Oracle finally announced the stable release of Virtualbox 5.0, which provides increased security with encryption and improved performance.

According to the press release, the 5.0 release supports the latest guest or host operating systems including: Mac OS X Yosemite, Windows 10, Oracle Linux, Oracle Solaris, other Linux operating systems, and legacy operating systems. Oracle Virtualbox 5.0 also features:

• Paravirtualization Support for Windows and Linux Guests
• Improved CPU Utilization
• Guest os can directly recognize USB 3.0 devices and operate at full 3.0 speeds
• On all host platforms, Windows, Linux and Oracle Solaris guests now support “drag and drop” of content between the host and the guest.
• Disk Image Encryption, using the industry standard AES algorithm with up to 256 bit data encryption keys (DEK).

There are also numerous of other changes and bug fixes, including:

• New User Interface settings page for customizing status-bar, menu-bar and guest-content scaling
• VMs can be started in separate mode.
• VM guest-content scaling support (including 3D acceleration)
• Hotplugging support for SATA disks
• support for Linux distributions using systemd without sysv emulation
• upgraded to rdesktop-vrdp 1.8.3

To see the full list of changes, go to the wiki page.

How to Install Virtualbox 5.0 in Ubuntu:

1. Before installing the new release, you may first remove the previous release on your system via Synaptic Package Manager, Software Center, or by running below command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo apt-get remove virtualbox virtualbox-4.* virtualbox-5.0

2. Download Virtualbox 5.0 from the official links below:

Download Virtualbox 5.0

select i386 for 32-bit, or amd64 for 64bit system. Ubuntu 15.04, Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 14.04, and Ubuntu 12.04 are supported so far.

3. After downloaded the package, click to open with Software Center/Gdebi and finally install the Virtualbox 5.0

Addition, to receive future updates and fixes for VBox 5 through Software Updater or your Package Manager, you may add the official Virtualbox repository for Linux

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -cs) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

The command creates a separate source file for VBox and writes the repository address into it. $(lsb_release -cs) automatically detects your release name, Linux Mint and Elementary OS users have to replace it (e.g., trusty for Mint 17.x and Freya, precise for Mint 13 and Luna).

Also download and insert the keyring so that Ubuntu trusts the package from that repository:

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

Finally you can upgrade VirtualBox as a part of system updates through Software Updater/Package Manager when a new release is out.

Oracle has released a new maintenance release for VirtualBox 4.3 series. For Linux Guests, X.Org server 1.17 now is supported, guest additions do not build with 3.19 kernel issue is fixed.

Full changes in VirtualBox 4.3.22:

• VMM: refined measurement of TSC frequency on the host, improves timekeeping for guests
• VMM: decreased CPU load resulting from guest MMIO writes to the virtual APIC
• VMM: fixed interception of debug exceptions, observed while using the dbx debugger on Solaris guests (VT-x only)
• GUI: 3D overlay window positioning code improved, fixed potential misplacement of 3D accelerated guest graphics content
• GUI: fixed accident SSL authentication failures during update check on Windows hosts
• GUI: never send the “ACPI power” keyboard scancode to the guest, we have the ACPI power button for that
• GUI: was unable to properly restore seamless mode VM from snapshot/saved-state under some circumstances
• VBoxHeadless: don’t crash if 3D is enabled in the VM settings
• ATA: fixed several passthrough issues
• Audio: fixed DirectSound failure when the the host has no audio input device
• SB16: fixed compatibility issue
• Storage: fixed broken CD/DVD passthrough when using the IDE controller
• NAT: new ping proxy for Windows hosts
• NAT: Properly report outbound connect(2) failures to guest with TCP RST or ICMP
• NAT Network: no need for frequent wakeups in VBoxNetDHCP and VBoxNetNAT
• Host-only adapter: prevent Windows from creating an “Unidentified network”
• Bridged Networking: don’t leak host-to-guest traffic to the wireless network when bridging to a wireless interface
• Main: fixed a possible race when changing the medium leading to a deadlock under rare conditions
• VBoxManage: fixed return code if starting a VM failed
• API: fixed 2 deadlock opportunities related to medium handling
• API: fixed bug in XPCOM which created too few worker threads, sporadically resulting in a deadlock
• SDK: fixed a garbage collection leak in the Python VirtualBox webservice API binding
• Linux hosts: fixes for activated SMAP (Broadwell and later)
• X11 guests: prevent unwanted hiding of guest screens on multi-monitor guests
• X11 guests: added support for X.Org Server 1.17
• X11 Additions: fixed a memory leak in VBoxService if libdbus is available but dbus-daemon isn’t running
• Windows Additions: prevent VBox WDDM driver from loading if host reports weak OpenGL capabilities. 3D content now can be shown over Remote Desktop connection.
• Winodws Additions: some fixes for recent Windows 10 Previews
• Linux Additions: fixed a compatibility issue with 64-bit Linux 2.4 kernels
• Linux Additions: fixed a potential use-after-free when unloading the VBoxGuest module
• Linux Additions: Linux 3.19 fixes

Download / Install VirtualBox in Ubuntu:

For Linux, you can either download the .deb installer (click install .deb package via Software Center) from:

VBox For Linux Download Page

or install VBox and receive future updates from its official repository:

1. Open terminal from the Dash or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T. When it opens, run command to add VBox repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -cs) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

2. Run command to download and install the keyring:

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

3. Finally upgrade VBox 4.3 via Software Updater, or install it for the first time via below 2 commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.3

Still using the VirtualBox 4.2 series? Oracle has recently released an update, VirtualBox 4.2.28, with various Linux related bug fixes, including Linux Kernel 3.19 fixes, Gnome Session crashes, etc.

