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.

Read more  

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?"

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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?

Read more  

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.

Read more  

Search blog

Test company creates malware

Consumer organisation makes over 5,000 'virus variants' for AV product testing.
Consumer organisation makes over 5,000 'virus variants' for AV product testing.ConsumerReports.org, a non-profit consumer website, has announced that it created 5,500 'new virus… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/test-company-creates-malware/

MS06-040 fears spread

Exploit worm stories continue to appear, but threat believed minor.
Exploit worm stories continue to appear, but threat believed minor. Reports are proliferating across the Internet, warning of the dangers faced by users of older operating systems… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/ms06-040-fears-spread/

OneCare pounds competitors

Microsoft's AV storms to second in US sales charts.
Microsoft's AV storms to second in US sales charts. Heavily discounted Windows Live OneCare took over 15% of over-the-counter US sales of AV software last month, according to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/onecare-pounds-competitors/

Tough week for Symantec

Security firm suffers security bug and incompatibility criticism.
Security firm suffers security bug and incompatibility criticism. After announcing on Friday the discovery of a vulnerability in its Backup Exec software, Symantec suffered press… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/tough-week-symantec/

US e-vigilante takes on spammers

65-year-old files 82 cases in two years.
65-year-old files 82 cases in two years. A retired Pittsburgh man has used a Pennsylvania state law, allowing spam victims $100 compensation for every spam received, to fight back… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/us-e-vigilante-takes-spammers/

Patched Windows vuln exploited

As Microsoft plugs security holes, hackers quickly take advantage.
As Microsoft plugs security holes, hackers quickly take advantage. An exploit has been sighted using a vulnerability patched this week, as part of Microsoft's 'Patch Tuesday' set… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/patched-windows-vuln-exploited/

BlackBerry 'Trojan' unveiled

Mobile device proof-of-concept opens hole in network security.
Mobile device proof-of-concept opens hole in network security. A proof-of-concept attack, which uses the BlackBerry mobile device to breach network security, was demonstrated at… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/blackberry-trojan-unveiled/

Spammers sued under child-protection law

State of Michigan accuses spam companies of corrupting minors.
State of Michigan accuses spam companies of corrupting minors. The Attorney General of Michigan state has announced plans to prosecute two US companies under anti-spam laws… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/spammers-sued-under-child-protection-law/

F-Secure and Symbian row over hype

Commwarrior alert reignites battle over mobile malware danger.
Commwarrior alert reignites battle over mobile malware danger. An alert from F-Secure over a new version of the Commwarrior mobile worm has led to angry words from mobile… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/f-secure-and-symbian-row-over-hype/

AOL hands out security software

Web giant provides free Kaspersky AV to all.
Web giant provides free Kaspersky AV to all. From Monday, ISP leviathan AOL began providing free security software for its customers and anyone else who cares to download it. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/aol-hands-out-security-software/

JFK spam scam

419ers try conspiracy tactic.
419ers try conspiracy tactic. The old 419 scam has adopted yet another guise, and another target audience. The lure of the latest batch of spams is the promise of insight into the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/jfk-spam-scam/

419 ringleader arrested

Scammer made $2m, now behind bars in Lagos.
Scammer made $2m, now behind bars in Lagos. The head of a 419 gang who made vast sums conning email victims out of their cash has been arrested in Lagos, Nigeria. The announcement… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/419-ringleader-arrested/

South African bank gives away Trend software

More online customers get free protection.
More online customers get free protection. South African bank ABSA plans to give away security software from Trend Micro to its 650,000+ online banking customers. The move,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/south-african-bank-gives-away-trend-software/

Badware blacklist comes into force at Google

Search engine starts flagging suspect sites.
Search engine starts flagging suspect sites. Search goliath Google has begun using a blacklist supplied by the Stop Badware Coalition to warn its users about sites known to be… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/badware-blacklist-comes-force-google/

BlackHat shows off yet more holes

As conference highlights security issues, MS dares hackers to find more.
As conference highlights security issues, MS dares hackers to find more. A tidal wave of new security flaws, and vectors for hacking and malware, has gushed out of the BlackHat… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/blackhat-shows-yet-more-holes/

More vulns in AV products

eTrust, PC Tools suffer security bugs.
eTrust, PC Tools suffer security bugs. CA's WebScan has had several security holes discovered in its ActiveX control system, while PC Tools AntiVirus has been revealed to have… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/more-vulns-av-products/

Spammers target phones

Text message spam on the rise.
Text message spam on the rise. More and more users of mobile phone SMS messaging are receiving spam, according to reports. The problem is especially serious in places like the US,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/spammers-target-phones/

Serious vulns in Centrino wireless

Intel releases generic patches, urges users to seek specific fixes.
Intel releases generic patches, urges users to seek specific fixes. Several security flaws have been exposed in Intel's Centrino wireless technology, which could allow hackers to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/serious-vulns-centrino-wireless/

Norton scares vicars

Sermon software spyware, says Symantec.
Sermon software spyware, says Symantec. Popular software used by Church of England clergy has been mislabelled as spyware by Symantec's Norton software. The software, called… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/norton-scares-vicars/

Supermarket scammed by hacker employees

Supermarket sweep.
Supermarket sweep. In a plot mirroring the Mike Judge comedy Office Space, a team of supermarket employees in Manama created trojan software to tweak company databases and steal… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/08/supermarket-scammed-hacker-employees/

We have placed cookies on your device in order to improve the functionality of this site, as outlined in our cookies policy. However, you may delete and block all cookies from this site and your use of the site will be unaffected. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to Virus Bulletin's use of data as outlined in our privacy policy.