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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Search blog

Chinese internet firm suspended

One-year suspension issued to mobile phone picture services supplier as punishment for carrying out unsolicited marketing.
One-year suspension issued to mobile phone picture services supplier as punishment for carrying out unsolicited marketing.Chinese Internet company Sohu.com will be subject to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/chinese-internet-firm-suspended/

Security of hash functions called into question

The encryption field was thrown into a frenzy at the end of last month when the security of hash functions MD5, SHA-0 and SHA-1 was called into question.
The encryption field was thrown into a frenzy at the end of last month when the security of hash functions MD5, SHA-0 and SHA-1 was called into question.The encryption field was… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/security-hash-functions-called-question/

Verizon sues SMS spammers

Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam.
Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam. US mobile provider Verizon Wireless has filed a lawsuit against 51 individuals who, it alleges, sent over 4.7 million… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/verizon-sues-sms-spammers/

CA buys PestPatrol

CA splashes out on anti-spyware technology.
CA splashes out on anti-spyware technology. Computer Associates has announced its acquisition of PestPatrol, a privately-held provider of anti-spyware software. CA will market the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/ca-buys-pestpatrol/

McAfee to buy Foundstone

McAfee splashes out on vulnerability management.
McAfee splashes out on vulnerability management. McAfee, Inc. has announced its impending acquisition of Foundstone, Inc., manufacturer of vulnerability management software, for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/mcafee-buy-foundstone/

XP SP2 wreaks havoc with AV

XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) establishes stronger security settings that help defend against viruses, hackers and worms.
XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) establishes stronger security settings that help defend against viruses, hackers and worms.According to Microsoft, the newly released (and much anticipated)… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/xp-sp2-wreaks-havoc-av/

Guilty as charged

Teen admits to distributing Blaster variant.
Teen admits to distributing Blaster variant. Minnesota teenager Jeffrey Lee Parson has pleaded guilty to distributing the B variant of the Blaster worm . Parson admitted to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/guilty-charged/

Two victories, a settlement and a reduction in spam

A promising month in the fight against spam.
A promising month in the fight against spam. With Microsoft achieving a $4 million court victory against spammer Daniel Khoshnood and his company Pointcom Inc., and the New York… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/two-victories-settlement-and-reduction-spam/

August

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/08/

Spammers brought to justice

Prosecutions made in Denmark, USA and India.
Prosecutions made in Denmark, USA and India. The new year saw a flurry of reports of spammers being brought to justice, with prosecutions being made in Denmark, the USA and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/spammers-brought-justice/

Mydoom.O

Latest Mydoom variant causes problems for Google.
Latest Mydoom variant causes problems for Google. A new version of the Mydoom worm, Mydoom.O, has been spreading across the Internet by email, causing problems even for the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/mydoom-o/

Probation for Magold author

Magold author sentenced, Finnish Lasku author arrested.
Magold author sentenced, Finnish Lasku author arrested. Last month saw the sentencing of a Hungarian teenager to two years' probation for creating the Magold virus. Teenager… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/probation-magold-author/

Spammer to pay $40,000

Spam King agrees to settlement with NY State.
Spam King agrees to settlement with NY State. High-profile email marketer Scott Richter, aka the 'Spam King', has agreed to pay $40,000 in settlement of a lawsuit brought against… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/spammer-pay-40-000/

Two victories, a settlement and a reduction in spam

Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam.
Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam. With Microsoft achieving a $4 million court victory against spammer Daniel Khoshnood and his company Pointcom Inc.,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/two-victories-settlement-and-reduction-spam/

McAfee plans move to Ireland

Emerald Isle lures another AV firm.
Emerald Isle lures another AV firm. McAfee Inc. (formerly known as Network Associates) has announced plans to move its European headquarters from Amsterdam to the Republic of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/mcafee-plans-move-ireland/

Virus in your pocket

Latest proof-of-concept virus affects Pocket PC.
Latest proof-of-concept virus affects Pocket PC. Back in August 2001, Virus Bulletin carried an article which warned "be prepared for the first Windows CE worms for Pocket PCs".… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/virus-your-pocket/

Court victory for Microsoft

Spammer ordered to pay $4 million damages to Microsoft.
Spammer ordered to pay $4 million damages to Microsoft. A Californian man has been ordered to pay $4 million to Microsoft after he was found guilty of having sent unsolicited… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/court-victory-microsoft/

Bumper quarter for Symantec

Profits more than doubled since last year.
Profits more than doubled since last year. Symantec has announced record profits for its fiscal first quarter of 2005. The AV company reported a profit of $131m on sales of $577m… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/bumper-quarter-symantec/

AOL employee colludes with spammers

AOL victim of inside job.
AOL victim of inside job. An AOL employee was arrested last month and charged with selling the company's customer email list to spammers. 24-year-old AOL engineer Jason Smathers… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/aol-employee-colludes-spammers/

The world from an email marketer's point of view

Anti-virus and security related articles provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
Spam King Scott Richter says he is "out to make the Internet a better place with email marketing" . High-profile email marketer Scott Richter, aka the 'Spam King', has told PC… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/07/world-email-marketer-s-point-view/

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