VB Blog

Paper: New Keylogger on the Block

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 5, 2016

In a new paper published by Virus Bulletin, Sophos researcher Gabor Szappanos takes a look at the KeyBase keylogger, sold as a commercial product and popular among cybercriminals who use it in Office exploit kits.

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BSides Denver to take place the day after VB2016

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 28, 2016

VB2016, the 26th International Virus Bulletin conference, is an excellent reason to go to Denver, Colorado in the first week of October. But there is another reason to come to Denver: BSides Denver, which will take place the day after VB2016, on Saturday 8 October 2016.

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VB2015 paper: DDoS Trojan: A Malicious Concept that Conquered the ELF Format

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jun 13, 2016

In their VB2015 paper, Peter Kálnai and Jaromír Hořejší look at the current state of DDoS trojans forming covert botnets on unsuspecting systems. The paper provides a technical analysis of the most important malware families, focusing on infection methods, dynamic behaviour, C&C communication, obfuscation techniques, advanced methods of persistence and stealth, and elimination of rivals.

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Throwback Thursday: Hyppönen, that Data Fellow / Finnish Sprayer

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jun 2, 2016

This week, well known and universally respected industry guru Mikko Hyppönen celebrates his 25th anniversary of working at F-Secure (formerly known as Data Fellows). VB takes a look back in the archives at two articles published in 1994: an "insight" into the life and work of the then rising star of the anti-virus world, and a virus analysis penned by the man himself.

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VB2015 paper: Economic Sanctions on Malware

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jun 1, 2016

Financial pressure can be a proactive and potentially very effective tool in making our computer ecosystems safer. By cleverly employing various trust metrics and technologies such as digital signing, watermarking, and public-key infrastructure in strategically selected places, we can encourage good behaviours and punish bad ones. In his VB2015 paper, Igor Muttik analyses and gives examples of technologies (certificates, credentials, etc.) to de-incentivize bad behaviours in several ecosystems (Windows, Android, iOS).

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Virus Bulletin's job site for recruiters and job seekers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 26, 2016

Virus Bulletin has relaunched its security job vacancy service and added a new section, in which job seekers can advertise their skills and experience.

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Throwback Thursday: One_Half: The Lieutenant Commander?

Posted by   Helen Martin on   May 26, 2016

In October 1994, a new multi-partite virus appeared, using some of the techniques developed by the Dark Avenger in Commander_Bomber. As if this were not enough, the One_Half virus could also encrypt vital parts of the fixed disk. Eugene Kaspersky provided a detailed analysis.

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Advertisements on Blogspot sites lead to support scam

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 9, 2016

Support scam pop-ups presented through malicious advertisements show that, next to vulnerable end points, gullible users remain an easy source of money for online criminals.

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To make Tor work better on the web, we need to be honest about it

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 6, 2016

Many websites put barriers in front of visitors who use the Tor network. If we want to make the web more accessible through Tor, we need to be honest about why this is done, rather than cry wolf about a dislike for privacy, Martijn Grooten says.

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Paper: How It Works: Steganography Hides Malware in Image Files

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 28, 2016

A new paper by CYREN researcher Lordian Mosuela takes a close look at Gatak, or Stegoloader, a piece of malware that was discovered last year and that is controlled via malicious code embedded in a PNG image, a technique known as steganography.

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Big bucks

AV software revenues increase.
AV software revenues increase. Anti-virus software revenues reached $4 billion worldwide last year - an increase of 13.6% on the previous year - according to industry analyst… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/07/big-bucks/

Phone phishes

Watch out for fake SMS messages.
Watch out for fake SMS messages. A sneaky new phishing technique emerged last month, in which initial contact is made with victims via SMS text message. In the attack, an SMS… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/07/phone-phishes/

False positive reduction

Amendment to VB's June Windows XP comparative review.
Amendment to VB's June Windows XP comparative review. In Virus Bulletin's June 2006 Windows XP comparative review (see VB, June 2006, p.11), VB reported that Alwil's product… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/07/false-positive-reduction/

July issue of VB published

The July issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The July issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The July 2006 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/07/july-issue-vb-published/

New faces

VB welcomes new Technical Consultant.
VB welcomes new Technical Consultant. VB is pleased to announce the arrival of a new team member. Following the departure of Matt Ham last month, John Hawes is joining us to take… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/07/new-faces/

July

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/07/

OneCare goes live

Microsoft anti-virus goes on general release.
Microsoft anti-virus goes on general release.Microsoft's anti-virus software Windows Live OneCare is due to go on general release this month. OneCare, which has been available… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/06/onecare-goes-live/

Bank takes steps to increase customer security

Bank signs deal with AV vendor in an attempt to stop phishers in their tracks.
Bank signs deal with AV vendor in an attempt to stop phishers in their tracks. In an attempt to prevent online banking fraud, a British bank has signed a deal with Finnish… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/06/bank-takes-steps-increase-customer-security/

Gone phishing in Japan

Japan's first crackdown on organized phishing.
Japan's first crackdown on organized phishing. Police in Kyoto have arrested eight men in Japan's first crackdown on organized phishing. The men are suspected of belonging to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/06/gone-phishing-japan/

Symantec vulnerability discovered - and fixed

Buffer overflow vulnerability found in corporate AV software.
Buffer overflow vulnerability found in corporate AV software.Symantec was quick to respond late last month to the discovery of a potentially critical vulnerability in the latest… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/06/symantec-vulnerability-discovered-and-fixed/

Blue Frog croaks but may rise again

Open source project to create anti-spam opt-out tool based on the defunct Blue Frog service.
Open source project to create anti-spam opt-out tool based on the defunct Blue Frog service. Last month, Blue Frog, the anti-spam service offered by Blue Security, was forced to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/06/blue-frog-croaks-may-rise-again/

June issue of VB published

The June issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The June issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The June 2006 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/06/june-issue-vb-published/

June

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/06/

VoIP phishing scam

New species of phish spotted.
New species of phish spotted. A new variety of phishing scam was spotted last month: VoIP phishing. Instead of coercing victims into entering their confidential details on a fake… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/05/voip-phishing-scam/

May issue of VB published

The May issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The May issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The May 2006 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/05/may-issue-vb-published/

May

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/05/

Spam papers available

Organizers of the 2006 Spam Conference encourage you to get reading.
Organizers of the 2006 Spam Conference encourage you to get reading. Papers and slides from the 2006 Spam Conference held at the end of March are now available online. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/05/spam-papers-available/

Security survey and checklist

Attempt to gain better understanding of the costs of computer security incidents.
Attempt to gain better understanding of the costs of computer security incidents. Businesses in the US have been urged to complete a survey issued jointly by the US Departments of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/05/security-survey-and-checklist/

OECD calls for coordination and cooperation

OECD issues 'Recommendation on Cross-Border Cooperation in the Enforcement of Laws against Spam'.
OECD issues 'Recommendation on Cross-Border Cooperation in the Enforcement of Laws against Spam'. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has called on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/05/oecd-calls-coordination-and-cooperation/

VB job vacancy

There are currently no job vacancies at Virus Bulletin.
There are currently no job vacancies at Virus Bulletin. Posted on 8 June 2006 by Virus Bulletin https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/04/vb-job-vacancy/

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