Starter distro

The TL;DR version is openSUSE or Debian.

* [openSUSE Leap](https://software.opensuse.org/distributions/leap)
* [Debian Stable](https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/current/amd64/iso-cd/) with Wifi firmware.

Why openSUSE

* YaST is awesome
* https://docs.opensuse.org is awesome
* It will serve well for the beginner at home alone till the company with any thousands of machines (using SUSE)
* https://build.opensuse.org is awesome.

During the install you can select if you want KDE, Gnome, LXDE or XFCE or something else. When you are in a Virtual Box, it will know that and add the needed software.

Why Debian?

* It stands behind open source
* It is not backed by some “evil”company
* It does believe things are your choice
* bit steeper learning curve

During the install you can select if you want KDE, Gnome, LXDE or XFCE or something else.

What others beside openSUSE or Debian?

When selecting a distribution, what matter more than the distribution is the desktop. Gnome, KDE, XFCE and LXDE are all very valid options. And if you want to do mainly things in test, there are servarl others as well. So look into what you want and write that down. If you don’t know what you want, just go for XFCE or KDE. The first is not to far from what you know, while editing it will make it look nice. KDE is nice enough to be able to edit, while it does not look to far out of what you know.

You can always change desktop later or even just add them. It is not a life deciding choice. You can always change at any moment when you find something that suits you better.

What NOT to go use?

Specialized distributions are a nono. Even more so if you are a beginner. These are things you use when you know when you want it. Even Kali themselves say : Kali is a Linux distribution specifically geared towards professional penetration testers and security specialists