Live OS: Running Kali Linux from USB

When you run an operative system from a USB drive it can be referred to as running a live OS.

The OS then uses the hardware from the computer and can also save settings on the USB. When your data is saved between reboots it is called persistence. 

I used the Kali Linux Live ISO from this page. It is a 64-bit version.

First time I attempted to flash the .iso I used the tool Balena Etcher, it worked just fine until I tried to download and update packages using sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade as it was complaining about storage. I was a bit perplexed as I had at least 50 gb available.

After a while I figured out that the flashed Kali Linux Live image only was partitioned to a small part of the USB drive.

So I downloaded and ran Rufus instead, which allowed me to reserve even more "usable" space for my OS on the USB drive. This time I started running the updates and the upgrades in the terminal and it worked perfectly fine.

With both Balena Etcher and Rufus my settings were saved as I changed the looks of the OS. Keep in mind that when you boot from the USB you will get the option to start a session which will not be saved, or a persistent session which will indeed save your changes.

When you do live booting from a USB, you sometimes need to turn of the secure boot in your computers BIOS. You do that by entering the BIOS/UEFI as the computer starts up and asks you to press one of the f-keys.

Apart from now being able to use almost any computer, only by carrying your USB with you, you can also access the files that you would typically access from Windows. Thus allowing you to rescue files for example if the Windows system breaks down.

Currently I keep a USB with software that is good to have, such as a few browsers, PowerShell 7 and the like, along with a drive containing a Kali ISO that can be installed on a computer and a drive with Kali for live booting.