VB Blog

VB2016 video: Last-minute paper: Malicious proxy auto-configs: an easy way to harvest banking credentials

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 30, 2017

In a VB2016 last-minute presentation, Jaromír Horejší and Jan Širmer looked at Retefe, a trojan that has targeted banks in several European countries and used malicious proxy auto-config filesto redirect users' traffic to a server controlled by the attackers. A recording of their presentation is now available to view on our YouTube channel.

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WannaCry shows we need to understand why organizations don't patch

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 17, 2017

Perhaps the question we should be asking about WannaCry is not "why do so many organizations allow unpatched machines to exist on their networks?" but "why doesn't patching work reasonably well most of the time?"

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Modern security software is not necessarily powerless against threats like WannaCry

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 15, 2017

The WannaCry ransomware has affected many organisations around the world, making it probably the worst and most damaging of its kind. But modern security is not necessarily powerless against such threats.

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Throwback Thursday: CARO: A personal view

Posted by   Helen Martin on   May 11, 2017

This week sees the 11th International CARO Workshop taking place in Krakow, Poland – a prestigious annual meeting of anti-malware and security experts. As a founding member of CARO, Fridrik Skulason was well placed, in August 1994, to shed some light on the organization, to explain in detail CARO's main activities and functions, as well as the reasons behind its strict membership regulations.

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VB2016 paper: Uncovering the secrets of malvertising

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 10, 2017

Malicious advertising, a.k.a. malvertising, has evolved tremendously over the past few years to take a central place in some of today’s largest web-based attacks. It is by far the tool of choice for attackers to reach the masses but also to target them with infinite precision and deliver such payloads as ransomware. Today, we publish a paper presented at VB2016 in Denver by Malwarebytes researchers Jérôme Segura and Chris Boyd, in which they look at the advertising ecosystem, how it is used, and at what techniques are being utilised to spread malware

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Throwback Thursday: Tools of the DDoS Trade

Posted by   Helen Martin on   May 4, 2017

As DDoS attacks become costlier to fix and continue to increase in both number and diversity, we turn back the clock to 2000, when Aleksander Czarnowski took a look at the DDoS tools of the day.

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VB2016 paper: Building a local passiveDNS capability for malware incident response

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 4, 2017

At VB2016, Splunk researchers Kathy Wang and Steve Brant presented a Splunk app that can be used to locally collect passive DNS data. A recording of their presentation is now available to view on our YouTube channel.

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VB2016 video: Last-minute paper: A malicious OS X cocktail served from a tainted bottle

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 28, 2017

In a VB2016 last-minute presentation, ESET researchers Peter Kalnai and Martin Jirkal looked at the OS X malware threats KeRanger and Keydnap, that both spread through a compromised BitTorrent client. A recording of their presentation is now available to view on our YouTube channel.

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Consumer spyware: a serious threat with a different threat model

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 25, 2017

Consumer spyware is a growing issue and one that can have serious consequences: its use is increasingly common in domestic violence. But do our threat models consider the attacker with physical access to, and inside knowledge of the victim?

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VB2016 paper: Debugging and monitoring malware network activities with Haka

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 24, 2017

In their VB2016 paper, Stormshield researchers Benoît Ancel and Mehdi Talbi introduced Haka, an open-source language to monitor, debug and control malicious network traffic. Both their paper and the video recording of their presentation are now available to read/view on www.virusbulletin.com.

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Search blog

Trial of virus writer postponed

Sasser author made to wait.
Sasser author made to wait. The trial of self-confessed virus writer Sven Jaschan has been postponed until next year. The 18-year-old, who confessed earlier this year to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/trial-virus-writer-postponed/

RSS activated

Virus Bulletin RSS feeds revamped and live again.
Virus Bulletin RSS feeds revamped and live again. Although RSS feeds have been available from VB for some time, today we have revamped them and made them accessable to all. You… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/rss-activated/

Action plan on spam

15 countries sign up to international action plan on spam.
15 countries sign up to international action plan on spam. A total of 15 countries have signed up to the London Action Plan - an international action plan designed to encourage… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/action-plan-spam/

Online 'museum' displays collection of the finest spam...

