VB Blog

Subtle change could see a reduction in installation of malicious Chrome extensions

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 13, 2018

Google has made a subtle change to its Chrome browser, banning the inline installation of new extensions, thus making it harder for malware authors to trick users into unwittingly installing malicious extensions.

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Paper: EternalBlue: a prominent threat actor of 2017–2018

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 11, 2018

We publish a paper by researchers from Quick Heal Security Labs in India, who study the EternalBlue and DoublePulsar exploits in full detail.

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'North Korea' a hot subject among VB2018 talks

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jun 1, 2018

Several VB2018 papers deal explicitly or implicitly with threats that have been attributed to North Korean actors.

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Expired domain led to SpamCannibal's blacklist eating the whole world

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 31, 2018

The domain of the little-used SpamCannibal DNS blacklist had expired, resulting in it effectively listing every single IP address.

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MnuBot banking trojan communicates via SQL server

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 30, 2018

Researchers at IBM X-Force have discovered MnuBot, a banking trojan targeting users in Brazil, which is noteworthy for using SQL Server for command and control communication.

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Throwback Thursday: Giving the EICAR test file some teeth

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 24, 2018

The 68-byte EICAR test file plays as important a role today as it did 19 years ago. In this week's Throwback Thursday we look back at a VB99 conference paper in which Randy Abrams described how this 'miracle tool' worked and how it could be used.

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XMRig used in new macOS cryptominer

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 23, 2018

A new piece of cryptocurrency-mining malware on macOS has been found to use the popular XMRig miner.

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Tendency for DDoS attacks to become less volumetric fits in a wider trend

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 22, 2018

CDN provider Cloudflare reports an increase in DDoS attacks targeting layer 7 and focusing on exhausting server resources rather than sending large volumes of data. This fits in a wider trend.

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Turkish Twitter users targeted with mobile FinFisher spyware

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 15, 2018

Through fake social media accounts, users were tricked into installing an Android application that was actually a mobile version of the FinFisher spyware.

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Hide'n'Seek IoT botnet adds persistence

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 9, 2018

The Hide'n'Seek IoT botnet has received an update to make its infection persist on infected devices beyond a restart.

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Computer Associates acquires anti-spam firm

CA hops on the bandwaggon
CA hops on the bandwaggon Computer Associates is the latest AV company to announce that has acquired an anti-spam firm. CA purchased privately-held anti-spam firm Qurb for an… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/07/computer-associates-acquires-anti-spam-firm/

Prolific spammer found dead

Police investigate murder of Russian spammer
Police investigate murder of Russian spammer The Times Online reports that one of Russia's most infamous spammers has been found dead in his apartment. The body of 35-year-old… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/07/prolific-spammer-found-dead/

Spyware defined

Industry group attempts to agree on a definition for spyware
Industry group attempts to agree on a definition for spyware The Anti-Spyware Coalition has proposed a solution to the tricky conundrum that is how to define spyware, and is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/07/spyware-defined/

VB2005 additional social event: the Dublin musical pub crawl

VB offers VB2005 delegates the opportunity to discover Dublin through a guided walking tour of the city's famous pubs and bars.
VB offers VB2005 delegates the opportunity to discover Dublin through a guided walking tour of the city's famous pubs and bars. Virus Bulletin is offering VB2005 delegates the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/07/additional-social-event-dublin-musical-pub-crawl/

Jaschan walks free

Suspended sentence for Sasser author
Suspended sentence for Sasser author Sven Jaschan, the young German man who admitted to writing the Sasser worm, has been given a 21-month suspended sentence for his crimes.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/07/jaschan-walks-free/

World's second largest spam-producing country signs up to anti-spam plan

After months of discussions the Chinese government has signed up to the London Action Plan on Spam
After months of discussions the Chinese government has signed up to the London Action Plan on Spam China has become the latest country whose government has signed up to the London… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/07/world-s-second-largest-spam-producing-country-signs-anti-spam-plan/

July

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/07/

Liberty alliance to safeguard mobile users against spam

Liberty Alliance, puts together team to create service interface specifications for content messaging, in an attempt to safeguard the privacy of mobile device users.
Liberty Alliance, puts together team to create service interface specifications for content messaging, in an attempt to safeguard the privacy of mobile device users. Liberty… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/06/liberty-alliance-safeguard-mobile-users-against-spam/

Microsoft sues again

Microsoft is back in court continuing its fight against spammers.
Microsoft is back in court continuing its fight against spammers. Microsoft is back in court continuing its fight against spammers, this time in Germany. The software giant has… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/06/microsoft-sues-again/

Trend raises its anti-spam presence

Trend Micro Inc. acquires IP filtering and reputation services specialist Kelkea (formerly known as Maps).
Trend Micro Inc. acquires IP filtering and reputation services specialist Kelkea (formerly known as Maps). Trend Micro Inc. has acquired IP filtering and reputation services… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/06/trend-raises-its-anti-spam-presence/

Attempting an altered image

Computer Associates is considering changing its name in a bid to rid itself of the negative perceptions that have resulted from its highly publicised accounting scandal.
Computer Associates is considering changing its name in a bid to rid itself of the negative perceptions that have resulted from its highly publicised accounting scandal. In… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/06/attempting-altered-image/

Microsoft announces its plans for Sybari

Microsoft completes its acquisition of security firm Sybari Software and announces its plans for Sybari's products.
Microsoft completes its acquisition of security firm Sybari Software and announces its plans for Sybari's products. Microsoft completed its acquisition of security firm Sybari… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/06/microsoft-announces-its-plans-sybari/

Symantec files suit in adware case

AV firm fights for the right to detect adware
AV firm fights for the right to detect adware AV firm Symantec has filed a lawsuit against Hotbar.com, Inc., in an attempt to win the right to detect some of its programs as… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/06/symantec-files-suit-adware-case/

McAfee buys wireless security firm

McAfee buys into security for wireless devices
McAfee buys into security for wireless devices AV firm McAfee Inc. has announced that it is to acquire Wireless Security Corp., a privately held wireless security software… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/06/mcafee-buys-wireless-security-firm/

June

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/06/

Patent squabbles

International Trade Commission judge recommends that Fortinet be prohibited from importing its FortiGate anti-virus firewall appliance products into the US
International Trade Commission judge recommends that Fortinet be prohibited from importing its FortiGate anti-virus firewall appliance products into the US An International Trade… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/05/patent-squabbles/

Microsoft care

Microsoft unveiles new security service
Microsoft unveiles new security service Microsoft unveiled its new security service for consumers this month. Known as OneCare, the paid subscription service will provide… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/05/microsoft-care/

Sun, sea and security

14th Annual EICAR meeting was a success
14th Annual EICAR meeting was a success The historical island of Malta was the setting for the 14th Annual EICAR meeting last month. With the sun beating down and an ocean view… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/05/sun-sea-and-security/

Changing CAN-SPAM

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has invited public comment on a number of changes it proposes making to the CAN-SPAM Act.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has invited public comment on a number of changes it proposes making to the CAN-SPAM Act. One of the Commission's proposals is to shorten… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/05/changing-can-spam/

Settlement reached in FTC vs Fuel MAX case

FTC settles a case against spammers peddling 'fuel-saving' product
FTC settles a case against spammers peddling 'fuel-saving' product A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by the FTC against the marketers and resellers of bogus… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/05/settlement-reached-ftc-vs-fuel-max-case/

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