How to Set Up a Linux Virtual Machine on Windows Using VMware or VirtualBox

According to StatCounter, over 69% of desktop users worldwide run Windows. But if you're serious about breaking into cybersecurity, cloud computing, server management, or DevOps, Linux is not optional — it's inevitable. At some point, whether from day one or somewhere along the way, you will need to work with Linux.

For most people, completely abandoning Windows for Linux overnight isn't realistic. That's where virtualization comes in. Tools like VMware Workstation Pro and VirtualBox let you run a fully isolated Linux environment inside Windows, so you can learn at your own pace without disrupting your daily workflow.

ℹ️ Note: Both VMware Workstation Pro and VirtualBox are free for personal use. This guide covers how to download and set up both so you can choose the one that works best for you.

Downloading VMware Workstation Pro

In 2023, Broadcom acquired VMware and subsequently shifted its business model — moving away from retail software sales toward high-value enterprise subscriptions. As a result, VMware Workstation Pro is now free for personal use, but the download process requires a Broadcom account. Here's how to get it.

Step 1: Create or Log In to Your Broadcom Account

If you already have a Broadcom account, head over to the Broadcom login page. If not, register here first, then log in.

Once logged in, you'll be greeted with the Broadcom dashboard:

Broadcom dashboard after login showing the main navigation panel — // Figure 1: Broadcom dashboard after successful login

Step 2: Navigate to My Downloads

Click on My Downloads in the left sidebar. This section gives you access to all software available under your account, including the free personal-use tools.

Broadcom My Downloads section in the left navigation panel — // Figure 2: My Downloads section in the Broadcom portal

Step 3: Access Free Software

Look for the option to view Broadcom's free software offerings and click it. You'll see a list of available tools at no cost:

Broadcom free software list showing VMware Workstation Pro and other tools — // Figure 3: Broadcom free software list

Step 4: Select VMware Workstation Pro

From the list, select VMware Workstation Pro. You'll then be prompted to choose a version.

VMware Workstation Pro version selection screen showing 17.5.x and 25H2 options — // Figure 4: VMware version selection

⚠️ Which version should you pick? VMware 25H2 is the latest release and includes hardware support for newer processors (Intel Lunar Lake, Arrow Lake), but it has several known bugs. Version 17.6.x is the stable, battle-tested choice for everyday use. If you don't specifically need the latest hardware support, stick with 17.6.x.

For reliability, I went with version 17. Here's what the download screen looks like:

VMware Workstation Pro 17 download screen on Broadcom portal — // Figure 5: VMware Workstation Pro 17 download screen

Step 5: Accept the Terms and Conditions

Click the Terms and Conditions link to open the agreement — this action also enables the checkbox so you can actually agree to it. Once you've read and accepted, you'll be prompted to confirm:

VMware terms and conditions agreement checkbox on Broadcom download portal — // Figure 6: Accepting the terms and conditions

Click Yes to proceed.

Confirmation dialog asking the user to confirm agreement to VMware terms — // Figure 7: Confirming the agreement

Step 6: Fill in the Compliance Form

Broadcom requires a short compliance form before allowing the download. Fill it out accurately:

Broadcom compliance form required before downloading VMware Workstation Pro — // Figure 8: Compliance form

Step 7: Download the Installer

Finally, click the Download button to grab the installer:

Download button for VMware Workstation Pro on the Broadcom portal — // Figure 9: Initiating the download

Downloading VirtualBox

If Broadcom's multi-step process felt like a bit much, you'll appreciate Oracle's approach with VirtualBox. No accounts, no compliance forms, no friction.

Simply visit the official VirtualBox Downloads page and click the link that matches your operating system. That's it.

VirtualBox official download page showing options for Windows, macOS, and Linux — // Figure 10: VirtualBox download page — pick your OS and go

VMware vs VirtualBox: Which Should You Choose?

The popular YouTuber NetworkChuck frequently recommends VMware Workstation Pro as the top pick for performance — especially now that it's free for personal use. He uses it regularly in his tutorials because it tends to handle heavier workloads and 3D acceleration more efficiently than VirtualBox.