Below is the full list of changes:

• VMM: fixed a potential misbehavior after restoring the A20 state from a saved state
• VRDP: fixed a rare crash when using remote audio input
• Floppy: fixed read errors and guest memory corruption when running under control of QEMM
• Storage: fixed data corruption when resizing VHD images under certain circumstances
• NAT: fixed handling of the RFC 1533 DHCP PAD option
• X11 hosts: Made the extra key on Brazilian Thinkpads work (bug #8745)
• X11 hosts: fixed a problem of input focus cycles and immediately released key presses in full screen mode (bug #13238)
• Linux guests: fix a crash in gnome-session (bug #13335)
• Linux Additions: fixed a potential use-after-free when unloading the VBoxGuest module
• Linux Additions: Linux 3.19 fixes (#13741)
• X11 Additions: support X.Org Server 1.15 (bug #12623)
• X11 guests: Add support for X.Org Server 1.16 (bug #13207)
• X11 guests: fixed a wrong parameter in the video driver which caused problems with full-screen X11 clients (bug #2748)
• X11 guests: fix a bug handling video driver display properties w

To install Virtualbox 4.2.28, download the installer from the link below (for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux systems):

Download VBox 4.2.28

For Debian/Ubuntu based system, you can also install/upgrade Vbox from its official repository. To do so:

1. Open terminal from the Dash or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add vbox repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -sc) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

2. Then install the keyring:

wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

3. Finally update package cache and install or upgrade vbox 4.2.x:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.2

Support for Ubuntu 8.04, Ubuntu 10.04, Ubuntu 11.04, …, up to Ubuntu 14.10.

The latest Virtualbox 4.3.4 was released recently. Now it works with Linux Kernel 3.13. This tutorial shows you what’s new and how to install or upgrade to Virtualbox 4.3.4 in Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint.

What’s New in Virtualbox 4.3.4:

Download & Install Virtualbox 4.3.4:

You can either download the DEB from Linux download page, or install it from official repository:

(Hate Linux commands? Well, go to this page for graphical way)

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below to add VBox repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -sc) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

2. Get the key:

wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

3. Update & install:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.3

Virtualbox 4.3.2, the first maintenance release of virtualbox 4.3 was released with lots of bugfixes. Here’s how to upgrade it in Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy, Ubuntu 13.04 Raring, Ubuntu 12.04 Precise, Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal and Linux Mint.

What’s New in Virtualbox 4.3.2:

• VMM: fixed restoring of the auxiliary TSC MSR in VT-x that caused host BSODs on Windows 8.1 hosts and unpredictable behavior on other hosts
• VMM: provide fake values for a couple of MSRs to make more guests happy on certain hosts
• VMM: fixed detection of VT-x on certain machines where the BIOS would not set the VMX LOCK feature bit, which affected the VM settings in the GUI
• VMM: fixed TPR threshold which caused BSODs on Windows XP guests that use the I/O APIC (VT-x only;
• VMM: fixed PATM saved state incompatibility for software virtualized VMs
• VMM: don’t fail if AMD-V isn’t available if the VM is configured to use software virtualization
• GUI: fixed guest resize breakage on visual representation mode change (when switching from normal to fullscreen etc)
• GUI: make sure the guest screen is resized after restoring a VM from a saved state if the host screen size changed
• GUI: disabled SCROLL LED sync from HID LEDs synchronization (Mac OS X hosts only)
• Webcam passthrough improvements including GUI support (see the manual for more information)
• Guest Control: implemented more IGuestSession methods
• Guest Control: added support for deleting and renaming guest files + directories in VBoxManage
• Guest Control: various bugfixes
• API: incorrect handling of hardware UUID default value, resulting in an all zero DMI/SMBIOS UUID, which leads to Windows requesting re-activation
• 3D support: fixed crash on shutdown if 2D video acceleration is enabled (Mac OS X hosts only)
• 3D support: miscellaneous fixes
• Storage: fixed detection of CD/DVD media when switching from an empty to a host drive with passthrough enabled
• Storage: fixed hang of the VM process when the disk is full under certain circumstances
• NAT: listen for changes of NAT Network setting at runtime
• NAT: NAT Network DHCP server now saves leases to a persistent storage
• Main: monitor changes in host DNS configuration
• Mac OS X host: reworked a mechanism of adding a VM desktop alias from the VM selector
• Mac OS X installer: remove old kernel extensions during upgrade
• Linux Additions: correctly set umask before installing
• X11 Additions/3D: fix freezes starting 3D desktop
• X11 Additions/3D: fix depth buffer support
• X11 Additions/3D: fix Age Of Empires 3 rendering
• Windows Additions/3D: fix Google Earth plugin rendering
• Windows Additions/WDDM: autoresize fixes

Install or Upgrade Virtualbox 4.3.2:

You can easily get this version from Virtualbox for Linux official download page.

Or install it from Virtualbox repository for Linux. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below one by one to add the repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -sc) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

In the code, change $(lsb_release -sc) to:

• raring for Ubuntu 13.10, Linux 15 & 16.
• quantal for Linux Mint 14
• precise for Linux Mint 13 & Elementary OS Luna.

After that, update packages list and install Virtuablox via:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.3

virtualbox 4.3.2 in ubuntu 13.10