VB Blog

Alleged author of creepy FruitFly macOS malware arrested

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 11, 2018

A 28-year old man from Ohio has been arrested on suspicion of having created the mysterious FruitFly malware that targeted macOS and used it to spy on its victims.

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The threat and security product landscape in 2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 10, 2018

At the start of the new year, Virus Bulletin looks back at the threats seen in the 2017 and at the security products that are available to help mitigate them.

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Spamhaus report shows many botnet controllers look a lot like legitimate servers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 9, 2018

Spamhaus's annual report on botnet activity shows that botherders tend to use popular, legitimate hosting providers, domain registrars and top-level domains when setting up command-and-control servers.

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Tips on researching tech support scams

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 5, 2018

As tech support scammers continue to target the computer illiterate through cold calling, VB's Martijn Grooten uses his own experience to share some advice on how to investigate such scams.

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Meltdown and Spectre attacks mitigated by operating system updates

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 4, 2018

Just four days into the new year, two serious attacks in modern processors, dubbed Meltdown and Spectre, have been discovered. The attacks can be mitigated by patches to the operating system, but anti-virus software vendors need to make sure their products are compatible with the patches.

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Conference review: AVAR 2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 22, 2017

Martijn Grooten reports on the 20th AVAR conference, which took place earlier in December in Beijing, China.

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Conference review: Botconf 2017

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Dec 22, 2017

Virus Bulletin researchers report back from a very interesting fifth edition of Botconf, the botnet fighting conference.

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VB2017 videos on attacks against Ukraine

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 21, 2017

(In)security is a global issue that affects countries around the world, but in recent years none has been so badly hit as Ukraine. Today, we publish the videos of two VB2017 talks about attacks that hit Ukraine particularly badly: a talk by Alexander Adamov (NioGuard) on (Not)Petya and related attacks, and another by Robert Lipovsky and Anton Cherepanov (ESET) on Industroyer.

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Facebook helps you determine whether emails really came from its servers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 21, 2017

On its website, Facebook now shows which emails it has sent you recently, thus helping you to determine which emails are real, and which should be discarded as phishing.

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Vulnerability disclosure and botnet takedown not to be hindered by Wassenaar Arrangement

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Dec 19, 2017

Clarification in the language of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral export control regime for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, means those involved in vulnerability disclosure or botnet takedown won't have to worry about acquiring an export licence.

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Search blog

Users of online banking 'should have adequate protection'

New UK banking code says customers who keep their PCs secure will not be responsible for losses due to online theft.
New UK banking code says customers who keep their PCs secure will not be responsible for losses due to online theft. A new banking code launched earlier this week by the British'… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/users-online-banking-should-have-adequate-protection/

Average spam message size at record low

No decrease of bandwidth usage as number of spam messages keeps increasing.
No decrease of bandwidth usage as number of spam messages keeps increasing. The average size of spam messages has decreased to a record low of just over 2KB, security company… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/average-spam-message-size-record-low/

Less than 30 per cent of smartphone users have AV installed

Experts disagree on the need for specialist mobile AV protection.
Experts disagree on the need for specialist mobile AV protection. In a poll only 19% of visitors to the VB website said they had anti-malware protection on their mobile phone.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/less-30-cent-smartphone-users-have-av-installed/

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 2008 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/april-issue-vb-published/

April

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/

Almost 90% of Americans feel safe online

Users' confidence does not match up with percentage of properly protected users.
Users' confidence does not match up with percentage of properly protected users. Research by StopBadware.org shows that 88% of Americans say they feel safe online, despite the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/almost-90-americans-feel-safe-online/

April Storm

April Fools' Day emails contain new variant of infamous worm.
April Fools' Day emails contain new variant of infamous worm. Security researchers report a new wave of spam emails being sent out. The emails, which use subject lines such as… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/april-storm/

From Simple Mail to Hypertext

HTTP and FTP take over from SMTP as common malware spreading methods.
HTTP and FTP take over from SMTP as common malware spreading methods.A report from F-Secure has highlighted the recent shift in malware spreading methods from email to web-based… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/simple-mail-hypertext/

Microsoft acquires Komoku

Anti-rootkit software to become part of Forefront and OneCare.
Anti-rootkit software to become part of Forefront and OneCare. Just before Easter, Microsoft announced it had acquired Komoku, a Maryland-based company that builds anti-rootkit… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/microsoft-acquires-komoku/

Access flaw exploited via Word

Microsoft's employees hunting vulnerabilities instead of Easter eggs.
Microsoft's employees hunting vulnerabilities instead of Easter eggs. A buffer overrun vulnerability in Microsoft's Jet Database Engine, the underlying database behind Microsoft… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/access-flaw-exploited-word/

Hoax email warns about 'nasty virus'

Phony advice causes removal of site from search engines.
Phony advice causes removal of site from search engines. Over the last few days an email, written in German, has been seen circulating warning users about a 'nasty virus' that is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/hoax-email-warns-about-nasty-virus/

Legitimate program becomes trojan downloader

Website of FlashGet attacked; malicious 'update' automatically downloaded.
Website of FlashGet attacked; malicious 'update' automatically downloaded. By hacking into the website of popular Windows download manager FlashGet, cybercriminals have managed to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/legitimate-program-becomes-trojan-downloader/

More 'trusted sites' carrying iframe danger

Big wave of website infections could affect tens of thousands of sites, Trend Micro latest victim.
Big wave of website infections could affect tens of thousands of sites, Trend Micro latest victim. Earlier this week McAfee reported a major outbreak of website infections, with as… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/more-trusted-sites-carrying-iframe-danger/

AV-test.org issues latest figures

In-depth testing covers multiple factors.
In-depth testing covers multiple factors. Independent testing body AV-Test.org has released its latest set of results, with a large group of products tested against a number of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/av-test-org-issues-latest-figures/

EU agency research advises sweeping security improvements

ISPs and developers should be held to account, says report.
ISPs and developers should be held to account, says report. A research paper commissioned by the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) has called for major… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/eu-agency-research-advises-sweeping-security-improvements/

Latest Patch Tuesday release

March's Patch Tuesday sees four 'critical' updates.
March's Patch Tuesday sees four 'critical' updates.Microsoft has released its monthly 'Patch Tuesday' security bulletin. This month the bulletin features four 'critical' updates,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/latest-patch-tuesday-release/

Cisco announces 'Patch Wednesdays'

Cisco set to embark on regular release cycle.
Cisco set to embark on regular release cycle. Following a trend set by Microsoft's monthly 'Patch Tuesdays' and Oracle's quarterly security updates, networking giant Cisco has… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/cisco-announces-patch-wednesdays/

Latest AV-Comparatives results released

Detection test shows most products improving.
Detection test shows most products improving. Testers at AV-Comparatives have released their latest set of results, with 16 products pitted against a massive set of over 1.6… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/latest-av-comparatives-results-released/

'Olympic' emails contain malicious XLS attachments

Malware writers sprint to use vulnerabilities before next Patch Tuesday.
Malware writers sprint to use vulnerabilities before next Patch Tuesday. Security researchers have reported seeing emails containing XLS attachments designed to exploit a yet… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/olympic-emails-contain-malicious-xls-attachments/

Spammer's free speech defence fails

Appeal against conviction turned down.
Appeal against conviction turned down. US spammer Jeremy Jaynes, the first spammer convicted in a felony case, has had his last appeal against the conviction, brought on freedom of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/spammer-s-free-speech-defence-fails/

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