Staying safe with virtualbox VMs?

[Theminecraftaddict555]

Hi I just installed virtualbox and planning to test some viruses on the vms I created..

 

Any tips on keeping myself 90-99 percent safe when dealing with the viruses in VMs? I already disabled bridged networking and using host-only networking.

[Tabs]

Exactly how do you think host-only networking is in any way safe for this kind of practice? That means the VM has direct access to your host computer via a virtual network. 

 

 

You obviously aren't an expert in this field, so can I ask what purpose this is going to serve? Is this for education?

You'd be better served running a linux-based machine as a hypervisor, and transfer files to and from a windows vm on that machine that has no virtual network at all.

[Theminecraftaddict555]

2 minutes ago, Tabs said:

Exactly how do you think host-only networking is in any way safe for this kind of practice? That means the VM has direct access to your host computer via a virtual network. 

 

 

You obviously aren't an expert in this field, so can I ask what purpose this is going to serve? Is this for education?

You'd be better served running a linux-based machine as a hypervisor, and transfer files to and from a windows vm on that machine that has no virtual network at all.

Yes education & curiosity...No I am not running a linux machine to run my hypervisor unfortunately...

 

And yes, I am a noobie

[Tabs]

I already guessed you weren't running a linux machine as your hypervisor - the nature of your question already speaks to that. Virtualbox is primarily a windows-centric virtualisation platform.

 

All I can say is I highly recommend against using a windows host and virtualbox vms for any kind of research - even curiosity - into known-malicious files. Many modern malware knows when it's running in a virtualised environment and operates differently - partially to prevent being examined, but also in many ways to try to impact the host. 

 

If you REALLY want to continue with this, I'd recommend setting up a linux machine with a hypervisor like QEMU, keeping the VM completely offline (no network at all), and transferring data to the virtual machine either when it's not running or - if strictly necessary - through a shared folder. 

 

Running a non-hardened windows machine with a type-2 hypervisor with networking for virus research is likely to get you and anyone else on your network infected by whatever malware you're running.