VB Blog

Paper: New Keylogger on the Block

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 5, 2016

In a new paper published by Virus Bulletin, Sophos researcher Gabor Szappanos takes a look at the KeyBase keylogger, sold as a commercial product and popular among cybercriminals who use it in Office exploit kits.

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BSides Denver to take place the day after VB2016

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 28, 2016

VB2016, the 26th International Virus Bulletin conference, is an excellent reason to go to Denver, Colorado in the first week of October. But there is another reason to come to Denver: BSides Denver, which will take place the day after VB2016, on Saturday 8 October 2016.

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VB2015 paper: DDoS Trojan: A Malicious Concept that Conquered the ELF Format

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jun 13, 2016

In their VB2015 paper, Peter Kálnai and Jaromír Hořejší look at the current state of DDoS trojans forming covert botnets on unsuspecting systems. The paper provides a technical analysis of the most important malware families, focusing on infection methods, dynamic behaviour, C&C communication, obfuscation techniques, advanced methods of persistence and stealth, and elimination of rivals.

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Throwback Thursday: Hyppönen, that Data Fellow / Finnish Sprayer

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jun 2, 2016

This week, well known and universally respected industry guru Mikko Hyppönen celebrates his 25th anniversary of working at F-Secure (formerly known as Data Fellows). VB takes a look back in the archives at two articles published in 1994: an "insight" into the life and work of the then rising star of the anti-virus world, and a virus analysis penned by the man himself.

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VB2015 paper: Economic Sanctions on Malware

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jun 1, 2016

Financial pressure can be a proactive and potentially very effective tool in making our computer ecosystems safer. By cleverly employing various trust metrics and technologies such as digital signing, watermarking, and public-key infrastructure in strategically selected places, we can encourage good behaviours and punish bad ones. In his VB2015 paper, Igor Muttik analyses and gives examples of technologies (certificates, credentials, etc.) to de-incentivize bad behaviours in several ecosystems (Windows, Android, iOS).

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Virus Bulletin's job site for recruiters and job seekers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 26, 2016

Virus Bulletin has relaunched its security job vacancy service and added a new section, in which job seekers can advertise their skills and experience.

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Throwback Thursday: One_Half: The Lieutenant Commander?

Posted by   Helen Martin on   May 26, 2016

In October 1994, a new multi-partite virus appeared, using some of the techniques developed by the Dark Avenger in Commander_Bomber. As if this were not enough, the One_Half virus could also encrypt vital parts of the fixed disk. Eugene Kaspersky provided a detailed analysis.

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Advertisements on Blogspot sites lead to support scam

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 9, 2016

Support scam pop-ups presented through malicious advertisements show that, next to vulnerable end points, gullible users remain an easy source of money for online criminals.

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To make Tor work better on the web, we need to be honest about it

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 6, 2016

Many websites put barriers in front of visitors who use the Tor network. If we want to make the web more accessible through Tor, we need to be honest about why this is done, rather than cry wolf about a dislike for privacy, Martijn Grooten says.

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Paper: How It Works: Steganography Hides Malware in Image Files

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 28, 2016

A new paper by CYREN researcher Lordian Mosuela takes a close look at Gatak, or Stegoloader, a piece of malware that was discovered last year and that is controlled via malicious code embedded in a PNG image, a technique known as steganography.

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Search blog

Russian ATM hackers arrested

Gang used customized malware bought on hacker forum.
Gang used customized malware bought on hacker forum. Police in the Siberian city of Yakutsk have arrested a gang of hackers who had installed malware on ATMs throughout the city.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/12/russian-atm-hackers-arrested/

December issue of VB published

The December issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The December issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The December 2010 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/12/december-issue-vb-published/

December

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/12/

18 months for member of m00p gang

Hacker receives prison sentence.
Hacker receives prison sentence. A Scottish man who pleaded guilty last month to 'causing unauthorized modification to the content of computers' as part of his involvement in the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/18-months-member-m00p-gang/

Survey reveals apathy surrounding anti-malware protection

Inconvenient subscription models preventing UK consumers from protecting their PCs adequately.
Inconvenient subscription models preventing UK consumers from protecting their PCs adequately. A survey conducted in the UK by security firm GFI Software has revealed that 40% of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/survey-reveals-apathy-surrounding-anti-malware-protection/

Royal engagement search results poisoned

Hackers take the shine off Royal couple's news.
Hackers take the shine off Royal couple's news. It will come as little surprise to those in the IT security industry to hear that within minutes of yesterday's announcement of the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/royal-engagement-search-results-poisoned/

Site launched for anonymous sharing of information about security breaches

Verizon aims to foster cooperation and provide more readily available information for risk management.
Verizon aims to foster cooperation and provide more readily available information for risk management. It is well known in the security industry that one of the biggest barriers to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/site-launched-anonymous-sharing-information-about-security-breaches/

More than 1 million Chinese phones infected with malware

Mobile botnet sending out SMS spam.
Mobile botnet sending out SMS spam. Over one million mobile phones in China have been infected with malware and are sending out SMS spam, the Shanghai Daily reports. Masquerading… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/more-1-million-chinese-phones-infected-malware/

Security fixes from Apple and Microsoft

100 security fixes in latest OS X update; three MS security updates in this month's patch release.
100 security fixes in latest OS X update; three MS security updates in this month's patch release. The latest release of Mac operating system OS X (Mac OS X v10.6.5) contains over… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/security-fixes-apple-and-microsoft/

AVG to acquire DroidSecurity

Security firm set to expand solutions to mobile devices.
Security firm set to expand solutions to mobile devices. Czech security firm AVG has announced the acquisition of Tel Aviv-based DroidSecurity, a specialist in cloud-based… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/avg-acquire-droidsecurity/

Malicious applications target Orkut

Visitors to infected social network profiles redirected to phishing sites.
Visitors to infected social network profiles redirected to phishing sites. Users of the social networking site Orkut have found themselves targeted by malicious applications that… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/malicious-applications-target-orkut/

TrustPort lends support to UNICEF

Season of giving comes early for Czech security firm.
Season of giving comes early for Czech security firm. Czech security firm TrustPort has made a financial donation to international children's charity UNICEF which will enable the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/trustport-lends-support-unicef/

Eight Zeus-related money mules arrested

Arrests in US and Moldova show that cybercriminals aren't immune to the law.
Arrests in US and Moldova show that cybercriminals aren't immune to the law. Police in the US state of Wisconsin have arrested two Moldovan citizens who they believe have worked as… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/eight-zeus-related-money-mules-arrested/

Almost three quarters use same password for different sites

User continues to be the weakest link.
User continues to be the weakest link. 73% of computer users use the same password across multiple different accounts according to survey results released by security firm… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/almost-three-quarters-use-same-password-different-sites/

AV-Test.org unveils latest results

Trend Micro achieves pass; Microsoft and McAfee fail to reach certification standards.
Trend Micro achieves pass; Microsoft and McAfee fail to reach certification standards. Independent testing body AV-Test.org has released its latest set of quarterly test results,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/av-test-org-unveils-latest-results/

Facebook targeted by Boonana

Windows, Mac and Linux users affected by new social networking threat.
Windows, Mac and Linux users affected by new social networking threat. Another malware family has been discovered targeting popular social networking site Facebook. Boonana, which… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/facebook-targeted-boonana/

Success in anti-botnet operation

VB Seminar speaker describes how m00p gang member exploited computer users.
VB Seminar speaker describes how m00p gang member exploited computer users. A Scottish man pleaded guilty last month to 'causing unauthorized modification to the content of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/success-anti-botnet-operation/

Sophos joins free home AV crowd with Mac release

Business-focused firm takes first step into home-user arena.
Business-focused firm takes first step into home-user arena.Sophos has announced the release of a home-user edition of its Mac anti-malware solution, which is being given away free… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/sophos-joins-free-home-av-crowd-mac-release/

November

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/

November issue of VB published

The November issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The November issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The November 2010 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/11/november-issue-vb-published/

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