VB Blog

Paying a malware ransom is bad, but telling people never to do it is unhelpful advice

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 26, 2016

The current ransomware plague is one of the worst threats the Internet has seen and it is unlikely to go away any time soon. But telling people to never pay the ransom is unhelpful advice.

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VB2015 paper: VolatilityBot: Malicious Code Extraction Made by and for Security Researchers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 22, 2016

In his VB2015 paper, Martin Korman presented his 'VolatilyBot' tool, which extracts malicious code from packed binaries, leveraging the functionality of the Volatility Framework.

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VB2016 programme announced, registration opened

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 21, 2016

We have announced 37 papers (and four reserve papers) that will be presented at VB2016 in Denver, Colorado, USA in October. Registration for the conference has opened; make sure you register before 1 July to benefit from a 10% early bird discount.

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New tool helps ransomware victims indentify the malware family

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 15, 2016

The people behind the MalwareHunterTeam have released a tool that helps victims of ransomware identify which of more than 50 families has infected their system, something which could help them find a tool to decrypt their files.

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It's fine for vulnerabilities to have names — we just need not to take them too seriously

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 13, 2016

The PR campaign around the Badlock vulnerability backfired when it turned out that the vulnerability wasn't as serious as had been suggested. But naming vulnerabilities can actually be helpful and certainly shouldn't hurt.

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Throwback Thursday: The Number of the Beasts

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Apr 7, 2016

The Virus Bulletin Virus Prevalence Table, which ran from 1992 until 2013, gave users a regular snapshot of what was really going on in the virus (and later malware) world, recording the number of incidents of each virus reported to VB in the preceding month. In August 2000, Denis Zenkin, a self-confessed virus prevalence table junkie, shared his findings following a study of the virus prevalence tables over the preceding few years, allowing him to determine the top ten viruses of the period, the top viruses by type and the viruses of the year.

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Paper: All Your Meetings Are Belong to Us: Remote Code Execution in Apache OpenMeetings

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 30, 2016

Security researcher Andreas Lindh recently found a vulnerability in Apache OpenMeetings that could allow remote code execution on a vulnerable server. Andreas reported the vulnerability to the OpenMeetings developers and, once it had been patched, he wrote up the details.

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Throwback Thursday: 'In the Beginning was the Word...'

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Mar 24, 2016

Word and Excel’s internal file formats used to be something in which few were interested – until macro viruses came along and changed all that. In 1996, Andrew Krukov provided an overview of the new breed of viruses.

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VB2016 Call for Papers Deadline

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 18, 2016

You have until the early hours (GMT) of Monday 21 March to submit an abstract for VB2016! The VB2016 programme will be announced in the first week of April.

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How broken is SHA-1 really?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 15, 2016

SHA-1 collisions may be found in the next few months, but that doesn't mean that fake SHA-1-based certificates will be created in the near future. Nevertheless, it is time for everyone, and those working in security in particular, to move away from outdated hash functions.

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Search blog

Microsoft one step closer to AV

The latest developments on Microsoft's new anti-virus venture.
The latest developments on Microsoft's new anti-virus venture. The news that set industry analysts chattering (and doom-sayers prophesying) last month was Microsoft’s acquisition… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/03/microsoft-one-step-closer-av/

March

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/03/

Errata: February 2005 Windows NT comparative review

VB regrets that two mistakes crept into the comparative review published in the February 2005 issue.
VB regrets that two mistakes crept into the comparative review published in the February 2005 issue. Virus Bulletin regrets that the Windows NT Workstation comparative review… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/03/errata-february-2005-windows-nt-comparative-review/

MSNBC's spam boob

News channel sends spam message as 'breaking news'
News channel sends spam message as 'breaking news' MSNBC.com, the online news service run by Microsoft and NBC News, was forced to make a red-faced apology this week, after… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/msnbc-s-spam-boob/

