VB Blog

Virus Bulletin at RSA

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 13, 2018

Next week, VB Editor Martijn Grooten will be at the RSA Conference in San Francisco.

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Broad-ranging and international VB2018 programme announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 11, 2018

VB is excited to reveal the details of an interesting and diverse programme for VB2018, the 28th Virus Bulletin International Conference, which takes place 3-5 October in Montreal, Canada.

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Netflix issue shows email verification really does matter

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 10, 2018

A clever trick taking advantage of the fact that Gmail ignores dots in email addresses could be used to trick someone into paying for your Netflix subscription - demonstrating the importance of confirmed opt-in.

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VB2017 paper: Exploring the virtual worlds of advergaming

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 10, 2018

At VB2017 in Madrid, Malwarebytes' Chris Boyd presented a paper in which he looked at various aspects of advergaming, from unreadable EULAs to fake programs that promise to block ads. Today, we publish both the paper and the recording of Chris's presentation.

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New paper: Distinguishing between malicious app collusion and benign app collaboration: a machine-learning approach

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 27, 2018

Two or more mobile apps, viewed independently, may not appear to be malicious - but in combination, they could become harmful by exchanging information with one another and by performing malicious activities together. Today, we publish a new paper by a group of researchers affiliated with various UK universities and companies, which looks at how machine-learning methods can be used to detect app collusions.

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VB2016 paper: Wild Android collusions

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 26, 2018

At VB2016 in Denver, Jorge Blasco presented a paper (co-written with Thomas M. Chen, Igor Muttik and Markus Roggenbach), in which he discussed the concept of app collusion - where two (or more) apps installed on the same device work together to collect and extract data from the device - and presented discoveries of colluding code in many in-the-wild apps. Today, we publish both the paper and the recording of Jorge's presentation.

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VB2017 paper: The life story of an IPT - Inept Persistent Threat actor

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 19, 2018

At VB2017 in Madrid, Polish security researcher and journalist Adam Haertlé presented a paper about a very inept persistent threat. Today, we publish both the paper and the recording of Adam's presentation.

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Five reasons to submit a VB2018 paper this weekend

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 16, 2018

The call for papers for VB2018 closes on 18 March, and while we've already received many great submissions, we still want more! Here are five reasons why you should submit a paper this weekend.

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First partners of VB2018 announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 15, 2018

We are excited to announce the first six companies to partner with VB2018.

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VB2018: looking for technical and non-technical talks

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 9, 2018

We like to pick good, solid technical talks for the VB conference programme, but good talks don't have to be technical and we welcome less technical submissions just as much.

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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/

No deal for AOL employee

Judge refuses to accept guilty plea.
Judge refuses to accept guilty plea. A federal judge has refused to accept the guilty plea of a former AOL employee charged with selling the company's customer email list to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/no-deal-aol-employee/

Teen brought to book for Randex

British teenager sentenced.
British teenager sentenced. A 16-year-old British teenager has been given a six-month suspended sentence for his part in distributing the Randex worm. A total of four suspects… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/teen-brought-book-randex/

Deal for AOL employee

AOL worker accused of selling customer email lists offered deal.
AOL worker accused of selling customer email lists offered deal. A former AOL employee charged with selling the company's customer email list to spammers has been offered a plea… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/deal-aol-employee/

Trend ousts McAfee on Hotmail

Trend Micro to take over from McAfee as new provider of virus scanning for MSN.
Trend Micro to take over from McAfee as new provider of virus scanning for MSN. Trend Micro has announced that it is to be the new provider of virus scanning for Microsoft's MSN… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/trend-ousts-mcafee-hotmail/

Virus Bulletin RSS feeds now support Live Bookmarks

Virus Bulletin RSS feeds now support 'Live bookmarks' allowing you to browse our latest headlines directly from your browsers bookmarks menu.
Virus Bulletin RSS feeds now support 'Live bookmarks' allowing you to browse our latest headlines directly from your browsers bookmarks menu. The Virus Bulletin RSS feeds now… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/rss-feeds-now-support-live-bookmarks/

