# BackBox > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/BackBox > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/BackBox.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BackBox > Source revision: 1354719475 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Security-oriented Linux distribution Linux distribution BackBox Linux Developer BackBox Team [1] OS family Unix-like (Linux kernel) Working state Active Source model Open source Latest release 9 / October 30, 2024 (2024-10-30)[2] Supported platforms i386(x86), amd64(x86-64) Kernel type Linux Default user interface XFCE License Free software licenses (mainly GPL) Official website www.backbox.org **BackBox** is a [penetration test](/source/Penetration_test) and security assessment oriented [Ubuntu](/source/Ubuntu_(operating_system))-based [Linux distribution](/source/Linux_distribution) providing a network and informatic systems analysis toolkit.[3] It includes a complete set of tools required for [ethical hacking](/source/Ethical_hacking) and security testing.[4] ## Contents BackBox was designed with consideration of customisation and system performance. It uses the light [window manager](/source/Window_manager) [Xfce](/source/Xfce)[5], which contributes to it relatively low resource usage. It also has an assistive community behind it.[6] It includes commonly used security and analysis Linux tools, aiming for a wide spread of goals, including web application analysis, network analysis, stress testing, [sniffing](/source/Packet_analyzer), vulnerability assessment, computer forensic analysis and exploitation, and other tools. Part of the significance of this distribution comes from its [Launchpad](/source/Launchpad_(website)) repository core, frequently updated to the latest stable version of the most known and used [ethical hacking](/source/Ethical_hacking) tools. The integration and development of new tools in the distribution follows the open source community, particularly the [Debian Free Software Guidelines](/source/Debian_Free_Software_Guidelines) criteria. ## Releases Date Release Sep 9, 2010 BackBox Linux RC Sep 3, 2011 BackBox Linux 2[7][8] Jan 2, 2012 BackBox Linux 2.01[9] Apr 24, 2012 BackBox Linux 2.05 Oct 24, 2012 BackBox Linux 3.0[10][11] Jan 23, 2013 BackBox Linux 3.01[12] May 23, 2013 BackBox Linux 3.05[13] Sep 20, 2013 BackBox Linux 3.09[14] Jan 16, 2014 BackBox Linux 3.13[15] Oct 11, 2014 BackBox Linux 4.0[16] Jan 29, 2015 BackBox Linux 4.1[17] Apr 27, 2015 BackBox Linux 4.2[18] Jul 20, 2015 BackBox Linux 4.3[19][20] Oct 12, 2015 BackBox Linux 4.4[21][22] Jan 27, 2016 BackBox Linux 4.5[23] Mar 08, 2016 BackBox Linux 4.5.1 May 26, 2016 BackBox Linux 4.6 December 8, 2016 BackBox Linux 4.7 July 21, 2017 BackBox Linux 5[24] March 9, 2018 BackBox Linux 5.1 August 9, 2018 BackBox Linux 5.2 February 18, 2019 BackBox Linux 5.3 June 11, 2019 BackBox Linux 6[25] May 15, 2020 BackBox Linux 7 November 15, 2022 BackBox Linux 8[26] November 9, 2023 BackBox Linux 8.1 October 30, 2024 BackBox Linux 9[2] ## Categories BackBox Linux categories listed as follow: - [Information Gathering](/source/Footprinting) - [Vulnerability Assessment](/source/Vulnerability_assessment) - [Exploitation](/source/Exploit_(computer_security)) - [Privilege Escalation](/source/Privilege_escalation) - [Maintaining Access](/source/Backdoor_(computing)) - Documentation & Reporting - [Reverse Engineering](/source/Reverse_engineering) - [Social Engineering](/source/Social_engineering_(computer_security)) - [Forensic Analysis](/source/Computer_forensics) - [VoIP](/source/VoIP) Analysis - [Wireless](/source/Wireless) Analysis - Miscellaneous ## Tools More than 70 tools are included in BackBox: - [Metasploit](/source/Metasploit_Project) - [Armitage](/source/Armitage_(computing)) - [Nmap](/source/Nmap) - [OpenVAS](/source/OpenVAS) - [W3af](/source/W3af) - [The Social Engineering Toolkit](/source/Social_engineering_(security)) - [Ettercap](/source/Ettercap_(computing)) - [Scapy](/source/Scapy) - [Wireshark](/source/Wireshark) - [Kismet](/source/Kismet_(software)) - [Aircrack](/source/Aircrack-ng) - [Ophcrack](/source/Ophcrack) - [Sqlmap](/source/Sqlmap) - [John The Ripper](/source/John_the_ripper) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Developers_1-0)** ["Team/Developers"](https://linux.backbox.org/). 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-latest_release_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-latest_release_2-1) ["BackBox Linux 9 released!"](https://blog.backbox.org/2024/10/30/backbox-linux-9-released/). *BackBox Linux*. BackBox Linux. 2024-10-30. Retrieved 2025-02-22. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Lopez, Jose Maria (25 December 2018). ["Linux, seguridad y análisis forense digital"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190112203821/https://hipertextual.com/2018/12/linux-seguridad-analisis-forense-digital) [Linux, security and digital forensic analysis]. *Hipertextual* (in Spanish). Archived from [the original](https://hipertextual.com/2018/12/linux-seguridad-analisis-forense-digital) (html) on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019. Bajo el nombre de BackBox encontramos una distribución Linux y la comunidad que la respalda. ¿Su objetivo? Divulgar y promover la cultura de la seguridad en entornos IT. