Installing VMware Tools on REMnux

REMnux is a lightweight Linux distribution for assisting malware analysts in reverse-engineering malicious software.

VMware Tools is not required for the proper operation of REMnux. Those using REMnux as a virtual appliance with VMware will benefit from installing VMware Tools; namely installing VMware Tools will allow the user to change the resolution of REMnux to automatically match the user's screen size.

If you decide to install VMware Tools, boot the REMnux virtual appliance, if it's not already running. Then from the VMware menu select VM > Install VMware Tools… If the "Removable medium is inserted" window pops up, click the Cancel button on it.

Then execute the following commands in REMnux:

mount /media/cdrom tar xf /media/cdrom/*.gz sudo vmware-tools-distrib/vmware-install.pl --default rm -rf vmware-tools-distrib

Then reboot the virtual machine. Optionally, if you wish to activate the VMware Toolbox utility, run "vmware-toolbox &".

Please note that there seems to be a problem installing VMware Tools when using VMware Workstation 7.1.4 (the last 7.x series release). VMware Tools from later versions of VMware Workstation install fine.

For a walk-though of the installation process, see the video below:

About the Author: Lenny Zeltser is a seasoned IT professional with a strong background in information security and business management. His areas of expertise include cloud services and malicious software. Lenny focuses on safeguarding customers' IT operations at Radiant Systems. He also teaches how to analyze and combat malware at SANS Institute. Lenny explores security topics at conferences, in books and in articles. He also volunteers as an incident handler at the Internet Storm Center. You should follow Lenny on Twitter and read his blog.