Dive into a new Pentesting Experience with
Athena OS

🏅Born for InfoSec Professionals, Bug Bounty Hunters, Passionate Students and Spicy Hackers🏅

💞

<p>
  Download Athena OS &#8220;Nike&#8221; Now
</p>

<p>
  💞<br /> </h3> 
  
  <h3 align="center" dir="auto">
    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content-------spicy-pentesting-os-demo-------" class="anchor" aria-hidden="true" href="#------spicy-pentesting-os-demo-------"></a><br /> 🎥<br /> <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_ZY9Tj4U_8"><br /> Spicy Pentesting OS Demo<br /> </a><br /> 🎥<br />
  </h3>
  
  <h3 dir="auto">
    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content-why-athena" class="anchor" aria-hidden="true" href="#why-athena"></a>Why Athena?
  </h3>
  
  <ul dir="auto">
    <li>
      Pentesting: Athena can access to <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="https://blackarch.org/tools.html">BlackArch repository</a>, the <strong>biggest pentesting tool warehouse</strong>.
    </li>
    <li>
      User-oriented: if Arch is born for experienced users, Athena is conceived for <strong>decreasing complexity</strong> and <strong>improving user experience</strong>.
    </li>
    <li>
      Lightweight: Athena <strong>optimizes the disk space consumption</strong> by retrieving the tools you need only when you use them. Tools you never use won&#8217;t be stored and the space is only used for what you really need.
    </li>
    <li>
      Performance: Athena is based on Arch Linux so it is configured to load the <strong>bare minimum</strong> for its purpose. No useless services, no useless modules consuming your resources.
    </li>
    <li>
      Flexibility: for its Arch nature, Athena is <strong>flexible</strong> and can easily evolve to the new needs of the users.
    </li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>
    Wiki: https://github.com/Athena-OS/athena-iso/wiki
  </p>
  
  <h2 dir="auto">
    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content-latest-updates" class="anchor" aria-hidden="true" href="#latest-updates"></a>Latest Updates
  </h2>
  
  <p>
    Here I would like to inform you about new features already tested and implemented that have been published in the newest release, for keeping you always informed in a comfortable way.<br /> <strong>Athena OS</strong>, code name <strong>&#8220;Nike&#8221;</strong> (ancient Greek: &#8220;Victory&#8221;), comes with several important fixes and new implementations, and carries the new <strong>GNOME 43</strong>!<br /> <strong>Athena Nike</strong> will provide:
  </p>
  
  <ul dir="auto">
    <li>
      <strong>Hacking roles</strong>: you can choose among several roles for your hacking activity:</p> <ul dir="auto">
        <li>
          Bug Bounty Hunter
        </li>
        <li>
          Cracker
        </li>
        <li>
          Enthusiast Student
        </li>
        <li>
          Forensic Analyst
        </li>
        <li>
          Malware Analyst
        </li>
        <li>
          Mobile Analyst
        </li>
        <li>
          Network Analyst
        </li>
        <li>
          Red Teamer
        </li>
        <li>
          Web Pentester
        </li>
      </ul>
    </li>
    
    <li>
      Hacking <strong>environment variable</strong> viewer: you can easily list the set of environment variables you need for your activity
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Autotiling</strong> feature: you can now tile windows by Autotiling icon on the top-right of the screen
    </li>
    <li>
      <code>osert</code> tool: Markdown Templates for Offensive Security exam reports. Just get it by pacman!
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>BASH</strong> and <strong>ZSH</strong> as shells to be chosen
    </li>
    <li>
      GRUB Athena background
    </li>
    <li>
      A lot of <strong>security resources</strong> as bookmarks in Firefox ESR
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Hack-Tools</strong> extension in Firefox ESR
    </li>
    <li>
      <code>CTRL+ALT+T</code> for invoking the terminal, <code>SUPER+D</code> for minimizing all the windows, <code>SUPER+E</code> for opening the Home folder
    </li>
    <li>
      Snapper for creating <strong>snapshots</strong> of your system for recovering purpose
    </li>
    <li>
      Octopi as <strong>graphical package manager</strong>
    </li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>
    Furthermore, heavy changes come at system level for improving the performance of the system:
  </p>
  
  <ul dir="auto">
    <li>
      Migration to <strong>GNOME 43</strong>
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Firefox run on RAM</strong> for speeding up the performance
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>Parallel</strong> code compilation
    </li>
    <li>
      Building from <strong>files in RAM</strong>
    </li>
    <li>
      <strong>OOM</strong> handling
    </li>
    <li>
      Process <strong>priority</strong> managers <ul dir="auto">
        <li>
          Ananicy
        </li>
        <li>
          IRQBalance
        </li>
      </ul>
    </li>
    
