Installing USB Wireless Card On Kali Linux VMware

So I ran into this problem, I installed a fresh copy of Kali Linux onto a VM (VMware) so I could do some pen-testing on my local network without booting into Linux but couldn’t get Kali to use my external wireless card (I needed packet injection capabilities ;))

To make this short and sweet all you have to do to use your external USB wireless card (In My Case an Alfa Card) is just install updated vmware tools (I am assuming you have already added USB Controller in your VM settings…) you can do this by using the following commands on your shell/terminal:

apt-get update
apt-get install open-vm-tools

Once installed you should see your wireless card detecting new networks. This worked on Kali Linux x64 and because its based on Ubuntu Its safe to assume it will work with Ubuntu. Good luck and good hunting ;)

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Miguel

I am a bilingual Network Engineer with over 20 years of professional experience in computer science and information technology. I am the founder and operator of Web Semantics, based in Vancouver, Washington, where I design, secure, and manage enterprise-grade infrastructure for small and mid-sized businesses across the West Coast. I provide bilingual IT support in English and Spanish, specializing in network architecture, systems engineering, security, and operational resilience. Soy un ingeniero de redes bilingüe con más de 20 años de experiencia profesional en ciencias de la computación y tecnología de la información. Soy fundador y operador de Web Semantics, con sede en Vancouver, Washington, donde diseño, protejo y administro infraestructura empresarial para pequeñas y medianas empresas en la costa oeste. Ofrezco soporte de IT bilingüe en inglés y español, con especialización en arquitectura de redes, ingeniería de sistemas, seguridad y resiliencia operativa.