That said, in my personal experience, the difference in day-to-day usage isn't dramatic. For learning Linux, running CTF environments, or basic lab work, both tools get the job done well. Here's a quick breakdown:

VMware Workstation Pro — Better performance for heavy workloads, smoother 3D support, more polished UI. Slightly more complex to download (Broadcom account required).
VirtualBox — Open-source, dead simple to install, cross-platform, and perfect for most learning scenarios. Oracle's download is hassle-free.

ℹ️ My Take: Start with whichever you can get running faster. Both are excellent for learning. You can always switch later once you know what you actually need.

Hands-on: Installing Your First Linux VM (Debian 10)

Now that you have your hypervisor ready, it's time to put it to work. We aren't just installing Linux to browse the web; in the world of cybersecurity, we often build "Lab Machines."

For this guide, we will install Debian 10. Why an older version? Because it contains specific legacy behaviors (and vulnerabilities) that make it a perfect "Victim Machine" for practicing exploitation—specifically a Telnet vulnerability we'll explore in a future post.

Step 1: Download the ISO

First, grab the Debian 10 disk image (ISO). For this lab, we need the amd64-DVD-1.iso.

Download Link: Debian 10.13.0 Archive

Debian ISO download page — // Figure 11: Selecting the correct Debian ISO

Step 2: Create a New Virtual Machine

Open VMware Workstation Pro and click Create a New Virtual Machine.

Create new VM in VMware — // Figure 12: Starting a new virtual machine

Choose the Typical configuration—it’s the fastest way to get up and running without getting bogged down in advanced hardware specs.

VMware typical configuration — // Figure 13: Selecting Typical configuration

When prompted for the installer disk, browse and select the Debian ISO you just downloaded.

Selecting the Debian ISO — // Figure 14: Pointing to the downloaded ISO

Give your VM a descriptive name like Debian-10-Lab and choose where to store it.

VM name and location — // Figure 15: Naming the virtual machine

Allocate at least 20 GB of disk space. The default is fine for our purposes.

Disk size setting — // Figure 16: Setting the disk size to 20 GB

Before finishing, click Customize Hardware... to adjust the network.

Customize Hardware button — // Figure 17: Opening hardware settings

Network Tip: In the "Customize Hardware" settings, set your Network Adapter to VMnet1 (Host-only) if you want this VM to be isolated from the internet but reachable by your host, or Bridged if you want it to act like a real device on your local network.

Network adapter settings — // Figure 18: Choosing the network mode

Click Finish to create the VM.

Finish VM creation — // Figure 19: Completing the VM setup

Step 3: Start the Installation

Power on the VM. When the boot menu appears, select Graphical Install. This provides a user-friendly interface for the setup.

Debian Graphical Install menu — // Figure 20: Starting the Graphical Installation

Follow the prompts to select your Language (English), Location (United States), and Keyboard (American English).

Language selection — // Figure 21: Choosing the installer language

Location selection — // Figure 22: Setting your location

Keyboard layout — // Figure 23: Selecting keyboard layout

Keyboard confirmation — // Figure 24: Confirming keyboard settings

Step 4: Network and User Configuration

When configuring the network, if it asks for a "default route" and you are in an isolated lab, select No.

No default route — // Figure 25: Skipping default route configuration

If it later prompts for an IP address, just click Go Back — we don't need advanced network setup now.

Go Back option — // Figure 26: Returning to the main menu

Then select Continue to let it autoconfigure.

Continue with autoconfig — // Figure 27: Proceeding with automatic network configuration

The installer will attempt IPv6 autoconfiguration — this is normal.

For the Hostname, I used debian10.

Setting hostname — // Figure 29: Entering the hostname

For the Domain Name, I chose telnet-vuln to remind me of this machine's future purpose.

Setting the domain name — // Figure 30: Setting up the domain for our lab environment

Set a strong Root Password.

