VB Blog

Alleged author of creepy FruitFly macOS malware arrested

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 11, 2018

A 28-year old man from Ohio has been arrested on suspicion of having created the mysterious FruitFly malware that targeted macOS and used it to spy on its victims.

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The threat and security product landscape in 2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 10, 2018

At the start of the new year, Virus Bulletin looks back at the threats seen in the 2017 and at the security products that are available to help mitigate them.

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Spamhaus report shows many botnet controllers look a lot like legitimate servers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 9, 2018

Spamhaus's annual report on botnet activity shows that botherders tend to use popular, legitimate hosting providers, domain registrars and top-level domains when setting up command-and-control servers.

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Tips on researching tech support scams

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 5, 2018

As tech support scammers continue to target the computer illiterate through cold calling, VB's Martijn Grooten uses his own experience to share some advice on how to investigate such scams.

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Meltdown and Spectre attacks mitigated by operating system updates

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 4, 2018

Just four days into the new year, two serious attacks in modern processors, dubbed Meltdown and Spectre, have been discovered. The attacks can be mitigated by patches to the operating system, but anti-virus software vendors need to make sure their products are compatible with the patches.

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Conference review: AVAR 2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 22, 2017

Martijn Grooten reports on the 20th AVAR conference, which took place earlier in December in Beijing, China.

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Conference review: Botconf 2017

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Dec 22, 2017

Virus Bulletin researchers report back from a very interesting fifth edition of Botconf, the botnet fighting conference.

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VB2017 videos on attacks against Ukraine

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 21, 2017

(In)security is a global issue that affects countries around the world, but in recent years none has been so badly hit as Ukraine. Today, we publish the videos of two VB2017 talks about attacks that hit Ukraine particularly badly: a talk by Alexander Adamov (NioGuard) on (Not)Petya and related attacks, and another by Robert Lipovsky and Anton Cherepanov (ESET) on Industroyer.

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Facebook helps you determine whether emails really came from its servers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 21, 2017

On its website, Facebook now shows which emails it has sent you recently, thus helping you to determine which emails are real, and which should be discarded as phishing.

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Vulnerability disclosure and botnet takedown not to be hindered by Wassenaar Arrangement

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 19, 2017

Clarification in the language of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral export control regime for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, means those involved in vulnerability disclosure or botnet takedown won't have to worry about acquiring an export licence.

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Search blog

Paper: Obfuscation in Android malware, and how to fight back

Axelle Apvrille and Ruchna Nigam look at both off-the-shelf products and custom obfuscation techniques.
Axelle Apvrille and Ruchna Nigam look at both off-the-shelf products and custom obfuscation techniques. After a relatively slow start, in recent years mobile malware has really… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/07/paper-obfuscation-android-malware-and-how-fight-back/

July

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/07/

Virus Bulletin celebrates 25th birthday by making all content free

Neither subscription nor registration required to access content.
Neither subscription nor registration required to access content. Happy birthday Virus Bulletin! Today it is exactly 25 years since, in the very first issue of Virus Bulletin,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/07/celebrates-25th-birthday-making-all-content-free/

Exploit kit requires link to be clicked before redirection

Automatic analysis of malicious payloads becomes a little bit harder again.
Automatic analysis of malicious payloads becomes a little bit harder again. A security researcher at ESET has discovered how a malicious site serving the Angler exploit kit… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/06/exploit-kit-requires-link-be-clicked-redirection/

Cheap Android phone comes shipped with spyware

Trojan masquerades as Google Play app; cannot be removed.
Trojan masquerades as Google Play app; cannot be removed. Researchers at German security firm G Data have discovered Android smartphones that come shipped with spyware. The phone… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/06/cheap-android-phone-comes-shipped-spyware/

Virus Bulletin seeks security researchers

Would you like to publish your research through Virus Bulletin - or perhaps even work for us?
Would you like to publish your research through Virus Bulletin - or perhaps even work for us? As of 1 July, all Virus Bulletin content will be freely available to everyone. This… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/06/seeks-security-researchers/

Game over for GameOver Zeus botnet?

Coordinated effort against gang that's also behind CryptoLocker ransomware.
Coordinated effort against gang that's also behind CryptoLocker ransomware. A large, coordinated effort involving law enforcement, security vendors and various security… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/06/game-over-gameover-zeus-botnet/

June

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/06/

June issue of VB published

The June issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The June issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The June 2014 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/06/june-issue-vb-published/

Virus Bulletin announces Péter Ször Award

'Brilliant mind and a true gentleman' commemorated through annual award for technical security research.
'Brilliant mind and a true gentleman' commemorated through annual award for technical security research. In commemoration of the life and work of security researcher Péter Ször,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/05/announces-p-ter-sz-r-award/

1 in 500 secure connections use forged certificate

For reasons ranging from relatively good, to actual malware.
For reasons ranging from relatively good, to actual malware. Researchers from Facebook and Carnegie Mellon University have published a paper (PDF) in which they show that out of a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/05/1-500-secure-connections-use-forged-certificate/

May issue of VB published

The May issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The May issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The May 2014 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/05/may-issue-vb-published/

May

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/05/

AOL spam spreads 'NotCompatible' Android trojan

AOL responds by following Yahoo! in setting strict DMARC policy.
AOL responds by following Yahoo! in setting strict DMARC policy. This week, #AOLhacked has become a popular hashtag on Twitter: many AOL users are using it to complain that their… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/04/aol-spam-spreads-notcompatible-android-trojan/

Yahoo's DMARC policy wreaks havoc among mailing lists

Collateral damage in instruction to reject emails with invalid DKIM signatures.
Collateral damage in instruction to reject emails with invalid DKIM signatures. A change in Yahoo's DMARC policy has caused frustration among operators of many mailing lists and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/04/yahoo-s-dmarc-policy-wreaks-havoc-among-mailing-lists/

A week of Heartbleed

OpenSSL vulnerability has kept the security community busy.
OpenSSL vulnerability has kept the security community busy. The 'Heartbleed' vulnerability has kept everyone on their toes over the last week or so - hitting the mainstream media,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/04/week-heartbleed/

VB2014 programme and keynote announced

Exciting range of topics to be covered at VB conference in Seattle this September; Katie Moussouris to deliver keynote address.
Exciting range of topics to be covered at VB conference in Seattle this September; Katie Moussouris to deliver keynote address. Altogether, almost 150 proposals were submitted for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/04/programme-and-keynote-announced/

OpenSSL vulnerability lets attackers quietly steal servers' private keys

Security firm advises regenerating keys and replacing certificates on vulnerable servers.
Security firm advises regenerating keys and replacing certificates on vulnerable servers. A very serious vulnerability in OpenSSL has caused panic among network administrators:… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/04/openssl-vulnerability-lets-attackers-quietly-steal-servers-private-keys/

April issue of VB published

The April issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The April issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The April 2014 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/04/april-issue-vb-published/

April

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/04/

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