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

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/

Cybercriminals charged in New Zealand, Korea

Law closes in on alleged botnet master and rogue anti-spyware maker.
Law closes in on alleged botnet master and rogue anti-spyware maker. Police in New Zealand have charged an 18-year-old in connection with a botnet he is suspected of building and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/cybercriminals-charged-new-zealand-korea/

'Search engines should do more to fight malware'

85% of users think that search engines should be doing more.
85% of users think that search engines should be doing more. According to a recent poll, 85% of visitors to the VB website think that search engines should be doing more to fight… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/search-engines-should-do-more-fight-malware/

Showy malware pushes rogue anti-malware product

MonaRonaDona trojan leads searchers to remover scam.
MonaRonaDona trojan leads searchers to remover scam. An infection which advertises its presence using the name 'MonaRonaDona' is leading victims to search for a cure - and many of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/showy-malware-pushes-rogue-anti-malware-product/

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 2008 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/march-issue-vb-published/

March

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/

Gmail CAPTCHA cracked

Twenty per cent success rate sufficient to create thousands of spam accounts.
Twenty per cent success rate sufficient to create thousands of spam accounts.Gmail has become the latest free webmail service to have its CAPTCHAs cracked by spammers. Following… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/gmail-captcha-cracked/

Trend Micro buys email encryption firm

UK company taken over by security giant.
UK company taken over by security giant. Global security superpower Trend Micro has invested in a small email encryption firm based in Bristol, UK. The company, Identum, emerged… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/trend-micro-buys-email-encryption-firm/

Malware going local

Report sees trend toward greater localisation of threats.
Report sees trend toward greater localisation of threats.McAfee's latest Sage report focuses on increased localisation in malware, with spam, phishing and malcode all showing great… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/malware-going-local/

Botnet-herding team arrested in Quebec

Gang held for managing million-machine zombie net.
Gang held for managing million-machine zombie net. Canadian police have announced the arrests of up to 17 people in Quebec, in connection with a major botnet operation thought to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/botnet-herding-team-arrested-quebec/

Vista SP1 clashing with AV products

Service Pack causing issues for several security suites.
Service Pack causing issues for several security suites.Microsoft has released details of several software products that are known to have problems running in conjunction with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/vista-sp1-clashing-av-products/

ITV site carried scareware ads

Rogue security product pushed by ads on several UK TV sites.
Rogue security product pushed by ads on several UK TV sites. Several UK television-related websites, including those of major broadcaster ITV and listings guide Radio Times, have… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/itv-site-carried-scareware-ads/

Habbo trojan steals passwords

Extension decorates your room... with malware.
Extension decorates your room... with malware. A trojan has been discovered that masquerades as an extension to social networking site Habbo, formerly known as Habbo Hotel. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/habbo-trojan-steals-passwords/

Vish implanted in phishing warning

Doctored bank alert includes phony phone number.
Doctored bank alert includes phony phone number. A spammed-out email has been spotted posing as a phishing warning from US credit union Kessler Federal, with some very sensible… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/vish-implanted-phishing-warning/

VB reveals new website design

Glossary, comments and mobile website among new additions.
Glossary, comments and mobile website among new additions. Regular visitors to VB may have noticed that the site has a fresh new look as well as some changes and additions to its… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/vb-reveals-new-website-design/

Japanese super-spammer arrested

Tokyo man sent 2.2 billion emails.
Tokyo man sent 2.2 billion emails. A 25-year-old man was arrested in Tokyo last week, suspected of sending 2.2 billion spam emails. Yukio Shiina was picked up by police on Friday,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/japanese-super-spammer-arrested/

VB100 test on Windows Vista SP1 announced

Products to be tested on new update to Vista platform.
Products to be tested on new update to Vista platform. VB has issued a call for submissions for the latest VB100 comparative review, which will test the performance of products… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/test-windows-vista-sp1-announced/

Microsoft research revives 'friendly worm' ideas

Malware techniques proposed as update-spreading method.
Malware techniques proposed as update-spreading method. A group of Microsoft researchers have put forward proposals to use worm techniques to spread patches and updates across… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/microsoft-research-revives-friendly-worm-ideas/

Software and OS developers should take responsibility for security

While 51% of users say computer security should be the responsibility of the user, nearly a third of users feel it is up to software and OS developers.
While 51% of users say computer security should be the responsibility of the user, nearly a third of users feel it is up to software and OS developers. According to a recent poll,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/software-and-os-developers-should-take-responsibility-security/

Phishers phishing phishers' phishes

Scam software secretly sending stolen data to creators.
Scam software secretly sending stolen data to creators.Phishing researchers have uncovered code buried in phishing software kits, sold by developers to less technically aware… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/phishers-phishing-phishers-phishes/

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