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Endless OS, Crux, BackBox, Untangle e DragonFlyBSD têm novas versões"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190614150552/https://sempreupdate.com.br/endless-os-crux-backbox-untangle-e-dragonflybsd-tem-novas-versoes/3/) [Endless OS, Crux, BackBox, Untangle e DragonFlyBSD release new versions.]. *Sempre updated* (in Portuguese). 12 June 2019. Archived from [the original](https://sempreupdate.com.br/endless-os-crux-backbox-untangle-e-dragonflybsd-tem-novas-versoes/3/) (html) on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019. O BackBox Linux é uma distribuição baseada no Ubuntu desenvolvida para realizar testes de penetração e avaliações de segurança. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Naranjo, David (12 June 2019). ["Llega la nueva versión de BackBox Linux 6, basada en Ubuntu 18.04"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190614150758/https://ubunlog.com/llega-la-nueva-version-de-backbox-linux-6-basada-en-ubuntu-18-04/) [New version BackBox Linux 6, Ubuntu 18.04 based]. *Ubunulog* (in Spanish). Archived from [the original](https://ubunlog.com/llega-la-nueva-version-de-backbox-linux-6-basada-en-ubuntu-18-04/) (html) on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019. El objetivo principal de BackBox es proporcionar un sistema alternativo, altamente personalizable y con un buen rendimiento. BackBox utiliza el gestor de ventanas light Xfce . 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Best Linux Distributions for Hacking and Penetration Testing"](https://www.itsfoss.com/linux-hacking-penetration-testing/). BackBox is a Ubuntu-based distro developed for the purposes of penetration testing and security assessment. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 2"](https://www.distrowatch.com/?newsid=06870). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Security testing with BackBox 2 \[LWN.net\]](https://www.lwn.net/Articles/457958/) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 2.01"](https://www.thehackernews.com/2011/09/backbox-linux-2-released.html). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 3.0"](https://www.distrowatch.com/?newsid=07518). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [BackBox Linux 3 review | LinuxBSDos.com](https://www.linuxbsdos.com/2012/10/29/backbox-linux-3-review/) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 3.01"](https://www.distrowatch.com/?newsid=07680). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 3.05"](https://www.distrowatch.com/?newsid=07878). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 3.09"](https://www.distrowatch.com/?newsid=08064). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 3.13"](https://www.distrowatch.com/?newsid=08256). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 4.0"](https://www.distrowatch.com/?newsid=08639). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 4.1"](https://www.distrowatch.com/?newsid=08789). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 4.2"](https://www.distrowatch.com/?newsid=08919). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 4.3"](https://www.distrowatch.com/?newsid=09020). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** [BackBox 4.3 review: Not just for penetration tests and security assessments | LinuxBSDos.com](https://www.linuxbsdos.com/2015/07/28/backbox-4-3-review-not-just-for-penetration-tests-and-security-assessments/) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 4.4"](https://www.distrowatch.com/?newsid=09138). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** [BackBox Linux 4.4 review | LinuxBSDos.com](https://www.linuxbsdos.com/2015/10/17/backbox-linux-4-4-review/) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-23)** DistroWatch. ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 4.5 (DistroWatch.com News)"](https://www.distrowatch.com/?newsid=09269). *distrowatch.com*. Retrieved 2016-01-31. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-24)** DistroWatch (24 July 2017). ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 5 (FossBytes)"](https://www.fossbytes.com/backbox-linux-5-released-kali-alternative-download/). *fossbytes.com*. Retrieved 2021-09-25. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-25)** ["Distribution Release: BackBox Linux 6 released"](https://web.archive.org/web/20220129112348/https://www.linuxtechnews.com/backbox-linux-6-is-released-and-check-whats-new-in-this-release/). Archived from [the original](https://www.linuxtechnews.com/backbox-linux-6-is-released-and-check-whats-new-in-this-release/) on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2021-09-26. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-26)** ["BackBox Linux 8 released!"](https://blog.backbox.org/2022/11/15/backbox-linux-8-released/). *BackBox.org Blog*. 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2023-03-20. ## External links - [Official website](https://www.backbox.org/) v t e Ubuntu General Outline of Ubuntu Canonical Ltd. 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protection Protection ring Segmentation fault Virtual memory Storage access, file systems Boot loader Defragmentation Device file File attribute Inode Journal Partition Virtual file system Virtual tape library Supporting concepts API Computer network HAL Live CD Live USB Shell CLI User interface PXE --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [BackBox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BackBox) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BackBox?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.