Try connect50
first of all. If it says that you aren't connected to the web, then you aren't connected to it. Also, see if you get an IP Address at the bottom right corner in the appliance...
Make sure that your own computer ie. the windows laptop or Mac itself is able to connect to the web. If yes, you'll have to try to change the proxy settings( if you're using a proxy) through the VMWare machine settings or the Virtualbox setting, likewise.
If nothing works, you'll have to try reinstalling the appliance in VMWare and check again. Also, make sure you don't choose the option of booting without networking in the GRUB bootloader...
Best of luck solving your problem, and Happy Coding...