VirtualBox 3.0.14

VirtualBox is an Open Source virtual-machine application that enables users of a specific operating system to run software not designed for that platform. It runs on Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, and some other platforms, maintaining a virtual instance of the host operating system within itself. It obtains access to certain hardware resources and features, being more like a guest using the host's resources, thus executing applications in a safe environment; or, by means of certain modules, even running programs made for other systems.

VirtualBox is actually the only free application of such kind users may find; and it performs really excellent because it has been developed by Sun MicroSystems. This is the perfect solution, even better than having two or more OS on a single machine: because there is no need for rebooting. Even greater is the fact that you can use this to run 64-bit applications in 32-bit systems.

As an improvement in this version, there is now full support in case a crash should occur: you can easily switch back to a previous restore point and avoid the need of frequent backups. A virtual SATA controller has also been integrated, for the whole virtual machine to operate faster.

VirtualBox supports Intel's hardware virtualization, VT-x, and AMD's AMD-V. It supports USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 devices; has its own SATA controller that works faster and consumes less CPU resources than a virtual IDE controller, allowing to connect more than three virtual hard disks to the machine. Other features include Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), Microsoft VHD support, and virtual drive mounting.