VB Blog

VB2016 Call for Papers - Frequently Asked Questions

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 11, 2016

Are you interested in submitting an abstract for VB2016? We've answered some frequently asked questions about the Call for Papers, which closes next week.

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Throwback Thursday: Hash Woes

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Mar 10, 2016

This Throwback Thursday we go back to 2004, when the entire crypto community was abuzz with the news that a group of Chinese researchers had demonstrated flaws in a whole set of hash functions - VB took a closer look to clarify the situation and draw lessons from the incident.

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VB2015 paper: Mobile Banking Fraud via SMS in North America: Who's Doing it and How

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 2, 2016

Though SMS may have been claimed dead many time, it is still very much alive, and quite popular among mobile phishers. At VB2015, Adaptive Mobile researcher Cathal Mc Daid presented a paper various mobile phishing campaigns targeting North American banks.

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Throwback Thursday: Viruses on the Internet

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 25, 2016

This Throwback Thursday VB heads back to 1996 when - long before the days of driveby downloads and exploit kits - VB published a report on the state of viruses on the Internet.

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RSA and BSides San Francisco

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 24, 2016

Next week, Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten will attend the RSA conference in San Francisco, where he will give a talk entitled "How Broken Is Our Crypto Really?" He will also speak at BSides San Francisco, where he will give a talk entitled "Elliptic Curve Cryptography for Those Who are Afraid of Mathematics".

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Virus Bulletin publishes first web filter test report

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 19, 2016

After a lot of preparation, Virus Bulletin is proud to have published the first "VBWeb" comparative web filter test report, in which products' ability to block web-based malware and drive-by downloads was tested. Fortinet's FortiGuard appliance was the first product to achieve a VBWeb certification.

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VB2015 paper: Will Android Trojans, Worms or Rootkits Survive in SEAndroid and Containerization?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 18, 2016

Sophos researchers Rowland Yu and William Lee look at whether recent security enhancements to Android, such as SEAndroid and containerization, will be enough to defeat future malware threats.

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First six VB2016 sponsors announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 17, 2016

Virus Bulletin is excited to announce the first six sponsors for VB2016, the 26th international Virus Bulletin conference, which will take place in Denver, Colorado, USA 5-7 October 2016.

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VB2015 paper: Sizing cybercrime: incidents and accidents, hints and allegations

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 11, 2016

Cybercrime is big. But how big is it really? In a paper presented at VB2015 and together with the presentation video published on our website today, ESET researcher Stephen Cobb looks at previous studies that attempt the size of cybercrime and asks why we need such data and what can be done better.

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Throwback Thursday: The Thin Blue Line

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 11, 2016

This Throwback Thursday, VB heads back to 1994 when UK Fraud Squad detectives started making inroads into the most puzzling 'Whodunnit' since the Great Train Robbery. Had an outbreak of computer crime swept Britain? No, it was all part of a police training program.

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Search blog

Save your soul with spam

Spam goes yet one step further - spiritual salvation!
Spam goes yet one step further - spiritual salvation! We are all accustomed to receiving spam that advertises herbal medicines, designer watches, new mortgages and online degrees… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/save-your-soul-spam/

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/

Spam-reporting trial

Australia's latest anti-spam initiative
Australia's latest anti-spam initiative The Australian Communications Authority (ACA) is teaming up with Internet Service Provider Pacific Internet and software company… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/spam-reporting-trial/

December

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/12/

Australia to protect critical computer systems

Vulnerability assessment for country's critical infrastructure systems
Vulnerability assessment for country's critical infrastructure systems The Australian government is to spend more than 8 million dollars on a project that will identify and fix… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/11/australia-protect-critical-computer-systems/

Lycos turns hippy on spam

'Make love not spam'
'Make love not spam' Lycos Europe has come up with an interesting new way for its users to feel they are getting their own back on spammers. Lycos is encouraging its users to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/11/lycos-turns-hippy-spam/

Spam survey

Do women hate spam more than men? Are humans better at identifying spam than computers? Make your contribution to (anti-)spam research...
Do women hate spam more than men? Are humans better at identifying spam than computers? Make your contribution to (anti-)spam research... John Graham-Cumming, author of POPFile… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/11/spam-survey/

Standardised malware naming for the new year

An end to the virus-naming problem?
An end to the virus-naming problem? A new initiative that aims to standardise malware naming may be in operation as early as January 2005. The US Department of Homeland… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/11/standardised-malware-naming-new-year/

Most spammed

Think you've got it bad? Spare a thought for Bill.
Think you've got it bad? Spare a thought for Bill. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is the world's most spammed email recipient. The (let's face it, not entirely surprising) fact… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/11/most-spammed/

29A virus writer sentenced

Member of notorious virus-writing group found guilty.
Member of notorious virus-writing group found guilty. A Russian virus writer has been found guilty of creating viruses and fined the somewhat paltry sum of 3,000 roubles. Eugene… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/11/29a-virus-writer-sentenced/

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/2004/11/latest-vgrep/

November

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/11/

Spam becomes a collectors' item

British man sets up his own Museum of Spam.
British man sets up his own Museum of Spam. Just in case you hadn't already seen enough spam in your inbox, or in case your spam filter is so efficient that you find yourself… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/spam-becomes-collectors-item/

November issue released

The Virus Bulletin November issue is on its way.
The Virus Bulletin November 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 November issue… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/november-issue-released/

Dial a detection

Guidance issued on how to deal with rogue Internet diallers ('porn diallers')
Guidance issued on how to deal with rogue Internet diallers ('porn diallers') UK telecoms watchdog the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/dial-detection/

Phishy goings on

Fewer than five zombie network operators are responsible for all Internet phishing attacks worldwide according to CipherTrust...
Fewer than five zombie network operators are responsible for all Internet phishing attacks worldwide according to CipherTrust... According to Commtouch Software the US, UK,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/phishy-goings/

Storms put the wind up spammers

Significant decline in the volume of spam messages seen in the days immediately following the three recent hurricanes.
Significant decline in the volume of spam messages seen in the days immediately following the three recent hurricanes. Email security firm FrontBridge Technologies Inc. reported… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/storms-put-wind-spammers/

Spam gets the sniffles

Spammers seize the opportunity to cash in on the US flu vaccine problem.
Spammers seize the opportunity to cash in on the US flu vaccine problem. Not only has the shortage of flu vaccine been something of a political hot potato in the run up to the US… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/spam-gets-sniffles/

Trial of virus writer postponed

Sasser author made to wait.
Sasser author made to wait. The trial of self-confessed virus writer Sven Jaschan has been postponed until next year. The 18-year-old, who confessed earlier this year to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/trial-virus-writer-postponed/

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