Virus alerts for UK computer users

Government launches IT security website
Government launches IT security website The UK government has launched a new service aimed at providing home users and small businesses with advice on how to protect their… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/virus-alerts-uk-computer-users/

US spammers arrested

Airport arrest for 18-year-old spammer, and felony charge for SMS election spammer
Airport arrest for 18-year-old spammer, and felony charge for SMS election spammer An 18-year-old New Yorker is under investigation this week for sending more than one million… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/us-spammers-arrested/

Phish Report Network announced

Microsoft, eBay, PayPal and Visa join forces
Microsoft, eBay, PayPal and Visa join forces Microsoft, eBay, PayPal and Visa have joined forces to form what is described as the internet's first global anti-phishing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/phish-report-network-announced/

Microsoft and Pfizer join forces to slam spam

Two giants unite in the courtroom
Two giants unite in the courtroom Microsoft and Pfizer, the world's largest pharmaceutical company, have joined forces in an effort to crack down on drug-related spam. The two… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/microsoft-and-pfizer-join-forces-slam-spam/

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/2005/02/latest-vgrep/

University of Calgary teaches spam

Learnt how to create viruses? Now learn how to create spam and spyware
Learnt how to create viruses? Now learn how to create spam and spyware Students at the University of Calgary will soon be learning how to write spam and spyware programs as part… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/university-calgary-teaches-spam/

India to curb SMS spam

Supreme Court urges government to crack down on mobile spam
Supreme Court urges government to crack down on mobile spam The Supreme Court of India has urged the Indian government to introduce legal measures to crack down on unsolicited… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/india-curb-sms-spam/

Microsoft acquires Sybari

Microsoft announces another AV acquisition
Microsoft announces another AV acquisition Microsoft has announced that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire AV and security provider Sybari Software Inc. Microsoft… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/microsoft-acquires-sybari/

New Zealand to curb spam

Anti-spam codes of conduct for SMS and email
Anti-spam codes of conduct for SMS and email New Zealand's Telecommunications Carriers Forum (TCF) has signed an SMS anti-spam code of conduct, and is due to sign a similar code… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/new-zealand-curb-spam/

Grannies grabbing the initiative

Study reveals older people and women most likely to take charge of protecting their computer systems
Study reveals older people and women most likely to take charge of protecting their computer systems A study by UK managed security firm Preventon has indicated that retired… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/grannies-grabbing-initiative/

No soft touch for legitimate companies

FTC representative warns legitimate marketers it will go after them too if they don't comply with CAN SPAM regulations
FTC representative warns legitimate marketers it will go after them too if they don't comply with CAN SPAM regulations The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned that it… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/no-soft-touch-legitimate-companies/

German spammers to get hefty fine

New legislation proposes fines to deter would-be spammers
New legislation proposes fines to deter would-be spammers Although it has been illegal to send spam in Germany since July 2004, a new anti-spam law is being proposed by the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/german-spammers-get-hefty-fine/

Call for papers: VB2005 Dublin

The deadline for submission of abstracts for VB2005 is approaching rapidly. All submissions must be received by 10 March 2005.
The deadline for submission of abstracts for VB2005 is approaching rapidly. All submissions must be received by 10 March 2005. VB2005, the Fifteenth Virus Bulletin International… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/call-papers-dublin/

February

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/

Tsunami unlocks floodgates for opportunists

An inevitable string of tsunami related hoaxes, fraud attempts and new malware variants
An inevitable string of tsunami related hoaxes, fraud attempts and new malware variants As most of the world was still reeling from the news and pictures of devastation in Asia… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/02/tsunami-unlocks-floodgates-opportunists/

Minimum sentence for Blaster author

Jeffrey Lee Parson let off lightly
Jeffrey Lee Parson let off lightly Jeffrey Lee Parson, the Minnesota teenager who pleaded guilty to distributing the B variant of the Blaster worm, has been sentenced to 18… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/minimum-sentence-blaster-author/

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