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With virtual machines, it is possible to run Tails inside a *host* operating system (Linux, Windows, or macOS). A virtual machine emulates a real computer and its operating system, called a *guest*, which appears in a window on the *host* operating system.
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When running Tails in a virtual machine, you can use most features of Tails from your usual operating system, and you can use both Tails and your usual operating system in parallel, without the need to restart the computer.
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This is how Tails looks when run in a virtual machine on Debian using *GNOME Boxes*:
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<a id="security"></a>
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Security considerations
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<a id="trustworthy"></a>
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<div class="caution">
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The Tails virtual machine does not modify the behaviour of the host operating system and the network traffic of the host is not anonymized. The MAC address of the computer is not modified by the [[MAC address anonymization|first_steps/welcome_screen/mac_spoofing]] feature of Tails when run in a virtual machine.
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Virtualization solutions
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To run Tails inside a virtual machine, you need to have virtualization software installed on the host operating system. Different virtualization software exists for Linux, Windows, and macOS.
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<p>The following list includes only free software as we believe that
this is a necessary condition for the software to be trustworthy. See the
[[previous warning|virtualization#trustworthy]] and our statement about
[[free software and public scrutiny|about/trust#free_software]].</p>
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**<em>VirtualBox</em>** is available on Linux, Windows, and Mac. Its free software version does not include support for USB devices and does not allow use of a Persistent Storage.
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**<em>GNOME Boxes</em>** is available on Linux. It has a simple user interface but does not allow use of a Persistent Storage.
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**<em>virt-manager</em>** is available on Linux. It has a more complex user interface and allows use of a Persistent Storage, either by:
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