🖥 How to Build a Hacking VPS 🏹

I’ll show you how to set up a Kali Linux virtual private sever(VPS) on Digital Ocean for ethical hacking, how to use a browser though your VPS, get a free domain name for your VPS, make a local backup and more!

Bypass the paywall with this link.

When doing ethical hacking challenges or on pen-testing lab platforms like Hack the Box(HTB), Try Hack Me(THM) or Cyber Sec Labs(CSL), you’re likely hacking from a virtual machine. This works great but I’ve found setting up a VPS to launch my ethical hacking endeavors from has a few important benefits.

First off, you have persistence in your hacking session. I jump between a few different laptops in my day to day activities. Rather than working on a different virtual machine individually, with its own files, on each laptop, I can log into a VPS from any computer and picked up from where I left off on another computer. This point is extremely handy if you work between multiple computers. You can also log in to the VPS though you phone with SSH apps too.

Second, it takes the load off of your local machine in terms of RAM and CPU usage during your hacking actives. Most virtual machines are usually pretty slow to deal with as well. Using SSH on your VPS is much faster and more responsive than using a virtual machine. If you’re sick of laggy VM’s, hop on to a VPS.

Third, you aren’t limited by your local network. I currently live on a college campus, and the firewall here blocks my reverse shell connections when I’m…