Next, create a standard user account. Enter the full name of the user.

User full name — // Figure 32: Providing the user's full name

Choose a username (e.g., telnet-vuln-lab).

And set a password for that user.

User password — // Figure 34: User account password

Confirm password — // Figure 35: Confirming the password

User setup continue — // Figure 36: Finishing user configuration

Step 5: Partitioning and Finalizing

For partitioning, choose Guided - use entire disk.

Partitioning method — // Figure 37: Selecting guided partitioning

Select the virtual disk we created earlier.

Select disk — // Figure 38: Choosing the disk to partition

When asked for the scheme, select All files in one partition (highly recommended for beginners).

Partition scheme — // Figure 39: Choosing the partitioning scheme

Finish the partitioning and confirm by selecting Yes to write changes to the disk.

Finish partitioning — // Figure 40: Finalizing partition setup

Write changes to disk — // Figure 41: Confirming to write changes

The base system will now be installed.

Installing base system — // Figure 42: Base system installation in progress

Once the "Base System" is installed, it may fail to find a "Package Manager" repository because we are using an archived version. Don't panic! Just click Continue. We will fix the repositories manually later.

Cannot access repository — // Figure 43: Repository error (expected)

Updating software — // Figure 44: Software update attempt

Choose No for the package usage survey.

Package survey — // Figure 45: Declining the package survey

For the software selection, keep the defaults (unless you have specific preferences).

Install the GRUB boot loader to the master boot record: Yes.

Install GRUB — // Figure 47: Installing GRUB

Select the device for boot loader installation: /dev/sda (the virtual disk).

Boot device selection — // Figure 48: Choosing the disk for GRUB

Installation complete! Click Continue to reboot.

Restart button — // Figure 50: Rebooting the system

When the system restarts, select Debian GNU/Linux from the boot menu.

Welcome to your Debian 10 desktop!

Debian desktop — // Figure 53: The GNOME desktop environment

Step 6: Post-Installation Tweaks

To make the VM usable (proper screen resolution and mouse integration), we need to fix the repositories and install VM tools.

Open the Terminal from the Activities menu.

Opening terminal — // Figure 54: Launching the terminal

Switch to the root user:

sudo su -

sudo su command — // Figure 55: Becoming root

Edit the sources list:

nano /etc/apt/sources.list

nano sources.list — // Figure 56: Opening the repository file

Add these archive links (replace any existing content or add them at the top):

deb http://archive.debian.org/debian buster main contrib non-free
deb http://archive.debian.org/debian-security buster/updates main

Adding repository lines — // Figure 57: Adding the correct archive repositories

Save the file by pressing CTRL+X, then Y, and Enter.

CTRL+X to exit — // Figure 58: Exiting nano

Save confirmation — // Figure 59: Confirming the save

Finally, update the package list and install the VMware tools (which include drivers for better integration):

apt update && apt install open-vm-tools-desktop -y && reboot

Installing open-vm-tools — // Figure 60: Installing VMware tools

After the reboot, your screen should resize automatically, and copy-paste between host and guest will work seamlessly.

Ready for Action

Congratulations! You now have a fully functional Linux lab environment running inside Windows. Whether you want to explore the command line, host a web server, or—as we will do next—test security vulnerabilities, you have a safe "sandbox" to play in.

Next time, we’ll look into Kali Linux and Parrot OS, the heavy hitters of the cybersecurity world.

Conclusion

Whether you're stepping into cybersecurity, DevOps, or cloud computing, having a Linux environment ready on your Windows machine is an essential first step. VMware Workstation Pro and VirtualBox both give you a safe, isolated space to experiment — without touching your main system. The download process for VMware is a bit involved thanks to Broadcom's portal, but once you're through it, you've got a powerful tool at your disposal for free. VirtualBox remains the no-hassle alternative that's more than capable for most use cases.

In a follow-up post, I'll walk through actually installing a Linux distro (like Ubuntu or Kali) inside one of these hypervisors. Stay tuned.