Best Linux Distros for Cyber Security , Web & App Development

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Linux distros can play a major role in app & web development , cyber security.

To choose a linux distro you need to consider various factors that can affect your efficiency and reliability of your distro.

When you are choosing a distro for bug bounty you need to consider some things according to your requirements.

But some things are common for every bug hunter and I am gonna compare them based on various factors.

Advantages :

Saves Time for setting up Tools.It is free to download and It’s open source.It has a Large Community of Security Professionals and Developers which can provide Support.The Development Team provides timely updates to the system and tools.It is highly customizable and you can build your own ISO images for Installation.It has Live Boot Capability which means It can boot from Pendrive , SD card or CD.It has vast device architecture support from Tic Watch to Raspberry Pi.Works seamlessly with Virtualization Softwares like VMware and VirtualBox.It provides extensive hands on learning experience, official documentation and training options like OSCP.

Disadvantages :

Kali Linux is designed for Cyber Security Professionals and Advanced Users but not for Beginners.It operates in a root-only environment by default for convenience of penetration testing because most tools need root access.It has limited use of general purpose and can’t be used for daily use like Not having Office Suites.It is Resource Intensive. You can feel when you launch metasploit or run some script which requires heavy resources.It has a lack of Non-Security Tools like Media Player or pre-installed other browsers.It can be used by malicious users.Need knowledge of Linux Command Line Tools , networking and penetration testing metholodigies .Frequent updates can disrupt the workflows of certain tools.It has no built-in anonymity like Tails OS.Not Suitable for Production Environments , running servers , development.

Image by Parrot OS

It is another linux distro developed for security professions similar to kali linux but it comes with unique features.

It is lightweight and more optimized than kali linux and because of that it is suitable for older or low end hardware.It offers three editions for Installation . Home Edition for daily use with built-in privacy , Security Edition packed with penetration testing tools and digital forensics , IoT Edition for Raspberry Pi and ARM Systems.Parrot OS comes with MATE desktop environment which is resource-efficient while maintaining a modern look.It has Privacy and Anonymity Feature like AnonSurf which routes traffic through Tor and Cryptography Tools which encrypt files and manage keys.It comes pre-installed with development tools like Code Editors (Geany , Visual Studio Code) and compilers for various programming languages.It is more beginner friendly than kali linux.It includes app sandboxing for added security.It supports docker and Virtualization better than kali linux.While It supports penetration testing, its toolset is not as extensive as kali linux.It is more beginner friendly but you still need basic knowledge of operating linux.It may struggle when exposed to heavy workloads.It has limited community support compared to kali linux.Its Home Edition specifies for General Purpose but still you can’t even prepare a presentation.Fewer Pre-installed tools compared to kali linux.

Above are the advantages and disadvantages of the distros which are specially designed for security professionals.

Now , let’s go to the Web and App Development Category.

Several Linux distributions are available for development of web and apps but I am going to list only those which have large community support or maintained continuously and having the topmost stability and customizability for development tools.

1. Ubuntu :

Image by rakeshkryadav

It is based on debian distro and offers a beginner-friendly experience with a massive repository of softwares .

It has wide community support and documentation.It is pre-installed with Snap and APT packages which makes easy to install development tools like Node.js, Docker, or IDEs.It is beginner friendly , simple and intuitive, great for newcomers.It has wide software availability compared to other distros.It comes with 2 variants, Ubuntu LTS with long term support and ideal for stable environments & Ubuntu Studio comes with multimedia and software-development tools pre-installed.It works well with most of the hardware and development environments like Android Studio , Web Servers.It is not lightweight and resource intensive compared to other distros.Some developers have criticised the Snaps Centralized Approach but it doesn’t matter for beginners.Frequent updates for Non-TLS Version can disrupt the stability needed for developers.

Image by PoP OS

It is developed by System76 , is an ubuntu based Linux Distribution designed specifically for developers and engineers.

It is designed for developers and comes with Pre-Configured development tools and great support for hardware acceleration (e.g. GPU for AI/ML).It has a beginner friendly interface with more polishing.It combines stability with frequent updates to maintain cutting-edge features.It has a small community so Less support and fewer tutorials and documentation compared to Ubuntu.It has no unique speciality rather than pre-configured development tools and repos are the same as Ubuntu.

So , I have listed enough advantages and disadvantages of popular linux distros. Now you should do your work. Choose your distro as per your requirement also you can choose Fedora or any other but you need to compare their advantages and disadvantages before installing them on your Workstation. I am going to end this here.

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