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

Record breaking 60 anti-malware products undergo VB100 testing on Windows XP

One third fail to gain certification.
One third fail to gain certification. Virus Bulletin has completed its largest ever test of anti-malware products, with a phenomenal 60 products being tested on Windows XP. 40 of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/04/record-breaking-60-anti-malware-products-undergo-testing-windows-xp/

April

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/04/

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 2010 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/04/april-issue-vb-published/

VB2010 conference programme announced

Schedule for Vancouver security conference announced after bumper crop of submissions.
Schedule for Vancouver security conference announced after bumper crop of submissions. Following a bumper crop of submissions, the VB2010 conference committee is pleased to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/03/conference-programme-announced/

Estonian virus writer sent to jail

Author of Allapple virus sentenced.
Author of Allapple virus sentenced. An Estonian man has been found guilty of creating and distributing the Allapple virus, and sentenced to a little over two and a half years in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/03/estonian-virus-writer-sent-jail/

Morphing PDFs in new SEO poisoning trick

Harmless documents replaced by web pages containing malicious code.
Harmless documents replaced by web pages containing malicious code. Researchers at F-Secure have discovered a new SEO poisoning trick in which attackers put harmless PDFs on a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/03/morphing-pdfs-new-seo-poisoning-trick/

Botnet taken down as ringleaders are arrested

'Mariposa' included almost 13 million zombies.
'Mariposa' included almost 13 million zombies. Spanish authorities have managed to take down the Mariposa botnet - one of the largest of its kind which is believed to have infected… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/03/botnet-taken-down-ringleaders-are-arrested/

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 2010 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/03/march-issue-vb-published/

March

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/03/

Spammers move from China to Russia

Stricter rules on registering .cn domains leads to increase in malicious .ru domains.
Stricter rules on registering .cn domains leads to increase in malicious .ru domains. A change in the rules of the organization responsible for registering .cn domains has resulted… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/02/spammers-move-china-russia/

Nearly 20% still running IE 6

VB poll finds users still running outdated browser despite campaigns to boycott it.
VB poll finds users still running outdated browser despite campaigns to boycott it. Despite widespread calls to boycott IE 6 and Microsoft's plans to retire support for the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/02/nearly-20-still-running-ie-6/

Out-of-band patch release from Adobe

Unscheduled update released by Adobe.
Unscheduled update released by Adobe.Adobe has released an unscheduled patch for its Reader and Acrobat programs to address some critical flaws. The software company's fixes… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/02/out-band-patch-release-adobe/

Warrant issued for arrest of cyclist turned hacker

Cyclist accused of planting trojan at dope testing lab.
Cyclist accused of planting trojan at dope testing lab. A French judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of US cyclist Floyd Landis in connection with a computer hacking case.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/02/warrant-issued-arrest-cyclist-turned-hacker/

Patch Tuesday release includes 13 bulletins

26 vulnerabilities featured in sizeable update set.
26 vulnerabilities featured in sizeable update set. After a relatively quiet January, administrators are faced with a hefty workload this week as Microsoft's monthly Patch Tuesday… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/02/patch-tuesday-release-includes-13-bulletins/

February

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/02/

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 2010 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/02/february-issue-vb-published/

EU report suggests 95% of email is spam

Less than five per cent of all SMTP connections result in an email being delivered into a user's inbox.
Less than five per cent of all SMTP connections result in an email being delivered into a user's inbox. A survey carried out by the European Network and Information Security Agency… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/01/eu-report-suggests-95-email-spam/

January

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/01/

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 2010 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/01/january-issue-vb-published/

2010

Latest news from the anti-virus industry provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
NewsHefty Patch Tuesday bulletin rounds off bumper yearNo sign of an end to vulnerability glut. 15 December 2010Chinese whispers of malware writing and bribery in the industryAs… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/

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