VB Blog

VB2016 video: Last-minute paper: Malicious proxy auto-configs: an easy way to harvest banking credentials

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 30, 2017

In a VB2016 last-minute presentation, Jaromír Horejší and Jan Širmer looked at Retefe, a trojan that has targeted banks in several European countries and used malicious proxy auto-config filesto redirect users' traffic to a server controlled by the attackers. A recording of their presentation is now available to view on our YouTube channel.

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WannaCry shows we need to understand why organizations don't patch

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 17, 2017

Perhaps the question we should be asking about WannaCry is not "why do so many organizations allow unpatched machines to exist on their networks?" but "why doesn't patching work reasonably well most of the time?"

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Modern security software is not necessarily powerless against threats like WannaCry

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 15, 2017

The WannaCry ransomware has affected many organisations around the world, making it probably the worst and most damaging of its kind. But modern security is not necessarily powerless against such threats.

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Throwback Thursday: CARO: A personal view

Posted by   Helen Martin on   May 11, 2017

This week sees the 11th International CARO Workshop taking place in Krakow, Poland – a prestigious annual meeting of anti-malware and security experts. As a founding member of CARO, Fridrik Skulason was well placed, in August 1994, to shed some light on the organization, to explain in detail CARO's main activities and functions, as well as the reasons behind its strict membership regulations.

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VB2016 paper: Uncovering the secrets of malvertising

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 10, 2017

Malicious advertising, a.k.a. malvertising, has evolved tremendously over the past few years to take a central place in some of today’s largest web-based attacks. It is by far the tool of choice for attackers to reach the masses but also to target them with infinite precision and deliver such payloads as ransomware. Today, we publish a paper presented at VB2016 in Denver by Malwarebytes researchers Jérôme Segura and Chris Boyd, in which they look at the advertising ecosystem, how it is used, and at what techniques are being utilised to spread malware

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Throwback Thursday: Tools of the DDoS Trade

Posted by   Helen Martin on   May 4, 2017

As DDoS attacks become costlier to fix and continue to increase in both number and diversity, we turn back the clock to 2000, when Aleksander Czarnowski took a look at the DDoS tools of the day.

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VB2016 paper: Building a local passiveDNS capability for malware incident response

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 4, 2017

At VB2016, Splunk researchers Kathy Wang and Steve Brant presented a Splunk app that can be used to locally collect passive DNS data. A recording of their presentation is now available to view on our YouTube channel.

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VB2016 video: Last-minute paper: A malicious OS X cocktail served from a tainted bottle

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 28, 2017

In a VB2016 last-minute presentation, ESET researchers Peter Kalnai and Martin Jirkal looked at the OS X malware threats KeRanger and Keydnap, that both spread through a compromised BitTorrent client. A recording of their presentation is now available to view on our YouTube channel.

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Consumer spyware: a serious threat with a different threat model

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 25, 2017

Consumer spyware is a growing issue and one that can have serious consequences: its use is increasingly common in domestic violence. But do our threat models consider the attacker with physical access to, and inside knowledge of the victim?

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VB2016 paper: Debugging and monitoring malware network activities with Haka

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 24, 2017

In their VB2016 paper, Stormshield researchers Benoît Ancel and Mehdi Talbi introduced Haka, an open-source language to monitor, debug and control malicious network traffic. Both their paper and the video recording of their presentation are now available to read/view on www.virusbulletin.com.

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January

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/01/

2003

Latest news from the anti-virus industry provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
NewsUS and UK spam legislation in place Anti-spam legislation in place. 29 December 2003Number crunchingCalculating the average cost of a virus attack - estimates or guesstimates?… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/

Stocks, viruses and a disgruntled employee

A systems administrator has been charged with attempting to manipulate a company's stock price by introducing a virus into its computer system.
A systems administrator has been charged with attempting to manipulate a company's stock price by introducing a virus into its computer system. The New York Times reports that a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/12/stocks-viruses-and-disgruntled-employee/

Stocking Fillers

It's that time of year again when we're frantically scouring the shopping malls for something unique and meaningful to give to our loved ones. Coincidentally, it's also that time of year when VB turns out its stock cupboards and puts some truly fabulous m…
It's that time of year again when we're frantically scouring the shopping malls for something unique and meaningful to give to our loved ones. Coincidentally, it's also that time… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/12/stocking-fillers/

