VB Blog

First sponsors of VB2017 announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 6, 2017

We are excited to announce the first five sponsors of VB2017, companies based in Europe, Asia and North America.

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Security products and HTTPS: let's do it better

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 27, 2017

A recent paper showed that many HTTPS-intercepting security solutions have implemented TLS rather poorly. Does that mean we should avoid such solutions altogether?

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The SHA-1 hashing algorithm has been 'shattered'

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 23, 2017

Researchers from Google and CWI Amsterdam have created the first known collision of the SHA-1 hashing algorithm, making a very strong case to ditch it.

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Throwback Thursday: Once a researcher...

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 23, 2017

VB was saddened to learn this week of the passing of one of the pioneers of the AV industry, Ross Greenberg. This Throwback Thursday we look back at an interview with Ross in November 1995.

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VB2017: What is happening in the threat landscape and what are we doing against it? Submit a proposal in the VB2017 CFP!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 20, 2017

Have you analysed a new online threat? Do you know a new way to defend against such threats? Then submit an abstract in the CFP for VB2017!

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VB2016 paper: APT reports and OPSEC evolution, or: these are not the APT reports you are looking for

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 17, 2017

APT reports are great for gaining an understanding of how advanced attack groups operate - however, they can also provide free QA for the threat actors. Today, we publish a VB2016 paper by Gadi Evron (Cymmetria) and Inbar Raz (Perimeter X), who discuss what they think is wrong with many APT reports and what can be done to improve them.

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Security for your ears: recommended infosec podcasts

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 14, 2017

Industry veteran Mikko Hyppönen recently urged would-be security researchers to ditch their favourite pop music and listen to security podcasts on their commute to work instead. Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten shares his favourite security podcasts.

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VB2016 video: Getting duped: piggybacking on webcam streams for surreptitious recordings

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 10, 2017

In a presentation at VB2016, Patrick Wardle, Director of Research at Synack, discussed the possibilities of Mac malware recording the user via the webcam. Today, we publish the video of Patrick's presentation.

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We shouldn't forget those most vulnerable in our digital world

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 9, 2017

Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten calls for the security community not to forget those most vulnerable in the digital world, including political activists living under oppressive regimes, and victims of abuse.

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Throwback Thursday: A troubled world

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 9, 2017

In early 1991, the world was a troubled place and conflict and violence were being reported globally on a daily basis. With this as a backdrop, the world of "indiscriminate" computer viruses which "victimise in a random and unpredictable manner" seemed relatively trivial to then Editor of VB, Edward Wilding.

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UK funds allocated to cyber security

New spending on cyber security despite other public cuts.
New spending on cyber security despite other public cuts. As the UK reels following the government's announcement of the biggest public spending cuts in decades, one of the few… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/10/uk-funds-allocated-cyber-security/

Microsoft's machines hijacked by spammers

Servers also used for DoS attack on security journalist's site.
Servers also used for DoS attack on security journalist's site. More than a thousand websites pushing spamvertised pharmaceuticals have been found to be using name servers on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/10/microsoft-s-machines-hijacked-spammers/

Giant patch release from Microsoft, Oracle

Record Patch Tuesday combines with swathe of extra fixes for corporates.
Record Patch Tuesday combines with swathe of extra fixes for corporates. It's a busy week for corporate admins as Microsoft's monthly Patch Tuesday security bulletin, containing a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/10/giant-patch-release-microsoft-oracle/

Dutch banks report huge increase in online fraud

Users warned against phishing and becoming money mules.
Users warned against phishing and becoming money mules. Figures on online crime released by the association of Dutch banks (NVB) show a significant rise in indicents of online… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/10/dutch-banks-report-huge-increase-online-fraud/

October issue of VB published

The October issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The October issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The October 2010 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/10/october-issue-vb-published/

October

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/10/

ARF published as IETF standard

Abuse report format helps auto-handling of email complaints
Abuse report format helps auto-handling of email complaints ARF (Abuse Reporting Format) has been approved by the IETF as an Internet standard. ARF is a format used to send… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/09/arf-published-ietf-standard/

Microsoft releases new fix for DLL vulnerability

Earlier workaround believed to be too complex for most users.
Earlier workaround believed to be too complex for most users. A week after Microsoft released a fix for a DLL vulnerability that affected a large number of programs running on its… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/09/microsoft-releases-new-fix-dll-vulnerability/

Malicious tweets link to fake TweetDeck update

Twitter resets passwords for accounts that appear to have been hacked.
Twitter resets passwords for accounts that appear to have been hacked.Twitter users who recently clicked on links in tweets urging them to upgrade their version of TweetDeck - the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/09/malicious-tweets-link-fake-tweetdeck-update/

September issue of VB published

The September issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The September issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The September 2010 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/09/september-issue-vb-published/

September

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/09/

94% of Internet users befriend unknown 'good-looking woman'

Sensitiva data shared after two-hour chat.
Sensitiva data shared after two-hour chat. Research from BitDefender has shown that the vast majority of users of social network sites are willing to befriend an unknown,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/94-internet-users-befriend-unknown-good-looking-woman/

Investment boost for Quick Heal

Indian security firm gets hefty cash injection.
Indian security firm gets hefty cash injection. Indian computer security firm Quick Heal has received a INR 60 crore (approximately US$12.7 million) cash injection from venture… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/investment-boost-quick-heal/

41% of spam sent via Rustock botnet

Botnet spam back after short summer break.
Botnet spam back after short summer break. In its latest intelligence report, security firm MessageLabs reports that 41% of all spam is being sent through the Rustock botnet, an… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/41-spam-sent-rustock-botnet/

Avast gets $100m investment boost

Growth equity firm invests in Czech firm
Growth equity firm invests in Czech firmAvast Software, the Czech anti-malware firm famous for its free avast! software, has announced that growth equity investor Summit Partners… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/avast-gets-100m-investment-boost/

Computer chip giant buys AV giant

Intel becomes new owner of McAfee for the princely sum of $7.8bn
Intel becomes new owner of McAfee for the princely sum of $7.8bnIntel, the world's biggest manufacturer of computer chips, is poised to acquire security giant McAfee - one of the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/computer-chip-giant-buys-av-giant/

AV-Test.org issues latest round of testing results

Symantec and Microsoft outdo Trend and McAfee in live tests.
Symantec and Microsoft outdo Trend and McAfee in live tests. Independent testing organisation AV-Test.org has released its latest round of test results in a simplified format,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/av-test-org-issues-latest-round-testing-results/

VB100 update

Adjustments to test scores affect Kaspersky, VirusBuster.
Adjustments to test scores affect Kaspersky, VirusBuster. In the wake of the recent VB100 comparative, covering a massive 54 products on Windows Vista SP2, further double-checking… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/update/

Android SMS trojan goes wild

Premium-rate text scam shows growing cracks in smart phone security.
Premium-rate text scam shows growing cracks in smart phone security. The first known SMS trojan affecting smart phones running Google's Android operating system has been observed… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/android-sms-trojan-goes-wild/

A third of anti-malware products fail to secure Vista Business Edition, Virus Bulletin reveals

VB urges industry to work harder at quality assurance.
VB urges industry to work harder at quality assurance. Virus Bulletin has revealed that, out of 54 anti-malware products tested, 19 failed to reach the standard required for VB100… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/third-anti-malware-products-fail-secure-vista-business-edition-reveals/

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