virtualbox.org

Hello, Im new to using Virtualbox and new to using vm at all, but i got the rought concept of it and everything like that, my problem is I want to isolate a guest os (windows xp) from my host os (Win 7) for the purpose of malware testing of course, Now im pretty computer savvy a security enthusiast I run my own business ontop of my day-to-day job by cleaning infected computers of family members, friends, neighbors and anyone who gets my number for a small fee but (embarrassingly) I know very little about networking so if anyone is kind enough to respond please teach me how to achieve isolating the VM traffic from my host os traffic so malware downloaded and tested in this vm cant skip over the network to my host os , I looked at older posts and they said to "use a bridged adapter" which I did and then I tested the EICAR test in the VM but my host os antivirus (Avast) detected it via the web shield so I guess that didnt work, so any help is appriciated, thanks

Completely isolating the VM from host PC networks is very easy: just disable the network interface card (one is enabled by default when you create a VM, make sure it is disabled before installing an OS). Probably the safest way to get files into the VM would be to put them on an ISO, which the VM would see as read only media.

If you need external network access from the VM then of course you must use host hardware (bridged is best) or a USB wireless dongle.