VB Blog

Alleged author of creepy FruitFly macOS malware arrested

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 11, 2018

A 28-year old man from Ohio has been arrested on suspicion of having created the mysterious FruitFly malware that targeted macOS and used it to spy on its victims.

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The threat and security product landscape in 2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 10, 2018

At the start of the new year, Virus Bulletin looks back at the threats seen in the 2017 and at the security products that are available to help mitigate them.

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Spamhaus report shows many botnet controllers look a lot like legitimate servers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 9, 2018

Spamhaus's annual report on botnet activity shows that botherders tend to use popular, legitimate hosting providers, domain registrars and top-level domains when setting up command-and-control servers.

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Tips on researching tech support scams

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 5, 2018

As tech support scammers continue to target the computer illiterate through cold calling, VB's Martijn Grooten uses his own experience to share some advice on how to investigate such scams.

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Meltdown and Spectre attacks mitigated by operating system updates

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 4, 2018

Just four days into the new year, two serious attacks in modern processors, dubbed Meltdown and Spectre, have been discovered. The attacks can be mitigated by patches to the operating system, but anti-virus software vendors need to make sure their products are compatible with the patches.

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Conference review: AVAR 2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 22, 2017

Martijn Grooten reports on the 20th AVAR conference, which took place earlier in December in Beijing, China.

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Conference review: Botconf 2017

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Dec 22, 2017

Virus Bulletin researchers report back from a very interesting fifth edition of Botconf, the botnet fighting conference.

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VB2017 videos on attacks against Ukraine

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 21, 2017

(In)security is a global issue that affects countries around the world, but in recent years none has been so badly hit as Ukraine. Today, we publish the videos of two VB2017 talks about attacks that hit Ukraine particularly badly: a talk by Alexander Adamov (NioGuard) on (Not)Petya and related attacks, and another by Robert Lipovsky and Anton Cherepanov (ESET) on Industroyer.

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Facebook helps you determine whether emails really came from its servers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 21, 2017

On its website, Facebook now shows which emails it has sent you recently, thus helping you to determine which emails are real, and which should be discarded as phishing.

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Vulnerability disclosure and botnet takedown not to be hindered by Wassenaar Arrangement

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 19, 2017

Clarification in the language of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral export control regime for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, means those involved in vulnerability disclosure or botnet takedown won't have to worry about acquiring an export licence.

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February

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/02/

2006

Latest news from the anti-virus industry provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
NewsBitDefender vulnerability disclosedDetails released of overflow issue reported and patched.18 December 2006UK taxman warns of rebate phishMails promising tax refund just… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/

A global view

live spam map showing exactly where spam is coming from.
live spam map showing exactly where spam is coming from. Maintainers of cartographic collections may be interested in a new map created by Mailinator, a company that provides… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/09/global-view/

Addendum: August 2005 Netware 6.5 Comparative Review

VB regrets that Symantec was not included in NetWare 6.5 comparative review published in the August 2005 issue of Virus Bulletin
VB regrets that Symantec was not included in NetWare 6.5 comparative review published in the August 2005 issue of Virus Bulletin Unfortunately, due to a combination of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/09/addendum-august-2005-netware-6-5-comparative-review/

Latest VGrep

The latest version of the virus name lookup tool - VGrep, is now available.
The latest version of the virus name lookup tool - VGrep, is now available. VGrep is a system produced in an attempt to clear up some of the confusion surrounding the naming of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/09/latest-vgrep/

CME initiative sets forth

US-CERT will officially unveil its Common Malware Enumeration (CME) initiative this month.
US-CERT will officially unveil its Common Malware Enumeration (CME) initiative this month. The scheme, which will be operated by MITRE, and will work very much like the current… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/09/cme-initiative-sets-forth/

Czech spammers receive fines

The Czech Office for Personal Data Protection (UOOU) imposes first fines for spamming offences.
The Czech Office for Personal Data Protection (UOOU) imposes first fines for spamming offences. The Czech Office for Personal Data Protection (UOOU) has imposed its first fines for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/09/czech-spammers-receive-fines/

Spam 'hotline' for German users

German email users can now report spam directly to the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv)
German email users can now report spam directly to the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv)German email users can now report spam directly to the Federation of German… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/09/spam-hotline-german-users/

Symantec snaps up Wholesecurity

Symantec announces plans to purchase privately held behavioural endpoint security solutions provider WholeSecurity Inc.
Symantec announces plans to purchase privately held behavioural endpoint security solutions provider WholeSecurity Inc. WholeSecurity’s behavioural detection technology identifies… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/09/symantec-snaps-wholesecurity/

AVIEN virtual conference

Organisers of the AVIEN/AVIEWS virtual conference issue call for papers.
Organisers of the AVIEN/AVIEWS virtual conference issue call for papers. The organisers of the inaugural AVIEN/AVIEWS virtual conference have issued a call for papers. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/09/avien-virtual-conference/

September

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/09/

Trial and retribution

Former AOL employee Jason Smathers sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for selling customers' email details to spammers.
Former AOL employee Jason Smathers sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for selling customers' email details to spammers. Former AOL employee Jason Smathers has been sentenced to 15… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/08/trial-and-retribution/

The naming game

CA becomes latest AV firm to join name game with the announcement of its new division
CA becomes latest AV firm to join name game with the announcement of its new division First there was Kaspersky Lab and ICSA Labs, then came along MessageLabs and SophosLabs. Now… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/08/naming-game/

More hash woes

For the second year running, research presented at the annual Crypto conference raised concerns over the security of commonly-used hash functions.
For the second year running, research presented at the annual Crypto conference raised concerns over the security of commonly-used hash functions. For the second year running,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/08/more-hash-woes/

Black Hat round-up

Andrew Lee shares his highlights of the Black Hat Briefings USA
Andrew Lee shares his highlights of the Black Hat Briefings USA In the midsummer heat of the Nevada desert, close to two thousand people donned their sunscreen and their coolest… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/08/black-hat-round/

AhnLab wins in anti-spyware ruling

Court approves AhnLab's spyware classification
Court approves AhnLab's spyware classification The Southern District Court of Seoul ruled this week that AhnLab's detection and labelling as spyware of the product of software… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/08/ahnlab-wins-anti-spyware-ruling/

August

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/08/

Hoax alert

New hoax email comes to light after the launch in the UK of a campaign involving personal emergency contact numbers
New hoax email comes to light after the launch in the UK of a campaign involving personal emergency contact numbers It has been a long while since VB reported on any virus hoaxes,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/07/hoax-alert/

Sun, sea, sand and scams

310 people arrested in Malaga after an operation involving the FBI, the US Postal Service and the Spanish police.
310 people arrested in Malaga after an operation involving the FBI, the US Postal Service and the Spanish police. Authorities in Malaga, Spain, must be congratulated on a bumper… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/07/sun-sea-sand-and-scams/

Spammer reformed?

Scott Richter, aka the 'Spam King', is no longer classed as a spammer according to Spamhaus's authoritative Register of Known Spam Operations (ROKSO)
Scott Richter, aka the 'Spam King', is no longer classed as a spammer according to Spamhaus's authoritative Register of Known Spam Operations (ROKSO) Scott Richter, aka the 'Spam… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/07/spammer-reformed/

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