VB Blog

VB2015 preview: advanced persistent threats

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Aug 25, 2015

Several conference papers to deal with targeted attacks.

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Throwback Thursday: The Virus Analyst Headache

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Aug 20, 2015

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to April 1999, when the average virus analyst had to manually process around ten or more viruses per day, and the growing complexity and volume of viruses was proving a headache.

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Back to the future: anti-virus engines and sandboxes

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Aug 19, 2015

Szilard Stange makes the case for multi-engine malware scanning.

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Catch rates bounce back in latest spam filter test

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Aug 18, 2015

Products defy prediction of tougher circumstances.

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Paper: Life after the apocalypse for the Middle Eastern NJRat campaign

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Aug 14, 2015

Malware authors upped their game following 2014 disruption of No-IP.

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Throwback Thursday: IT Security Breaches: The 1994 NCC Survey

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Aug 13, 2015

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to November 1994, when VB asked: what is the nature of the real virus problem, and how much does it cost?

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VB2015 preview: the Internet of Things

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Aug 11, 2015

Experts to cover various aspects of IoT (in)security in a range of talks.

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File-stealing vulnerability found in Firefox PDF reader

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Aug 7, 2015

Both Windows and Linux users actively being targeted.

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Paper: Hype heuristics, signatures and the death of AV (again)

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Aug 7, 2015

David Harley responds to anti-malware's many criticasters.

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Throwback Thursday: Palm Breach

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Aug 6, 2015

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to July 2000, when concerns were growing about malicious threats to the Palm Personal Digital Assistant.

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Call for Papers: VB2016 Denver

VB seeks submissions for the 26th Virus Bulletin Conference.
VB seeks submissions for the 26th Virus Bulletin Conference.Virus Bulletin is seeking submissions from those wishing to present papers at VB2016, which will take place 5 to 7… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/12/call-papers-denver/

VB2015 video: Making a dent in Russian mobile banking phishing

Sebastian Porst explains what Google has done to protect users from phishing apps targeting Russian banks.
Sebastian Porst explains what Google has done to protect users from phishing apps targeting Russian banks. In the last few years, mobile malware has evolved from a mostly… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/12/video-making-dent-russian-mobile-banking-phishing/

Conference review: Botconf 2015

Third botnet fighting conference another big success.
Third botnet fighting conference another big success. Though only in its third year, Botconf has already become a regular fixture in my schedule. And thus, after having attended… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/12/conference-review-botconf-2015/

High spam catch rates continue in latest spam filter test

US presidential candidates regularly see their emails blocked by spam filters.
US presidential candidates regularly see their emails blocked by spam filters. Yet again, there was good news for most participants in the bi-monthly VBSpam spam filters tests:… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/12/high-spam-catch-rates-continue-latest-spam-filter-test/

Throwback Thursday: A View from the Lab

This Throwback Thursday, VB heads back to 1997 with 'A View from the Lab'.
This Throwback Thursday, VB heads back to 1997 with 'A View from the Lab'. According to its website, the AV-TEST Institute currently registers over 390,000 new malicious programs… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/12/throwback-thursday-view-lab/

December

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/12/

Paper: Optimizing ssDeep for use at scale

Brian Wallace presents tool to optimize ssDeep comparisons.
Brian Wallace presents tool to optimize ssDeep comparisons. Malware rarely comes as a single file, and to avoid having to analyse each sample in a set individually, a fuzzy hashing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/paper-optimizing-ssdeep-use-scale/

Throwback Thursday: Legal attempts to reduce spam. A UK perspective

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to November 2003, when spam was such a hot topic that VB decided to launch a dedicated 'VB Spam Supplement'.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to November 2003, when spam was such a hot topic that VB decided to launch a dedicated 'VB Spam Supplement'. While, today, spam is a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/throwback-thursday-legal-attempts-reduce-spam-uk-perspective/

Paper: 3ROS exploit framework kit — one more for the infection road

Aditya K. Sood and Rohit Bansal highlight a different side of an exploit kit.
Aditya K. Sood and Rohit Bansal highlight a different side of an exploit kit. Exploit kits are a serious plague on the Internet, made worse by the fact that the online… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/paper-3ros-exploit-framework-kit-one-more-infection-road/

Throwback Thursday: What DDoS it all Mean?

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to March 2000, when DDoS attacks were a newly emerging menace.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to March 2000, when DDoS attacks were a newly emerging menace. Today, DDoS attacks are a well-known form of cyber abuse — indeed,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/throwback-thursday-what-ddos-it-all-mean/

The Internet of Bad Things, Observed

In his VB2015 keynote address, Ross Anderson described attacks against EMV cards.
In his VB2015 keynote address, Ross Anderson described attacks against EMV cards. The VB2015 opening keynote by Ross Anderson could hardly have been more timely. In his talk "The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/internet-bad-things-observed/

Full house in VB's latest spam filter test

All participating full solutions earn VBSpam certification, while little delay is observed in spam filters.
All participating full solutions earn VBSpam certification, while little delay is observed in spam filters. There is good news for those who rely on spam filters — which means… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/full-house-vb-s-latest-spam-filter-test/

Throwback Thursday: Inside Sony's rootkit

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back ten years, when the discovery of a rootkit ignited a firestorm of criticism for Sony.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back ten years, when the discovery of a rootkit ignited a firestorm of criticism for Sony. Rootkits are common among modern malware, and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/throwback-thursday-inside-sony-s-rootkit/

Paper: Shifu — the rise of a self-destructive banking trojan

Thorough analysis of this new kid on the malware block.
Thorough analysis of this new kid on the malware block. Times are changing rapidly for banking trojans. Some prominent arrests and at least partially successful takedowns have left… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/paper-shifu-rise-self-destructive-banking-trojan/

Hack.lu 2015

Great research presented in a stimulating environment.
Great research presented in a stimulating environment. I had heard many good stories about previous Hack.lu conferences, so I was excited this year to finally be able to make it… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/hack-lu-2015/

November

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/11/

Throwback Thursday: Memetic Mass Mailers: Time to Classify Hoaxes as Malware?

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to July 2002, when virus hoaxes were wreaking havoc in homes and organizations worldwide.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to July 2002, when virus hoaxes were wreaking havoc in homes and organizations worldwide. Virus hoaxes — false reports or warnings… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/10/throwback-thursday-memetic-mass-mailers-time-classify-hoaxes-malware/

Throwback Thursday: The real virus problem

Anti-virus and security related articles provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to February 2004 when, in order to get a gauge of the "real" virus problem, Jim Bates presented the findings of a survey of UK… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/10/throwback-thursday-real-virus-problem/

Paper: MWI-5: Operation HawkEye

Gabor Szappanos looks at how macro malware campaigns spread a commercial keylogger to harvest banking details.
Gabor Szappanos looks at how macro malware campaigns spread a commercial keylogger to harvest banking details. Macro malware was a plague in the late 1990s, when Microsoft Office… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/10/paper-mwi-5-operation-hawkeye/

Throwback Thursday: Misguided or malevolent? New trends in virus writing

This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to February 2004 when Stuart Taylor wondered whether there was truly a criminal element entering virus writing.
This Throwback Thursday, we turn the clock back to February 2004 when Stuart Taylor wondered whether there was truly a criminal element entering virus writing. These days, no one… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/10/throwback-thursday-misguided-or-malevolent-new-trends-virus-writing/

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