Virtual Box — Bi-directional Copy/Paste OSX Fix

Every now and then I usually find myself in need to running a Linux VM in Virtual Box. When I initially installed Kali linux, the bi-directional copy and paste feature between the Host OS (OSX) and the Guest OS(Kali) just worked. After numerous VirtualBox updates and a Kali update, this feature stopped working. At the time I was not using this feature as much and hence it did not bother me until it did. I then sought after a fix. Here is a summary of what I ended up doing to fix it.

Applying some Google-fu, I discovered that this does happen frequently and the culprit is usually a missing “VirtualBox Guest Addition”.

VirtualBox Guest Additions are a collection of device drivers and system applications designed to achieve closer integration between the host and guest operating systems. They help to enhance the overall interactive performance and usability of guest systems.

It turn out that these drivers are useful for quite a lot of features like

• Mouse pointer integration
• Shared folders
• Better video support
• Seamless windows
• Generic host/guest communication channels
• Time synchronization
• Shared clipboard
• Automated login

From the VirtualBox download page there is the following recommendation

Note: After upgrading VirtualBox it is recommended to upgrade the guest additions as well.

With no link for downloading the guest additions. For this you would have to navigate to the site containing a list of the VirtualBox downloads — http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/. This site contains a directory for each version. Within the directory there is all the VirtualBox assets corresponding to that version; guest additions included.

Once you have the VirtualBox Guest Addition .iso file, the next step is to mount this image to the Guest os. This can be done as follows

• From the VirtualBox Manager interface, select the Guest OS and click on setting.
• From the settings dialog box, select storage
• In the storage devices section, select “adds new storage attachment” and then optical drive.
• Click “Add” to add the VirtualBox Guest additions. Navigate to the downloaded iso file. Once added click choose.
• Click “Ok” and you’re done.

http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch04.html

https://www.tecmint.com/install-virtualbox-guest-additions-in-ubuntu/

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads