VB Blog

Malicious CCleaner update points to a major weakness in our infrastructure

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 18, 2017

Researchers from Cisco Talos have found that a recent version of the widely used CCleaner tool installed malware on the machine.

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Despite the profitability of ransomware there is a good reason why mining malware is thriving

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Sep 15, 2017

Though ransomware is far more profitable than using a compromised PC to mine bitcoins, the global distribution of malware means that there are many botnets for which mining is the most efficient way to extract money out of a PC.

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VB2017 preview: Crypton - exposing malware's deepest secrets

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 14, 2017

We preview the VB2017 paper by Julia Karpin and Anna Dorfman (F5 networks), in which they present a tool to decrypt encrypted parts of malware.

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VB2017 preview: Hacktivism and website defacement: motivations, capabilities and potential threats

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 13, 2017

We preview the VB2017 paper by Marco Romagna and Niek Jan van den Hout (The Hague University of Applied Sciences), in which they thoroughly analyse the motivations and modus operandy of hacktivists.

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Three questions to ask about security product bypasses

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 13, 2017

Proof-of-concepts for bypasses of security products always sound scary, but how seriously should we take them? VB Editor Martijn Grooten lists three questions one should ask about any such bypass to determine how serious a threat it represents.

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VB2017: WHOIS and EICAR Small Talks added

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 12, 2017

Today, we announce two more 'Small Talks' for the VB2017 programme. In one of them, Neil Schwarzman will discuss the consequences of the GDPR for WHOIS and abuse research, while the other will be hosted by three members of EICAR, who will discuss its work on a trustworthiness strategy and minimum standard.

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VB2017: nine last-minute papers announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 11, 2017

From attacks on Ukraine's power grid to web shells, and from car hacking to ransomware: we announce the first nine 'last-minute' papers on the VB2017 programme.

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Patching is important even when it only shows the maturity of your security process

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 5, 2017

A lot of vulnerabilities that are discovered are never exploited in the wild. It is still important to patch them though.

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Massive data breach confirms what you already knew: you are getting spam

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 4, 2017

A security researcher found more than 700 million email addresses stored on a server used by a spam botnet, which gives us some insight into what the email lists used by spammers look like.

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VB2017 preview: State of cybersecurity in Africa: Kenya

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 4, 2017

We preview the VB2017 presentation by Tyrus Kamau (Euclid Security), who will talk about the state of cybersecurity in Africa, with a particular focus on his home country, Kenya.

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Search blog

Spammers exploit internationalized domain names

Non-Latin characters in URLs used to trick filters.
Non-Latin characters in URLs used to trick filters. By using internationalized domain names (IDN), spammers manage to avoid detection of URLs in their messages. IDNs were… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/spammers-exploit-internationalized-domain-names/

Google acquires Zynamics

Internet giant buys into security.
Internet giant buys into security. Internet giant Google has acquired software analytics firm Zynamics, it was announced yesterday. The German company, which was founded in 2004… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/google-acquires-zynamics/

March

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/

March issue of VB published

The March issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The March issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The March 2011 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/march-issue-vb-published/

Welsh 419 scam

Email from Welsh-speaking Kuwaiti widow indicative of more targeted spam.
Email from Welsh-speaking Kuwaiti widow indicative of more targeted spam. Email users in Wales who received a recent 419 scam will have been surprised to find the message -… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/02/welsh-419-scam/

Dutch most protected Europeans online

Bulgarians most likely to have become infected; financial losses most prevalent among Latvians.
Bulgarians most likely to have become infected; financial losses most prevalent among Latvians. For the occasion of Safer Internet Day on 8 February, Eurostat, the EU's statistical… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/02/dutch-most-protected-europeans-online/

Mrs Mubarak's IP addresses used by spammers

Spammers finding new ways to obtain non-blacklisted addresses.
Spammers finding new ways to obtain non-blacklisted addresses. While not necessarily related to the current unrest in Egypt - which, among other things, led to the cutting off of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/02/mrs-mubarak-s-ip-addresses-used-spammers/

February issue of VB published

The February issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The February issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The February 2011 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/02/february-issue-vb-published/

February

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/02/

UK government sites warned to brace against attack

GovCertUK issues warning in aftermath of arrests of Anonymous gang members.
GovCertUK issues warning in aftermath of arrests of Anonymous gang members. UK government websites have been warned that they may find themselves subject to attack following the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/01/uk-government-sites-warned-brace-against-attack/

Phishing for different markets

Scam emails trying to steal CO2 emission credits and World-of-Warcraft accounts.
Scam emails trying to steal CO2 emission credits and World-of-Warcraft accounts. Two unrelated phishing campaigns seen doing the rounds recently show that it's not just real money… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/01/phishing-different-markets/

'Job application' contains malicious attachment

$150,000 lost via banking trojan.
$150,000 lost via banking trojan. An unidentified US company has learned the hard way that email attachments - even to those that appear to be solicited - may contain malware. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/01/job-application-contains-malicious-attachment/

All change at the top for ESET

VB regulars Richard Marko and Andrew Lee appointed to top management roles.
VB regulars Richard Marko and Andrew Lee appointed to top management roles. Congratulations are due to Richard Marko and Andrew Lee as they take up new positions within ESET. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/01/all-change-top-eset/

New peer-to-peer botnet discovered

New botnet shares fast flux DNS and other similarities with Storm and Waledac.
New botnet shares fast flux DNS and other similarities with Storm and Waledac. In the last few days of 2010, security researchers discovered a new botnet that shares many… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/01/new-peer-peer-botnet-discovered/

January issue of VB published

The January issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The January issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The January 2011 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/01/january-issue-vb-published/

2011

Latest news from the anti-virus industry provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
NewsSpammers using Google open redirectVulnerability 'not worthy of bug bounty program'. 15 December 2011Compromised websites used to mine bitcoinsIn-the-browser botnet turns… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/

January

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/01/

Hefty Patch Tuesday bulletin rounds off bumper year

No sign of an end to vulnerability glut.
No sign of an end to vulnerability glut.Microsoft released its monthly Patch Tuesday security bulletin yesterday, with details of a hefty 17 alerts covering 40 separate… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/12/hefty-patch-tuesday-bulletin-rounds-bumper-year/

Chinese whispers of malware writing and bribery in the industry

As China corruption scandals rumble on, more rumours of malware writers in AV firms surface.
As China corruption scandals rumble on, more rumours of malware writers in AV firms surface. Several recent stories in the media have revolved around China and malware writers,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/12/chinese-whispers-malware-writing-and-bribery-industry/

774,000 Avast! pirates on 14-user licence

Wildly popular free solution not good enough for some.
Wildly popular free solution not good enough for some. Leading provider of free anti-malware products Avast Software has spotted that a single 14-user licence key, issued last… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/12/774-000-avast-pirates-14-user-licence/

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