Customize Your SSH Login Banner on Parrot OS: Display Your Name in Style!

As a penetration tester or Linux enthusiast, the terminal is essentially our second home. When you SSH into your server or machine, seeing a generic welcome message can feel a bit boring. Why not change it so that your own name or brand logo appears in a stylish font every time you log in?

In this short tutorial, I will show you how to change the SSH login banner or MOTD (Message of the Day) on Parrot OS to display “SH4R1F” (or any name you choose) using a tool called figlet.

Why Customize This?

• Personalization: Make your server or machine truly yours.
• Identity: If you create screen recordings or tutorials, this acts as a cool watermark or signature.

Step 1: Install the Necessary Tool

We will use a popular tool called figlet to convert regular text into stylish ASCII art. It usually comes pre-installed on Parrot OS, but to be sure, open your terminal as the root user and run the following command:

apt update && apt install figlet

Step 2: Edit the Configuration File

On Parrot OS and Debian-based systems, dynamic banners are typically handled in the /etc/update-motd.d/ directory. We need to edit the 10-header file.

Type this command in your terminal:

nano /etc/update-motd.d/10-header

Step 3: Add Your Custom Name

Once the file opens, you will see some existing script code. Don’t worry! Scroll down to the very bottom of the file. You can comment out the existing printf or default figlet commands by adding a # in front of them, or simply add your new code below them.

Add the following line at the end of the file:

figlet -f standard "SH4R1F"

Note: -f standard specifies the font style, and you can replace "SH4R1F" with whatever text you prefer.

How to Save and Exit:

• Press Ctrl + O then Enter (to save the file).
• Press Ctrl + X (to exit the editor).

Step 4: Verify the Change

You don’t need to log out to check if it worked. You can test the configuration immediately by running:

run-parts /etc/update-motd.d/

If you see your name printed in large, stylish text in the output, congratulations! The next time you log in via SSH, this banner will welcome you.

Alternative Method: Static Banner (/etc/motd)

If the method above doesn’t work for your specific version, or if you prefer a static message without running a script every time, you can use the /etc/motd file.

To set this up easily, simply run:

figlet "SH4R1F" > /etc/motd

This converts your text and saves it directly to the static message file.

Conclusion That’s it! With just a few simple commands and figlet, you can completely change the look and feel of your Parrot OS terminal.

Happy Hacking! 🐧💻