Installing Synaptic and Software Center on Backtrack

For those who new in Backtrack or even in Linux. Installing a software must be confusing cause we have to do it in the terminal with it's black and white interface.

But, since Backtrack is based on Ubuntu, lets install Synaptic and Ubuntu Software Center to make us easier to install software.

First, lets install the Synaptic Package Manager

# apt-get install synaptic

Wicd D-bus Error Fix

Wicd is the default GUI Network Manager for Backtrack 5. 

The problem appear when we open Wicd. Before the main wicd window open there always appear an error window showing that wicd can't connect to D-bus interface. 

Actually it don't have any effect in the connection, but still. It is very disturbing.

So, anyone got the same problem?

Here's a way to fix it.

Installing sslstrip

Note that Sslstrip in Backtrack 5 and 5R1 (both Gnome and KDE version) is encountered some error. It displayed in the main menu but when you try to use it, it would say that sslstrip is not installed.

Sslstrip is a tool required to do a MITM(man in the middle) attack, especially at https protocol. Together with ettercap, driftnet, and urlsnarf this tool can be a powerfull sniffing software.

So here's a way to fix that error

1. Download the file

# wget http://www.thoughtcrime.org/software/sslstrip/sslstrip-0.9.tar.gz

Backtrack Repositories

There's a lot of backtrack repositories out there..
but, i myself just use 3 repositories..
Official, Indowebster and Tawon Amikom repository..

To add a repository just edit the "sources.list" file at /etc/apt using gedit or other text editing software.

# gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

Below is some repos that you can use for you backtrack :

Gnome or KDE ??

Gnome and KDE..

Confuse to choose what backtrack desktop that would be used?

Nowadays, Gnome and KDE is the most popular X-windows for most linux user.

For those who don't know. Gnome and KDE is a GUI (Graphical User Interface) or in other word, desktop environtment that make the user easier to interact with Linux. In fact, linux can be used without X-windows, but that will make you face black and white text interface to interact with linux.

X-server not only consist of Gnome and KDE, there are lot of it such as IceWM, XFCE, Blackbox, Fluxbox, etc.

Important to be known, GUI or X-windows in linux is different from Microsoft Windows GUI. 

In Windows, the GUI is included in its main system. as the result when the GUI in windows crashed, the main system also crashed. 

Thats the difference, in Linux, the GUI runs above the X-window system, so when the GUI crash, the main system didn't crash too. To resolve it just restart its X-window environtment and you will get the GUI back in action.