OpenVAS on Kali GNU/Linux Part 1: How to install OpenVAS

February 28, 2021 6 minute read

OpenVAS is an opensource security scanner it started as a fork of Nessus which went from an opensource project to a closed source scanner.

I always prefer opensource software, for security tools, I even prefer it more… It nice to see/audit where the security data comes from, instead of the “magic” that is used by the close source software.

To scan for missing patches on your systems there are faster/better tools available that can be integrated into your build pipeline more easily. But OpenVAS is still a very nice network security scanner. Relying on one security tool is also not a “best security practice”.

Kali GNU/Linux has become the default Linux distribution for security auditing pen testing, it’s nice to have OpenVAS installed on your Kali GNU/Linux setup. If you just want to have OpenVAS available there is also a (virtual) appliance available from the OpenVAS developers ( Greenbone ).

You’ll find my journey to install OpenVAS on Kali GNU/Linux.

Best wishes 2021!

January 1, 2021 less than 1 minute read

$ sudo -i
# find / -name "*covid*" -exec rm -rf {} \;
# find / -name "*corona*" -exec rm -rf {} \;
# pkill -9 covid19
# pkill -9 corona
# reboot

Have fun!

32 bits (still) matters!

November 15, 2020 6 minute read

updated @ Mon Nov 16 08:16:30 PM CET 2020: Corrected the version when OPNsense dropped 32 bits support.

I used OPNsense on my pcengines Alix 2d13 firewall.

The Alix 2d13 is a nice motherboard with a Geode CPU 32 bits x86 CPU.

I migrated to OPNsense after pfSense dropped support for 32 bits. Unfortunately, OPNsense also dropped support for 32 bits CPUs in the 19.1.7 release 20.7 release. I decided to install FreeBSD on my Alix to use it as my firewall.

To make it possible to reinstall my Alix firewall, I installed FreeBSD on my Raspberry Pi 2 to use it as my firewall during the installation of FreeBSD on my Alix.

You’ll find my journey to install FreeBSD my an Alix firewall below.

Upgrade FreeBSD on a Raspberry Pi 2

November 1, 2020 4 minute read

I recently installed FreeBSD on my raspberry-pi 2 to use it as my firewall.

The FreeBSD version that I installed was a FreeBSD 12.2 Pre-Release. FreeBSD 12.2 has been released this week.

ARM is a Tier-2 on FreeBSD. This means that freebsd-update doesn’t work on a Raspberry Pi.

Freebsd-update wouldn’t work on a Pre-Release anyway. So I was looking for a way to update my Raspberry Pi to FreeBSD 12.2.

Use a raspberry-pi 2 as a firewall with FreeBSD

October 25, 2020 10 minute read

Updated @ Mon Nov 16 08:16:30 PM CET 2020: Corrected the version when OPNsense dropped 32 bits support.

I was using OPNsense on my pcengines alix firewall and was quite happy with it.

The alix 2d13 is a nice motherboard with a Geode CPU, it has a 32 bits x86 instruction set. I migrated to OPNsense from pfSense when pfSense dropped 32 bits support.

Unfortunately, OPNsense also dropped support for 32 bits CPU’s in the 19.1.7 release 20.7 release. I decided to install FreeBSD on the alix to use it as my firewall. But I need a temporary firewall solution so I can install FreeBSD on my alix board. I have a Raspberry PI 2 that I wasn’t using.

You’ll find my journey to use my RPI2 as my firewall below.