VM for checking suspect files?

[ajf]

We are getting more and more suspect emails at work but often really need to check for sure before deleting.

My obvious thought was set up a virtual box machine on my main PCS to access these files?
The emails and files are held on for our mail scanning server.

However I am unsure what steps are needed to ensure my main OS is not infected, along with access to the network.

I assume simply not giving it mapped drives is a start but I guess it is possible for malware to access networks purely by IP etc?

What about the main OS?

 

[ajf]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions.
I'll give the options a thought and decide if it really is worth it.

We do have on premise Exchange and a mail filter/scanner but it does not always pick up certain files, such as office docs with macros in them. These are the primary concern as they have in some instances come from legitimate sources so are not obvious they are infected.