Welcome back, aspiring cyberwarriors!

Using a Raspberry Pi board with Pi OS is a great way to jump into cybersecurity. You don’t need a lot of fancy gear to get started. Just hook it up to a TV, grab a keyboard and mouse, connect to the internet, and you’re all set with a solid system to explore Linux, programming, and hacking.

In this article, we’ll walk through how to install Raspberry Pi OS Desktop on a Raspberry Pi 4 and check out all the cool tools and features it has to offer. Let’s get rolling!

Step #1: What Is Raspberry Pi OS?

Raspberry Pi OS is the official operating system for Raspberry Pi single-board computers. It was launched back in July 2012 under the name Raspbian, which combines Raspberry Pi and Debian. The OS was created to give early users a stable Linux environment that’s tailored to the hardware’s simpler specifications.

There are three different versions of Raspberry Pi OS, each aimed at different users. The Desktop edition is the most beginner-friendly, featuring the PIXEL (Pi Improved Xwindow Environment Lightweight) desktop environment and popular apps like Chromium, and VLC. This version, requiring at least 32 GB of storage.

Raspberry Pi OS Full includes the desktop and all recommended software. It’s got everything from the regular desktop edition and some additional tools.

The Lite version is perfect for folks who prefer the command line to a graphical desktop. It’s great for servers, headless apps, and projects that need to be light on resources, giving savvy users the flexibility to tweak things just the way they like.

This article focuses on the Desktop edition, the one most new users will download first, and a perfect starting point for exploring what Raspberry Pi can do.

Step #2: Installing Raspberry Pi OS

Installing Raspberry Pi OS is pretty straightforward. First, make sure you have a Raspberry Pi, preferably models 3, 4, 5, 400, or 500 if you want the desktop version. You’ll also need a microSD card of at least 32 GB, a computer to set up the SD card, a micro-HDMI cable, and a monitor. The newer Raspberry Pi 4 and 5 use micro-HDMI, while the older models need full-size HDMI. Don’t forget about a keyboard, a mouse, and a power supply.

To install the OS on the microSD card, use the Raspberry Pi Imager. It is the official tool for creating the OS image and handles everything from downloading to writing and verifying in a single app. If you’re on Linux, open up your terminal and type:

sudo apt install rpi-imager

Once it’s running, you’ll see a screen that looks like what’s shown below.

Click on ‘Raspberry Pi Device’ and pick your model so Imager shows only the OS versions that work with your hardware.

Next, tap on ‘Operating System’.

If you’re new to this, go for ‘Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit)’ at the top since that’s the standard Desktop edition. If you want the Full edition with extra features, just scroll down to ‘Raspberry Pi OS (other)’ and pick ‘Raspberry Pi OS Full’.

After that, plug your microSD card into your computer’s card reader. Hit ‘Storage’ and select your card, making sure you’ve got the right one, since Imager will wipe everything on it. Then, click ‘Save’, then ‘Write’. Imager will download the latest OS image or use one you already have, write it to the card, and check that everything went smoothly.

Finally, once Imager gives you the green light, safely eject the card and boot into your Raspberry Pi.

Step #3: First Boot

Insert the prepared microSD card, connect the display using HDMI, plug in your USB keyboard and mouse, and then connect the power supply. The Raspberry Pi will turn on automatically when you power it up; there’s usually no separate power button on most models.

Then, the setup wizard will guide you through a few easy steps. You’ll set up your location and keyboard layout, create a new username and password to replace the default ones, connect to Wi-Fi, and you can even check for software updates before diving into the desktop.

Eventually, you’ll see a desktop that looks something like this:

The top panel has quick-access icons for the tools you use most, such as the file manager, web browser, and terminal. Click on the leftmost icon to open the application menu, which sorts all your installed software into easy categories like Programming and Internet.

By default, a limited number of apps are installed, but you can easily install additional ones through GUI app installers or the terminal.

Step #4: Key Features and Benefits

Raspberry Pi OS is different from regular Linux distributions because it’s made specifically for Raspberry Pi hardware. Everything, from the kernel to the GPU drivers, is tuned to get the best performance out of the Pi’s ARM processor and VideoCore GPU. The packages in the Raspberry Pi OS repository are compiled with specific optimizations that you won’t find in standard ARM versions of Debian or Ubuntu.

Another great thing about Raspberry Pi OS is that it’s designed to use as little memory as possible from the start. The PIXEL desktop environment, along with some basic background services, uses only about 300–400 MB of RAM at boot, leaving plenty of memory for your applications.

And finally, Raspberry Pi OS is completely free to download, install, and use with no license fees or subscription costs.

Summary

Raspberry Pi OS Desktop isn’t just a lightweight Linux version made for some weird hardware. It’s actually built specifically for the unique features and limitations of Raspberry Pi devices. You can really see this design approach in everything, from how efficiently the system runs to how well the hardware works together and even how clear the documentation is.

If you’ve gone through the article, you’re all set up to dive into learning cybersecurity. At this point, it’s a good idea to check out the Hackers-Arise Cybersecurity Starter Bundle and kick off your journey to becoming a master hacker.

The post Raspberry Pi for Hacking: Is Pi OS Best for Beginners? first appeared on Hackers Arise.

Welcome back, aspiring cyberwarriors!