    <li>
      Improved <strong>kernel</strong> characteristics: <ul dir="auto">
        <li>
          Dirty Ratio
        </li>
        <li>
          Dirty Background Ratio
        </li>
        <li>
          OOM Dump Tasks
        </li>
        <li>
          OOM Kill Allocating Task
        </li>
        <li>
          Overcommit Memory
        </li>
        <li>
          Swappiness
        </li>
        <li>
          VFS Cache Pressure
        </li>
        <li>
          CFS zen tweaks for non-zen kernels
        </li>
      </ul>
    </li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>
    Remember, I left a <strong>small challenge for you</strong> inside the system! The tip is clear enough when you login&#8230;<br /> Screenshots:<br /> <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/83867734/200061914-0343c02f-9dd7-499b-8c0c-61b05bc6bc4f.png"></a><br /> <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/83867734/200062602-8a4c3ed4-8d9f-45b0-af73-b54c72f67897.png"></a>
  </p>
  
  <h3 dir="auto">
    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content-known-third-party-issues" class="anchor" aria-hidden="true" href="#known-third-party-issues"></a>Known Third-Party Issues
  </h3>
  
  <ul dir="auto">
    <li>
      Currently, due to some Arch Linux PGP key issue, the Athena installation will fail for the current release. It will be solved in the next release that contains a logic to autofix repository key issues. <ul dir="auto">
        <li>
          Run the ISO but dont run the Installation. Then:</p> <pre class="notranslate"><code>sudo nano /etc/calamares/modules/shellprocess-before.conf

          <p>
            At the end of the file, add the following lines:
          </p>
          
          <pre class="notranslate"><code>- command: "pacman -Syy"

• command: “pacman -S –noconfirm archlinux-keyring”

• command: “pacman-key –init”

• command: “pacman-key –populate”

          <p>
            Note: keep &#8220;command&#8221; rows aligned with the already existing ones.<br /> Save the file, close it.<br /> Run the installer<br /> Note that, if you choose Sweet Dark as theme, you need to do some small manual fix because I updated the Sweet Dark theme package to be compliant with the next release automatically. It means you need to open GNOME Tweaks from application, go to Appearance, go to Legacy Applications and select Sweet-Dark. </li> </ul> </li> 
  
            <li>
              On Bloodhound, when neo4j database is run by <code>sudo neo4j console</code>, we can get some errors like: <pre class="notranslate"><code>Exception in thread "main" java.lang.LinkageError: Cannot to link java.nio.DirectByteBuffer
  

              <p>
                For solving it, just run neo4j server by <code>systemctl start neo4j</code>. You can check the proof that the server is correctly running by <code>systemctl status neo4j</code>.</li> 
                
                <li>
                  VSCode does not show close, maximize and minimize buttons due to some bug related to Electron19. Bug already reported: microsoft/vscode#161586 <ul dir="auto">
                    <li>
                      Issue solved by VSCode Team: just update it <code>sudo pacman -Syu</code>.
                    </li>
                  </ul>
                </li>
                
                <li>
                  Evil-WinRM does not currently work in all Arch-based distros and produces the following output: <pre class="notranslate"><code>Error: An error of type OpenSSL::Digest::DigestError happened, message is Digest initialization failed: initialization error

Error: Exiting with code 1

                  <ul dir="auto">
                    <li>
                      Workaround: edit <code>/etc/ssl/openssl.cnf</code> by adding <code>legacy = legacy_sect</code> under <code>default = default_sect</code> in order to appear as: <pre class="notranslate"><code>[openssl_init]

providers = provider_sect

List of providers to load>

List of providers to load #

[provider_sect] default = default_sect legacy = legacy_sect

                      <p>
                        and by uncommenting <code># activate = 1</code> under <code>[default_sect]</code> and adding <code>[legacy_sect]</code> and <code>activate = 1</code> under them in order to appear as:
                      </p>
                      
                      <pre class="notranslate"><code>[default_sect]

activate = 1 [legacy_sect] activate = 1

                <li>
                  Zsteg does not show the entire output when run <code>zsteg -a image.png</code>. It occurs due to <code>file</code> tool bug. In the next <code>file</code> release the bug will be fixed. <ul dir="auto">
                    <li>
                      Workaround: run <code>sudo downgrade file</code> and select <code>5.39</code>.
                    </li>
                  </ul>
                </li></ul> 
                
                <h2 dir="auto">
                  <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content-contents" class="anchor" aria-hidden="true" href="#contents"></a>Contents
                </h2>
                
