June issue of VB published

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jun 1, 2013

The June issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.

The June 2013 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download in PDF or PRC (Kindle) format.

Some of the things this month's issue has in store are:

• Password sweepstakes: 'Capturing the imagination of end-users when it comes to security education is one of the greatest hurdles.' Helen Martin, Virus Bulletin

• Chat and paste: SKAgent, a simple, unencrypted, unsophisticated piece of malware, sends spam messages via Skype. Raul Alvarez describes the simple copy-and-paste technique it uses to do so.

• MultiPlatform Madness!: A cross-infector of unrelated platforms is typically implemented as two viruses stuck together, because that's the easiest way to do it - but if the general mechanics of file enumeration and infection are the same across the affected platforms, then a virus can implement an abstraction layer and expose APIs that each of the routines can call to perform essential functions. {W32/Linux/OSX}/Clapzok does just that - Peter Ferrie has the details.

• Greetz from academe: Content-Agnostic Malware Protection: There is often a disconnect between academic security research and anti-malware industry research - in both directions. Dr John Aycock, Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary, embarks on a new regular feature in which each month he will pick some of the work going on in academic circles and summarize the key points. This month: Content-Agnostic Malware Protection.

• Java: setting security manager to null: Thanks to its widespread use in legitimate applications, Java has seen a lot of use in malware and exploit kits recently, with one of the most common exploit techniques being to disable the Java security manager. Abhishek Singh and Shray Kapoor present the logic used by malware authors to set the security manager to null.

• Bitcoin mining: Investing in the future of the underground market: The exchange rate of the digital currency Bitcoin (BTC) passed the USD200/BTC1 mark earlier this year - a fact that has not escaped the attention of cybercriminals. Micky Pun takes a look at one of the latest Bitcoin-mining malware families.

Note: The June 2013 VB100 comparative review (on Windows Server 2012) will be published as standalone article later in the month. As with all new VB100 and VBSpam reviews, the report will be available for non-subscribers to purchase as a standalone item (Virus Bulletin subscribers will be notified by email when the comparative is available to download). Non-subscribers can purchase VB100 reports here and VBSpam reports here.

Subscribers click here to access the issue.

If you are not already a subscriber why not take the chance to subscribe now.

Posted on 31 May 2013 by Virus Bulletin

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