ISP wins $1 billion against spammers

Largest judgement against spammers to date.
Largest judgement against spammers to date. A company in Iowa has been awarded a total of more than $1 billion in what is believed to be the largest judgement to date against… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/isp-wins-1-billion-against-spammers/

GIANT purchase for Microsoft

Microsoft buys anti-spyware provider.
Microsoft buys anti-spyware provider. Microsoft announced yesterday that it has acquired anti-spyware firm GIANT Company Software Inc. Microsoft says it plans to use… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/giant-purchase-microsoft/

Anti-spam law 'unconstitutional'

Judge says Maryland anti-spam law is flawed.
Judge says Maryland anti-spam law is flawed. A judge has ruled that Maryland's anti-spam law is flawed because it violates the commerce clause of the US Constitution. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/anti-spam-law-unconstitutional/

Symantec to acquire Veritas?

Just in time for Christmas?
Just in time for Christmas? Symantec may be close to acquiring data storage firm Veritas, according to reports circulating on the Internet. AV firm Symantec, which has something… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/symantec-acquire-veritas/

Spyware-led investigations

Australian police given power to use spyware.
Australian police given power to use spyware. Police in Australia have been awarded the right to use spyware for evidence-gathering, thanks to a new law passed last week. Under… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/spyware-led-investigations/

DDoS stunt over

Lycos ends its 'make love not spam' campaign - but not before the file had been trojanised...
Lycos ends its 'make love not spam' campaign - but not before the file had been trojanised... Lycos has announced that it has ended its controversial 'Make Love not Spam'… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/ddos-stunt-over/

More spammers for the slammer?

Microsoft continues to make good use of its legal resources.
Microsoft continues to make good use of its legal resources. Microsoft has filed seven new lawsuits against spammers. The company is suing the individuals (who currently remain… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/more-spammers-slammer/

Season's greetings

The VB team wishes all Virus Bulletin readers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.
The VB team wishes all Virus Bulletin readers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year. The VB team wishes all Virus Bulletin readers a very happy Christmas and a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/season-s-greetings/

Email authentication in the open

35 high-profile organisations sign open letter, calling for a rapid rollout of email authentication technologies
35 high-profile organisations sign open letter, calling for a rapid rollout of email authentication technologies Last month an open letter was sent to members of the US Federal… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/email-authentication-open/

Hotmail originator turns to anti-spam

Sabeer Bhatia, the man behind Hotmail, has announced that he has invested in an anti-spam company
Sabeer Bhatia, the man behind Hotmail, has announced that he has invested in an anti-spam company Sabeer Bhatia, the man behind Hotmail, has announced that he has invested in an… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/hotmail-originator-turns-anti-spam/

Errata - Windows Server 2003 comparative review

VB regrets that three mistakes crept into the Comparative review published in the November issue.
VB regrets that three mistakes crept into the Comparative review published in the November issue. The mistakes were as follows: The version number for Sophos Anti Virus should… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/errata-windows-server-2003-comparative-review/

Academic research journal

Announcement and first call for papers of the European Research Journal in Computer Virology
Announcement and first call for papers of the European Research Journal in Computer Virology October saw the announcement and first call for papers of the European Research… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/academic-research-journal/

Most-spammed sees end in sight

Bill Gates says he hopes to have the spam problem under control within two years - again.
Bill Gates says he hopes to have the spam problem under control within two years - again. The world's most spammed email recipient, Bill Gates, said last month that he hopes to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/most-spammed-sees-end-sight/

News by email

New twice-monthly email newsletter dedicated to news and technical information about the spam and anti-spam arena launched.
New twice-monthly email newsletter dedicated to news and technical information about the spam and anti-spam arena launched. Last month saw the inaugural issue of a twice-monthly… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/news-email/

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