Bluetooth is often seen as something short range and therefore harmless. Many people think that because it only works over a limited distance, it must also be secure by design. But that’s not true. Bluetooth is convenient, but convenience often comes at the cost of security and privacy. A big number of vulnerabilities show that Bluetooth devices can expose much more information than many realize. At a technical level, they constantly announce their presence to the surrounding environment. Even when you are not actively using them, they still send small pieces of data. Over time these pieces form patterns that show detailed information about people’s lives.

Hackers can take control of devices, pair with them without permission and even use them as remote listening tools. In other cases, simply listening is enough. 

WhisperPair Vulnerability

In January 2026, researchers from KU Leuven disclosed a critical Bluetooth vulnerability known as WhisperPair (CVE-2025-36911). This vulnerability affects hundreds of millions of Bluetooth audio devices, including headphones and headsets that rely on modern pairing mechanisms. The attack takes advantage of a feature called Fast Pair in Android. Fast Pair was designed to simplify the user experience. With a single tap users can connect their Bluetooth accessories and synchronize them with their account. It’s convenient and widely adopted.

However, some devices don’t properly ignore pairing requests when they aren’t in pairing mode. A hacker can exploit this by sending crafted pairing initiation packets to a vulnerable device. Even if the device isn’t actively trying to connect, it may still respond. Once the hacker receives that response, they can establish a normal Bluetooth connection.

From that point on, the hacker gains control over the accessory. 

Then they can activate the microphone to record conversations. The attack works from up to 14 meters away, which is plenty for offices, cafes or public transport.

This can be combined with device tracking. Some Bluetooth accessories integrate with Google’s Find Hub network, which allows lost devices to be located using nearby Android devices. If a vulnerable accessory has never been paired with an Android device before, a hacker can register it under their own Google account. In doing so, they become the “owner” of the device in the tracking system.

The victim may eventually receive a notification about unwanted tracking, but the alert can appear misleading. If the user’s own device is responsible for tracking, that will cause confusion and reduce the likelihood that the threat is taken seriously. Meanwhile, the hacker continues to track the device over time. It affects multiple vendors, chipsets and product lines. As a result, exploitation is likely to continue well beyond 2026.

Bluehood Scanner

Sometimes, attacks are completely passive. In February 2026, a developer released a Bluetooth scanner called Bluehood. It looks like a monitoring tool and shows how much information can be extracted from the environment without ever connecting to a device.

Bluetooth is almost always enabled. Phones, laptops, smartwatches, headphones, cars and even medical devices continuously broadcast signals. Bluehood listens to that data and builds patterns over time. By passively listening to this traffic over days or weeks, hackers can reconstruct behavior.

For example, you can find out when delivery vehicles arrive and whether the same driver appears regularly. You can see daily routines by tracking when certain devices appear and disappear. You can also correlate devices that are always seen together, such as a phone and a smartwatch, which likely belong to the same person. You can even determine approximate schedules when someone leaves for work or returns home.

You don’t need to buy hardware for that. In many cases, a laptop will do the job. If you want, you can get a Raspberry Pi with a Bluetooth adapter. 

Some devices are designed to always keep Bluetooth active. Hearing aids, for instance, rely on Bluetooth Low Energy for configuration and diagnostics. Pacemakers may also broadcast BLE signals for similar reasons. These aren’t devices that users can simply turn off.

Many cars use Bluetooth for diagnostics, driver assistance and connectivity features. Consumer devices add even more noise to the environment. Smartwatches, pet trackers and fitness equipment all give off signals. Together, they create a dense network of signals that can be analyzed.

Bluehood works only in passive mode. It doesn’t try to connect to devices. It identifies them based on manufacturer data and BLE service UUIDs, then tracks when they appear and disappear. The tool also includes a web dashboard. It generates hourly and daily heatmaps, tracks dwell time and has filters. New devices often use randomized MAC addresses for privacy and Bluehood can detect and filter these.

Installation

You can install  the tool quickly using Docker.

kali > git clone https://github.com/dannymcc/bluehood.git
kali > cd bluehood
kali > docker compose up -d

Alternatively, you can install it using package managers and Python tools.

kali > sudo apt install bluez python3-pip
kali > pip install -e .
kali > sudo bluehood

After the installation you can start the scanner.

# Start with web dashboard (default port 8080)
kali > bluehood

# Specify a different port
kali > bluehood --port 9000

# Use a specific Bluetooth adapter
kali > bluehood --adapter hci1

# List available adapters
kali > bluehood --list-adapters

# Disable web dashboard (scanning only)
kali > bluehood --no-web

Keep in mind that if you installed the app with Docker Compose, it should be accessible at http://localhost:8080.

Collected data is stored in SQLite, and the tool can optionally send notifications through ntfy.sh when devices arrive or leave a location.

Summary

Bluetooth security is often underestimated because the technology feels invisible and low risk. That’s not the case though. There are active and passive techniques that can be used for tracking. Big cities often have listeners scattered around public places and stations, working like Bluehood. Active techniques like WhisperPair can lead to full device compromise with tracking and audio surveillance.

If you enjoy experimenting with frequencies and trying new things, we have our SDR for Hackers training. With Master OTW, you’ll learn how to use your computer and inexpensive SDR hardware to explore and hack a wide range of radio signals.

The post Bluetooth Hacking and Security: The WhisperPair Exploit and Bluehood Surveillance first appeared on Hackers Arise.