virtual box or other virtual machine installation and running

Question

what is the exact procedure to get VirtualBox running? Or are there reliable alternatives?

Answer 1

Virtualbox OSE is available fom the Ubuntu Software Center.

More recent versions, and also the free but closed source extensions for USB 2.0 support are available from Oracle repositories:

• How do I install the VirtualBox version from Oracle to install an Extension Pack?

Alternatives are listed in this question & answer:

• What virtualization software can I use?