Now, we have Kali Linux, ending this year with a new release that adds impressive hacking tools and upgrades.
Let's get into it. 😃
🆕 Kali Linux 2024.4: What's New?
Powered by Linux kernel 6.11.2, this Kali Linux release finally introduces Python 3.12 as the default Python interpreter, allowing users to take advantage of the improved performance, better syntax, and optimized memory management.
The developers have disabled pip by default, making pipx the preferred tool for installing Python packages due to its environment isolation. Users are being strongly encouraged to switch to the newer, more secure alternative.
As reported a few months ago, Kali Linux has officially discontinued 32-bit (i386) builds, and this is the first major release to reflect that, following the halt of 32-bit weekly builds back in October.
This doesn't mean that 32-bit programs can't run on a 64-bit Kali Linux system; the i386 packages are still available in the repository. However, the developers anticipate that some packages will gradually be phased out over time, though they are unsure which ones.
In the desktop environment department, GNOME 47 is the latest addition, bringing about major changes like support for accent colors, better accessibility, modernized dialog windows, a refined user interface, and improved core apps.
The Kali Linux team has worked on aligning the new accent color feature with the icon theme and legacy GTK window themes to ensure a consistent visual experience. There is also a new system monitor panel extension that looks quite neat.
This release has lots to offer to Arm-based SBC users, with improvements for Raspberry Pi users taking center stage. For starters, there is newly added support for applying OS customizations to Kali Linux directly from the Raspberry Pi Imager.
This feature allows users to configure settings such as username, password, hostname, network, and SSH before their Raspberry Pi device even boots up with a Kali Linux image.
Furthermore, there is support for the recently launched Raspberry Pi 500 and enhancements for Raspberry Pi 5, like Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) now being enabled by default for a better graphical experience, and some detection improvements for DSI displays and cameras.
Sourav Rudra
Abhishek Kumar
