Backtrack is a Linux distribution based off Ubuntu. It is used for penetration testing and forensics. The distro was a combination of WHAX and Auditor. It has numerous open source security tools such as Metasploit, Aircrack-ng, Nmap, Wireshark, and Hydra. You can run it by booting off a copy on a DVD or USB stick. It boots to a console. But you can use the startx command to bring up a GUI. Nevertheless, if you start most of the applications, they come up in a terminal window. It has a menu like the Windows start button.
Backtrack development was funded by Offensive Security. It is no longer being maintained. That is because the distro was rebuilt from Debian and was subsequently rebadged Kali Linux. Backtrack is still a useful distro. But if you want the latest and greatest, you got to use Kali Linux. Understanding this, I now know why I have mostly heard about Kali and was unaware about Backtrack.
