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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

Search blog

Fathers 4 Justice denies virus

Campaign group categorically denies responsibility
Campaign group categorically denies responsibility Campaign group Fathers 4 Justice has categorically denied any connection with a mass-mailing worm discovered this week which… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/fathers-4-justice-denies-virus/

Sentencing of Blaster author due

Maximum sentence sought for Jeffrey Lee Parson
Maximum sentence sought for Jeffrey Lee Parson Jeffrey Lee Parson, the Minnesota teenager who pleaded guilty to distributing the B variant of the Blaster worm, is scheduled to be… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/sentencing-blaster-author-due/

EarthLink wins case against spammers

'Substantial' cash settlement
'Substantial' cash settlement EarthLink Inc. declared victory this week in a court case against two men accused of spamming from its network. The men, Damon DeCrescenzo and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/earthlink-wins-case-against-spammers/

Virus writer recommends anti-virus

Brazilian virus writer reveals all to Finnish magazine
Brazilian virus writer reveals all to Finnish magazine A Brazilian software programmer, who proudly claims 'viruses are my life' says that he does not want his viruses to spread… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/virus-writer-recommends-anti-virus/

Spammer sues spammed

The tables are turned
The tables are turned In an unusual turn of events, a US company accused of sending large volumes of unsolicited email has filed a lawsuit against a man who reported their… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/spammer-sues-spammed/

Man behind web cam virus arrested

Spanish authorities detain 37-year-old
Spanish authorities detain 37-year-old The Spanish Civil Guard has announced the arrest of a man suspected of writing and distributing a virus capable of covertly spying on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/man-behind-web-cam-virus-arrested/

Explosion in SMS spam

Korean cell phone users suffer onslaught of spam
Korean cell phone users suffer onslaught of spam Korean cell phone users are being blasted with SMS spam, with 870,000 cases reported to the Korea Information Security Agency… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/explosion-sms-spam/

Texas sues for millions

Two spammers sued by the state of Texas
Two spammers sued by the state of Texas The state of Texas is seeking millions of dollars from two men it accuses of sending millions of spam messages. Ryan Samuel Pitylak, a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/texas-sues-millions/

Sybari sets terms of IPO

3.35 million common shares for sale
3.35 million common shares for sale Anti-virus firm Sybari Software Inc. has set the terms of its planned initial public offering (IPO) in a filing with the Securities and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/sybari-sets-terms-ipo/

McAfee sells Research assets

SPARTA Inc. to become the lucky new owner
SPARTA Inc. to become the lucky new owner McAfee Inc. has announced that it is selling its McAfee Research assets to systems engineering firm SPARTA, Inc. McAfee Research… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/mcafee-sells-research-assets/

FTC granted restraining order against porn spammers

'Sexually explicit' labelling rule violated
'Sexually explicit' labelling rule violated The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been granted a temporary restraining order against six companies that it says have violated CAN… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/ftc-granted-restraining-order-against-porn-spammers/

Tsunami scamming begins

FBI warns donors of tsunami disaster relief fraud
FBI warns donors of tsunami disaster relief fraud The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued an alert warning those who wish to donate to tsunami disaster relief funds… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/tsunami-scamming-begins/

Microsoft reveals anti-spyware beta and malware removal tool

Anti-virus imminent?
Anti-virus imminent? Microsoft has released the beta version of its new anti-spyware tool, Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware, along with indications that the release of an anti-virus… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/microsoft-reveals-anti-spyware-beta-and-malware-removal-tool/

'Spam King' agrees to hold fire

For the time being at least...
For the time being at least... Prolific spammer Sanford Wallace has agreed to put a hold on his activity until his court case with the FTC has been resolved. Wallace, whose past… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/spam-king-agrees-hold-fire/

January

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/

Happy New Year!!!

Virus Bulletin would like to wish all its readers a very happy and prosperous new year.
Virus Bulletin would like to wish all its readers a very happy and prosperous new year. Virus Bulletin would like to wish all its readers a very happy and prosperous new year.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/01/happy-new-year/

2005

Latest news from the anti-virus industry provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
NewsAddendum: 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… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2005/

January issue released

The Virus Bulletin January 2005 issue is on its way.
The Virus Bulletin January 2005 issue is on its way. It's that time of the month again... If you are a subscriber to Virus Bulletin, you should be receiving your January issue… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/january-issue-released/

Synchronized malware identification for the new year

Causing a stir in the anti-virus community last month was the announcement of a new US-led initiative whose aim is to achieve threat synchronization.
Causing a stir in the anti-virus community last month was the announcement of a new US-led initiative whose aim is to achieve threat synchronization. The US Department of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/synchronized-malware-identification-new-year/

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/2004/12/latest-vgrep/

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.