December

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/12/

Addendum: Windows 2000 Advanced Server Comparative Review

After re-testing, Trend's ServerProtect product gains a VB 100% award.
After re-testing, Trend's ServerProtect product gains a VB 100% award. In the November 2002 Comparative Review Trend's ServerProtect was reported to have failed to achieve full… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/12/addendum-windows-2000-advanced-server-comparative-review/

Some thoughts on ViraLock

We examine ViraLock, a product which promises 'Zero Escape For Email Viruses', provided, it seems, the virus plays by their rules.
We examine ViraLock, a product which promises 'Zero Escape For Email Viruses', provided, it seems, the virus plays by their rules. It's understandable that we greet announcements… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/11/some-thoughts-viralock/

Who's There?

New security portal unveiled by publishers of Information Security Bulletin magazine.
New security portal unveiled by publishers of Information Security Bulletin magazine. Last month a new security portal was unveiled by the publishers of Information Security… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/11/who-s-there/

Paying the Price

McAfee Security issues press release estimating the potential costs to businesses of 'the next big virus attack'
McAfee Security issues press release estimating the potential costs to businesses of 'the next big virus attack' McAfee Security has become the latest security company to issue a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/11/paying-price/

Writer of virus trio in court

A British man has appeared in court charged with the creation and distribution of a trio of mass-mailing viruses: Gokar, Redesi and Admirer.
A British man has appeared in court charged with the creation and distribution of a trio of mass-mailing viruses: Gokar, Redesi and Admirer. A British man has appeared in court… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/11/writer-virus-trio-court/

November

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/11/

'Kournikova' writer loses appeal

Reports are that Jan de Wit, author of the 'Kournikova' virus (VBSWG variant) has lost his appeal against 150 hours of community service.
Reports are that Jan de Wit, author of the 'Kournikova' virus (VBSWG variant) has lost his appeal against 150 hours of community service. The Register reports that Jan de Wit,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/10/kournikova-writer-loses-appeal/

With friends like these...

A nuisance email which is neither viral nor a hoax is proving to be equally bothersome.
A nuisance email which is neither viral nor a hoax is proving to be equally bothersome. A nuisance email which is neither viral nor a hoax is proving to be equally bothersome.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/10/friends-these/

Addendum: June 2002 Windows XP Comparative Review

F-Prot users relying on the on-access protection against W32/Nimda.A are safe
F-Prot users relying on the on-access protection against W32/Nimda.A are safe In the June 2002 comparative review of anti-virus products for Windows XP (see VB, June 2002, p.19),… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/10/addendum-june-2002-windows-xp-comparative-review/

Moth-eaten software...

A warning issued by Israeli security firm GreyMagic Software last month revealed a total of nine vulnerabilities in IE 5.5 and 6.0, all concerning object caching.
A warning issued by Israeli security firm GreyMagic Software last month revealed a total of nine vulnerabilities in IE 5.5 and 6.0, all concerning object caching. A warning… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/10/moth-eaten-software/

Service or bust

So confident is Trend Micro of its virus detection abilities that it is offering a financial penalty-backed detection guarantee.
So confident is Trend Micro of its virus detection abilities that it is offering a financial penalty-backed detection guarantee. So confident is Trend Micro of its virus detection… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/10/service-or-bust/

October

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/10/

Viruses - Some Good

Just occasionally, a virus infection can have some positive effects...
Just occasionally, a virus infection can have some positive effects... Much like biological viruses, it turns out that infections by computer viruses can lead to increased measures… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/09/viruses-some-good/

Bring on the DEET

The latest award for the most tenuous product-pushing story goes to BitDefender, whose marketeers claim a 'mosquito-borne disease could easily become a computer infection.'
The latest award for the most tenuous product-pushing story goes to BitDefender, whose marketeers claim a 'mosquito-borne disease could easily become a computer infection.' The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/09/bring-deet/

Virtually There

The Infosecurity show and exhibition has gone virtual with the launch of the first Infosecurity World Online exhibition. But where are the sweets?
The Infosecurity show and exhibition has gone virtual with the launch of the first Infosecurity World Online exhibition. But where are the sweets? The Infosecurity show and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2002/09/virtually-there/

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