As if you haven't already seen enough...
As if you haven't already seen enough... A British man has set up his own Museum of Spam. Considering spam to be 'as much a part of contemporary culture as just about anything… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/online-museum-displays-collection-finest-spam/

Top ten security urban legends revealed

Most common cyber security myths unveiled as part of Cyber Security Month.
Most common cyber security myths unveiled as part of Cyber Security Month. Secure Computing has revealed the 'top ten cyber security urban legends' as part of Cyber Security… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/top-ten-security-urban-legends-revealed/

FTC sues spyware outfit

US government begins crack down on spyware.
US government begins crack down on spyware. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a law suit in New Hampshire against an alleged spyware operation.The FTC filed the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/ftc-sues-spyware-outfit/

Conference photos

Take a look at the VB2004 conference photos
Take a look at the VB2004 conference photos The VB2004 conference photos are now online and available for viewing.If you would like to contribute a selection of your VB2004… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/conference-photos/

Another successful VB conference

With over 330 delegates and a collection of interesting and informative speakers, VB2004 was a great success.
With over 330 delegates and a collection of interesting and informative speakers, VB2004 was a great success. This year's VB conference, held in the beautiful city of Chicago,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/another-successful-vb-conference/

MessageLabs teams up with Symantec

Companies collaborate to provide anti-spam services.
Companies collaborate to provide anti-spam services. Email security firm MessageLabs and security company Symantec have announced that they will combine their anti-spam… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/messagelabs-teams-symantec/

October

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/

Symantec to block phishing

Symantec announces new service to help stop phishing scams
Symantec announces new service to help stop phishing scams Anti-virus and anti-spam vendor Symantec has announced a new service to help identify and block phishing scams. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/09/symantec-block-phishing/

IETF rejects sender ID

The Internet Engineering Task Force has rejected Microsoft's preferred anti-spam specification.
The Internet Engineering Task Force has rejected Microsoft's preferred anti-spam specification. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has rejected Microsoft's preferred… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/09/ietf-rejects-sender-id/

Governments urged to do more to combat cybercrime

The Council of Europe's 2001 Cybercrime Convention has been signed by 30 countries, but is only law in eight of these.
The Council of Europe's 2001 Cybercrime Convention has been signed by 30 countries, but is only law in eight of these. The message at a conference organized by the Council of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/09/governments-urged-do-more-combat-cybercrime/

Correction

VB regrets that an error slipped through the editorial net in the August 2004 Netware comparative review.
VB regrets that an error slipped through the editorial net in the August 2004 Netware comparative review. VB regrets that an error slipped through the editorial net in the August… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/09/correction/

Increase in infections for chinese

87.9% Thats the number of malware infected computer users in China, according to their Minister of Public Security.
87.9% Thats the number of malware infected computer users in China, according to their Minister of Public Security. According to China's Ministry of Public Security, 87.9 per… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/09/increase-infections-chinese/

The bounty hunters are here

US Federal Trade Commission says the US government must be generous with its rewards if it decides to encourage 'bounty hunters' to track down email spammers
US Federal Trade Commission says the US government must be generous with its rewards if it decides to encourage 'bounty hunters' to track down email spammers In a report to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/09/bounty-hunters-are-here/

Symantec Buys Again

The AV company that never seems to stop buying, reveals its latest purchase.
The AV company that never seems to stop buying, reveals its latest purchase. Symantec, the AV company that never seems to stop shopping, has revealed its latest purchase: digital… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/09/symantec-buys-again/

September

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/09/

Phish it yourself

Do-it-yourself phishing kits are available free of charge to anyone surfing the Internet.
Do-it-yourself phishing kits are available free of charge to anyone surfing the Internet.Do-it-yourself phishing kits are available free of charge to anyone surfing the Internet… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/phish-it-yourself/

Virginian law is constitutional

US judge rules Virginia’s anti-spam law is constitutional.
US judge rules Virginia’s anti-spam law is constitutional. A judge in the US has ruled that Virginia’s anti-spam law is constitutional. Back in May this year VB reported that the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/virginian-law-constitutional/

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