Operating Systems Of Choice For Professional Hackers

Real "black hat" hackers use their skills to provide malicious attacks against government, institutions and other organizations for either financial benefits, methods of protest or publicity. Although it is true that most hackers prefer Linux operating systems, many advanced attacks occur in Microsoft Windows in plain sight. Linux is an easy target for hackers because it is an open-source system. This means that millions of lines of code can viewed publicly and can easily be modified. The system is very flexible, and the hacker can easily check for vulnerabilities through penetration testing, while also having the capabilities to hide their tracks. Windows is a required, but dreaded target for most hackers because it requires them to work in Windows-only environments. It is much more restrictive than Linux, yet is still vulnerable because most exploits are directed at targets running on Windows operating systems. These types of attacks can only be approached in a Windows based environment. This research paper will compare different operating systems used to hack, with a focus of Linux and Windows. It will explain the methodology behind why Hackers choose Linux, as their system of choice to and include key preferences such as source code and interface types. This paper will also cover some of the most popular operating systems besides Linux and Windows for 2017, including: Parrot Security OS, Samurai, Pentoo and Bugtraq.