When comparing VirtualBox w/ any Linux distro + Terminator vs WinSSHTerm, the Slant community recommends WinSSHTerm for most people. In the question“What are the best terminal emulators for Windows?” WinSSHTerm is ranked 26th while VirtualBox w/ any Linux distro + Terminator is ranked 31st. The most important reason people chose WinSSHTerm is:
WinSSHTerm is free for anyone to use.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Runs Pre-configured virtual machines
Allows you to run your virtual machines pre-configured by you or others.
Virtual Box versions for:
-- Windows 7/8/10
-- All Linux installations
-- MAC OS x
-- Solaris 10/11
Virtual OSs include:
-- Oracle Linux 5/6/7.x (RHEL clones)
-- Solaris10/11
-- Occassionally a Windows Beta
Oracle itself provides many free VMs, pre-configured with various software stacks and hands-on lab materials for learning, geared toward. These have helped me earn three of my Oracle certifications:
-- Oracle Database development
-- Oracle DBA
-- MySQL development
-- Java Standard/Enterprise development
-- Big data
-- Webcenter portal & others
Pre-installed software in or more of the various stacks includes:
-- Oracle Database 11/12
-- JDK/Eclipse
-- Enterprise Mgr
-- MySQL
-- WebLogic
-- Cloudera, etc.
Pro Supports modern shells
Whether you prefer zsh, bash, or fish, Linux will support it.
Pro Isolated from Windows
VirtualBox provides almost total isolation from Windows running underneath it, removing a lot of security issues.
Pro Free / Libre Software
While the OS underneath it is proprietary and does spy on you or actively violate your freedom, so to speak, you can still have a little piece of mind knowing that VirtualBox (your Linux distro and shell of choice) as well as Terminator are all FOSS.
Pro Freeware
WinSSHTerm is free for anyone to use.
Pro Keyboard shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts are especially valuable for professionals.
Pro Supports X Server
There is easy, automatic integration with X Server and starts/stops can take place with the launch/exit of WinSSHTerm.
Pro Supports file transfer
The user can start a WinSCP session inside WinSSHTerm, without the need to duplicate the session in WinSCP.
Pro Highly portable
The user can run WinSSHTerm from a USB drive on different computers.
Pro Ready for production use
There are no annoying bugs in WinSSHTerm. Navigation tools and keyboard shortcuts are a great time saver, especially if you have to manage multiple connections.
Cons
Con Install a whole operating system for one program
You would need to install the entire Linux distribution just for one single program.
Con Slightly slower than just running Linux
The Windows + VirtualBox layer introduces some overhead that wouldn't be present if Linux were installed directly on the machine.
Con Not a true terminal emulator
It's a PuTTY interface and it's mostly used to access remote machines through ssh, so it may not be very suitable for working on a local machine.