VB Blog

VB2018 paper: Little Brother is watching – we know all your secrets!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 1, 2019

At VB2018 in Montreal, researchers from Fraunhofer SIT looked at privacy vulnerabilities in legitimate Android family-tracking apps that leaked location data. Today, we publish both their paper and the video of their presentation.

Read more  

Threat intelligence teams should consider recruiting journalists

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 29, 2019

Threat intelligence teams would do well to recruit journalists, whose experience is crucial in today's threat landscape.

Read more  

From HSBC to product descriptions: the malicious emails bypassing your filters

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 28, 2019

Using data from our VBSpam lab, we looked at the malicious emails that have been missed recently by a large number of email security products.

Read more  

VB2018 paper: Inside Formbook infostealer

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 25, 2019

The Formbook information-stealing trojan may not be APT-grade malware, but its continuing spread means it can still be effective. At VB2018 in Montreal, Gabriela Nicolao, a researcher from Deloitte in Argentina, presented a short paper in which she looked at Formbook's background and history and analysed a sample of the malware. Today, we publish Gabriela's paper.

Read more  

The VB2019 CFP - how the selection procedure works

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 24, 2019

With the VB2019 Call for Papers having opened last week, we explain how the selection procedure works, which may help you during your abstract submission.

Read more  

VB2018 paper: From Hacking Team to hacked team to…?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 18, 2019

Today we publish the VB2018 paper and video by ESET researcher Filip Kafka, who looked at the new malware by Hacking Team, after the company had recovered from the 2015 breach.

Read more  

The spam that is hardest to block is often the most damaging

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 17, 2019

We see a lot of spam in the VBSpam test lab, and we also see how well such emails are being blocked by email security products. Worryingly, it is often the emails with a malicious attachment or a phishing link that are most likely to be missed.

Read more  

Throwback Thursday: We're all doomed

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jan 17, 2019

Mydoom turns 15 this month, and is still being seen in email attachments. This Throwback Thursday we look back to March 2004, when Gabor Szappanos tracked the rise of W32/Mydoom.

Read more  

VB2019 call for papers - now open!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 15, 2019

Have you analysed a new online threat? Do you know a new way to defend against such threats? Are you tasked with securing systems and fending off attacks? The call for papers for VB2019 is now open and we want to hear from you!

Read more  

VB2018 paper: Unpacking the packed unpacker: reversing an Android anti-analysis library

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 14, 2019

Today, we publish a VB2018 paper by Google researcher Maddie Stone in which she looks at one of the most interesting anti-analysis native libraries in the Android ecosystem. We also release the recording of Maddie's presentation.

Read more  

Search blog

Patch Tuesday brings little relief from browser exploits

Six fixes issued, but new IE zero day emerges along with Firefox flaw.
Six fixes issued, but new IE zero day emerges along with Firefox flaw.Microsoft has issued its monthly 'Patch Tuesday' security update, with some serious browser flaws patched, but… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/patch-tuesday-brings-little-relief-browser-exploits/

Korea DDoS surge mired in hype and confusion

Rows rumble on over sources and targets of botnet attacks.
Rows rumble on over sources and targets of botnet attacks. Last week's gush of denial-of-service attacks has sparked considerable excitement and argument, with rumours of possible… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/korea-ddos-surge-mired-hype-and-confusion/

URL shorteners experience surge of popularity among spammers

More than 2.2% of spam contains shortened URLs.
More than 2.2% of spam contains shortened URLs. URL shortening services have proven recently to be popular not just among microbloggers in need of shorter URLs, but also among… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/url-shorteners-experience-surge-popularity-among-spammers/

Serious false positive hits users of old McAfee engines

Batch of system files wrongly flagged as malware, current versions not affected.
Batch of system files wrongly flagged as malware, current versions not affected. An update released by McAfee last week resulted in problems around the world, as some vital system… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/serious-false-positive-hits-users-old-mcafee-engines/

Another IE zero day exploited

Second DirectShow vulnerability in six weeks labelled 'extremely critical'.
Second DirectShow vulnerability in six weeks labelled 'extremely critical'.Microsoft has issued an advisory on a serious vulnerability in an ActiveX control in its Internet… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/another-ie-zero-day-exploited/

Keyloggers used to loot US county

$415,000 sneaked from local government funds.
$415,000 sneaked from local government funds. A Kentucky county has suffered losses of $415,000 after keylogging malware infiltrated its computer systems, allowing cybercriminals… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/keyloggers-used-loot-us-county/

VB announces latest VBSpam certification results

Two products achieve top level VBSpam Platinum award.
Two products achieve top level VBSpam Platinum award. Virus Bulletin has announced the results of its second comparative review of anti-spam products, revealing two top-level… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/vb-announces-latest-vbspam-certification-results/

July

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/

July issue of VB published

The July issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The July issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The July 2009 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/july-issue-vb-published/

DKIM usage shows significant growth

US banks urged to use authentication method
US banks urged to use authentication method In a report on its website, Internet giant Cisco states it has been seeing almost 700,000 non-spam messages that contain valid DKIM… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/06/dkim-usage-shows-significant-growth/

June

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/06/

Latest AV-Comparatives results released

Retrospective figures follow up February test.
Retrospective figures follow up February test. Independent testing body AV-Comparatives have issued their latest set of retrospective test figures, completing the round of testing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/05/latest-av-comparatives-results-released/

Cyber-security organisations link up to foster collaboration

ASC, NCSA and StopBadware form 'chain of trust' initiative.
ASC, NCSA and StopBadware form 'chain of trust' initiative. Three major groups focused on issues of cyber security - the Anti-Spyware Coalition (ASC), the US National Cyber… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/05/cyber-security-organisations-link-foster-collaboration/

AV protection free for aliens

Klingon language scanner given away.
Klingon language scanner given away. After last summer saw malware making its way into space, it seemed like only a matter of time before alien races would need protection from the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/05/av-protection-free-aliens/

Gumblar compromise growth continues

Dominant web threat infecting still more vulnerable sites.
Dominant web threat infecting still more vulnerable sites. A major web compromise, estimated by some to represent over 40% of infected web pages last week, has continued growing in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/05/gumblar-compromise-growth-continues/

McAfee to acquire Solidcore

Whitelisting firm to be assimilated by security giant.
Whitelisting firm to be assimilated by security giant.McAfee has announced the acquisition of whitelisting firm Solidcore in a deal reported to be worth a base rate of $33 million,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/05/mcafee-acquire-solidcore/

Security experts pool ideas at European conferences

Research and expertise shared at CARO and AMTSO meetings.
Research and expertise shared at CARO and AMTSO meetings. Last week saw two major gatherings of top security and anti-malware experts from across the globe, as the third annual… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/05/security-experts-pool-ideas-european-conferences/

Security holes trouble vendors

Vulnerabilities fixed in McAfee website and Google Chrome; patch expected for Adobe Reader.
Vulnerabilities fixed in McAfee website and Google Chrome; patch expected for Adobe Reader. A range of vulnerabilities have been causing headaches recently for companies… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/05/security-holes-trouble-vendors/

May

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/05/

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 2009 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/05/may-issue-vb-published/

We have placed cookies on your device in order to improve the functionality of this site, as outlined in our cookies policy. However, you may delete and block all cookies from this site and your use of the site will be unaffected. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to Virus Bulletin's use of data as outlined in our privacy policy.