                <ul dir="auto">
                  <li>
                    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="#intro">🎉 Introduction</a>
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="#requirement">⚓ System Requirements</a>
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="#install">🎁 Installation</a>
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="#config">📐 Configuration</a>
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="#res">🔥 Resources</a>
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="#shots">📷 Screenshots</a>
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="#map">🛣️ Roadmap</a>
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="#techsupport">❓ Support</a>
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="#publ">📢 Publications</a>
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" href="#creds">❤️ Credits</a>
                  </li>
                </ul>
                
                <p>
                  <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content-intro"></a>
                </p>
                
                <h2 dir="auto">
                  <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content--introduction" class="anchor" aria-hidden="true" href="#-introduction"></a>🎉 Introduction
                </h2>
                
                <p>
                  Athena is designed from scratch, so already during the development phase useless modules and services have been excluded in order to improve performance and resource consumption. Furthermore, this design approach allowed to review in detailed manner each single package and component to include inside the distribution. It led the OS to build a user-friendly environment, despite based on Arch Linux.<br /> The heritage of Arch Linux impacts positively Athena OS:
                </p>
                
                <ul dir="auto">
                  <li>
                    Better performance: pacman is faster than apt
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    Focused: Athena can be developed and maintained down to the smallest detail
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    Much more security tools: Athena can rely on BlackArch repository, that contains much more security tools than APT repositories
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    Freedom: during the installation, you can configure your Athena with any resource or service you need.
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    Documentation: Arch Linux is very well documented on Internet for any need
                  </li>
                </ul>
                
                <p>
                  Athena&#8217;s environment is based on GNOME Wayland that provide exciting features the user can enjoy!<br /> Let&#8217;s give a detailed look on Athena!
                </p>
                
                <p>
                  <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content-requirement"></a>
                </p>
                
                <h2 dir="auto">
                  <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content--system-requirements" class="anchor" aria-hidden="true" href="#-system-requirements"></a>⚓ System Requirements
                </h2>
                
                <p>
                  Recommended system requirements for smooth usage in Athena are:
                </p>
                
                <ul dir="auto">
                  <li>
                    20 GB of hard disk space, SSD preferred
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    At least 4GB of RAM
                  </li>
                  <li>
                    Processor with at least two cores
                  </li>
                </ul>
                
                <p>
                  <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content-install"></a>
                </p>
                
                <h2 dir="auto">
                  <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content--installation" class="anchor" aria-hidden="true" href="#-installation"></a>🎁 Installation
                </h2>
                
                <p>
                  Download the latest Athena release .iso file from the related section. According to your need, you can choose to install Athena on your computer natively, or implement it on a Virtual Machine (e.g., VMware or VirtualBox).<br /> Currently VirtualBox is affected by a bug is enabling 3D Acceleration, so keep it disabled.<br /> 3D Acceleration also makes intermittent freezes on the environment if enabled on VMware or VirtualBox if you use xorg.<br /> It is strongly suggested to keep it disabled.<br /> When you mount the ISO to your pendrive or your Virtual Machine and boot up Athena, you will meet Athena Calamares Installer, that allows you to customise your future Athena OS as you wish.
                </p>
                
                <p>
                  <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content-config"></a>
                </p>
                
                <h2 dir="auto">
                  <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content--configuration" class="anchor" aria-hidden="true" href="#-configuration"></a>📐 Configuration
                </h2>
                
                <h3 dir="auto">
                  <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content-latest-release" class="anchor" aria-hidden="true" href="#latest-release"></a>Latest Release
                </h3>
                
                <p>
                  After the installation and the first boot:
                </p>
                
                <ul dir="auto">
                  <li>
                    open Kitty terminal, run <code>htb-update</code> and copy and paste your Hack The Box API key.
                  </li>
                </ul>
                
                <p>
                  The Hack The Box API Key can be retrieved by your Hack The Box profile settings -> &#8220;Create App Token&#8221;.<br /> Until your API key will be valid, your system will update the Hack The Box contents automatically for you at each login or when <code>htb-update</code> is run.
                </p>
                
                <p>
                  <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content-res"></a>
                </p>
                
                <h2 dir="auto">
                  <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content--resources" class="anchor" aria-hidden="true" href="#-resources"></a>🔥 Resources
                </h2>
                
                <h3 dir="auto">
                  <a rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" id="user-content-pentoxic-menu" class="anchor" aria-hidden="true" href="#pentoxic-menu"></a>PenTOXIC Menu
                </h3>
                
                <p>
                  PenTOXIC Menu is born for organizing in pretty manner all main security&#8230;
                </p>