How to Set Up a Hacking Lab at Home — Step by Step

Build Your Home Hacking Lab

Every ethical hacker needs a safe environment to practice. Here's how to set up a complete lab on your computer for free.

What You Need

• Computer with 8GB+ RAM (16GB recommended)
• VirtualBox (free) or VMware
• Kali Linux ISO
• Metasploitable 2 (vulnerable VM)
• DVWA (Damn Vulnerable Web App)

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Download and install VirtualBox from virtualbox.org
2. Download Kali Linux pre-built VM from kali.org
3. Import VM and allocate 4GB RAM
4. Create a Host-Only network for isolation
5. Download Metasploitable 2 and import it
6. Both VMs on the same Host-Only network = isolated lab!

For detailed instructions with screenshots, check our Kali Linux Setup Guide lesson.