the drive letter of your choosing):

    > net use W: https://live.sysinternals.com/tools

  • Moving ESXI (6.5) Virtual Machines to Proxmox

    Moving ESXI (6.5) Virtual Machines to Proxmox

    Steps to achieve migration (TL;DR)

    Export Existing VM’s from ESXI (6.5)

    Login to ESXI

    Go to Virtual Machines on the left

    Find your VM you are exporting

    Right click the VM select Power > Power Off

    Right click on the VM again and select Export

    Select Export on the Export screen that pops up

    This will Download the vmdk, ovf and mf files to your machine

    Be patient this will take some time for larger VMs

    Convert vmdk files to qcow2

    I completed the conversion to qcow2 on Windows (it’s probably easier to do this on Linux)

    Got to this address and download qemu-img.zip (https://cloudbase.it/qemu-img-windows/):

    qemu-img for Windows

    Unzip this folder to your Desktop

    Copy your vmdk into this folder (so that the qemu-img.exe is in the same folder as your vmdk)

    Open the Command Line and navigate to the folder we just unzipped (or type cmd into the address bar in explorer (and hit Enter) – this will open CMD prompt to that directory)

    Use this command to convert the vmdk to qcow2:

    > qemu-img.exe convert -f vmdk -O qcow2 “YOURVMDKNAME.vmdk” YOURVMDKNAME.qcow2

    NOTE 1: You can download the vmdk from the ESXI storage datastore too (go to storage and then to your datastore, then “Datastore Browser”.). Downloading it this way you will need to convert using the raw switch (since this downloads a raw vmdk file).

    #> qemu-img.exe convert -f raw -O qcow2 “YOURVMDKNAME-flat.vmdk” YOURVMDKNAME.qcow2

    NOTE 2: You can check what format a vmdk is by using the following command:

    > qemu-img.exe info YOURVMDKNAME.vmdk

    Decommission ESXI Server and install Proxmox

    If you are using the same server hardware you can now decommission ESXI and install Proxmox. I use the latest Proxmox ISO to install to my lab server.

    Here is the link to the latest Proxmox distros: https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads/category/iso-images-pve

    Import qcow2 images

    **First thing we want to do is make a folder to hold the migrated qcow2 files temporarily. Login to your Proxmox server and access the shell. Use this command to make directory to copy to: mkdir /var/lib/vz/template/qemu (note: You don’t have to use sudo here because you are logged in as root)*****

    I use Powershell with the scp (Secure Copy) command to move the qcow2 files to the Proxmox server. Use this command to copy using scp:

    > scp YOURVMDKNAME.qcow2 root@PROXMOX_IP_ADDRESS:/var/lib/vz/template/qemu

    How to Import QCOW2 into Proxmox Server? | Step by Step.

    Test VMs making sure everything works (including connection to SAN)

    I am using a SAN so I had to make sure connections works afterword’s. I tested by installing Proxmox onto my ESXI as a VM and followed all the steps above. After I completed all the steps I booted the VM in Proxmox. I thought I was doing something wrong with Proxmox because I could not get the VM to communicate with the network (only able to ping the host (Proxmox) and not my gateway). It turns out since I was using nested vitalization I had to turn on Promiscuous mode on the VM Network in ESXI. After fixing this I was able to fully test the migrated qcow2 VM. Everything worked! I exported/converted all my VMs and decommissioned ESXI, installed Proxmox and followed the same steps again. I am now fully migrated to Proxmox.