Kali Linux

Install and Use a Hex editor in Kali Linux 2020

This article will give you an overview of some of the best Hex Editors for Kali Linux. Before discussing the best editors, let us first have a look at what the term “Hex Editor” means.

A Hex Editor is a software you can use to edit the hexadecimal values of data. In simple words, a file saved in any device can be edited, whether it is an image, video, or software. Hex Editing is the simplest form of game hacking that does not rely on cheat codes or anything of that sort. Instead, it is a single-player game hacking method. There are multiplayer hacking methods that are similar and usually involve resource editing. The only tools we need in this case are the Windows calculator and the HxD Hex Editor.

Where Hex Editor Is Used

Every piece of data is stored in the form of decimals. Parts of the data can easily be edited by using a Hex Editor. This software is mainly used by programmers or software engineers. It is used for finding out a file type that is not supported by Adobe, games and file hacking, debugging, and editing.

Below are listed some of the best Hex Editors that can be used in Kali Linux.

Xxd Hex Editor

Have you ever wanted to convert binary into the command line? Well, there is an easy way to create a Hex dump of a file using the Xxd Command in Linux. The data viewed in the form of hexadecimal is known as hex dump. You may wish to use hexadecimal when debugging a program or to reverse engineer a program. So, the Xxd command is very useful if you deal with binary content, if you want to see some binary files or to reverse engineer.

HexEdit Hex Editor

Another Hex Editor used to edit binary data is the HexEdit Hex Editor. Unlike the Xxd Hex Editor, HexEdit also shows the ASCII (numerical coding) form of the file. Mostly, this editor is used for modern operating systems, including Linux and Windows.

Hexyl Hex Editor

The different categories of bytes include ASCII, non-ASCII, NULL bytes, ASCII whitespace, etc. For convenience, these categories are differentiated by means of different colors. The Hexyl Hex Editor is a tool that provides the ability to differentiate various bytes by indicating them in different colors. Hexyl also gives information about the number of bytes, plus their textual representation. The Hexyl Hex editor does come with some limitations. The installation process for the Hexyl Hex Editor varies from OS to OS. So, before going for this Hex Editor, you should first check the installation process for your OS.

GHex-GNOME Hex Editor

A Hex Decimal Editor, GHex is available for your Linux system. There are a variety of Hex Editors in programs that you can use to display the hexadecimal data. Ghex is a decent option because it automatically converts binary into a decimal, octal, or hexadecimal value. It also finds the offset you are looking for and counts it. All you need to do is to simply select the bytes, and in the end, GHex will do the conversion automatically, which can be helpful to many people.

Bless Hex Editor

The Blex Hex Editor is one of the most advanced Hex Editors and is quite similar to the previous editor listed above. You can edit large file data using the Bless Hex Editor. It is a very powerful tool that can be used to search for your selves. You can easily recover data written in PHP. Bless Hex Editor has an advanced feature of editing data and can efficiently undo-redo the instructions.

Oketta Editor

Every Hex Editor has specific features that make it unique. The Oketta Hex Editor is well known for opening multiple remote files by HTTP and FTP. It is one of the simplest Hex Editors for editing or reviewing hex data.

WxhexEditor

Another advanced Hex Editor for editing the data is WxhexEditor. This Hex Editor is best for files in larger devices. WxhexEditor can be operated on various platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, and BSD. One of the best advanced features of Wxhexeditor is its lower memory consumption and faster working speed. It can also fix bugs, which makes the version usable again in case of errors.

Hexcurse-Console Hex Editor

The Hexcurse-Console Hex Editor is one of the most popular Hex Editors for Kali Linux. You can easily open the files and edit the data using this tool. You can also switch between HEX and ASCII formats with Hexcurse.

Hexer Binary Editor

The Hexer Binary Hex Editor is a multi-buffer editor with amazing features, including multi-file editing and multi-level undo for binary regular expressions. The Hexer Binary Editor differs from other editors in that it is a Vi-style editor.

Installing HexEdit in Kali Linux

You can install the HexEdit Hex Editor on an Ubuntu system using the terminal. First, you will need to open a browser and download the installer file of HexEdit for Linux. You may create a new dictionary into which to transfer the installer file, but his step is not mandatory, as the installer will prompt you to do so during installation.

Open the terminal and follow the steps below to install HexEdit in Kali Linux.

First, navigate to the dictionary in which you have saved the installer file.

$ sudo leafpad /etc/apt/sources.list

The second step is to add another source.

$ deb http://mirror.nus.edu.sg/kali/kali kali main

The HexEdit package is ready to install.

$ sudo apt-get update && apt-get install hexedit

As you have launched HexEdit for the first time, it is launched by an auto prompt given by the system. Now, you can easily use HexEdit in the Kali Linux guide.

Conclusion

The above article included a brief description of all the Hex Editors that are best to use in Kali Linux. You can choose any Hex Editor from the list above after viewing the instructions and demands of your OS.

About the author

Younis Said

I am a freelancing software project developer, a software engineering graduate and a content writer. I love working with Linux and open-source software.