VB Blog

Five tips for submitting to Calls for Papers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 9, 2017

With the VB2017 Call for Papers out, here are five tips to increase your chances of getting your submission accepted.

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The WannaCry kill switch wasn't inserted to make someone a hero

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 8, 2017

Following the arrest of WannaCry hero Marcus Hutchings, suggestions have been made that he was behind the WannaCry malware itself, and that he inserted the kill switch to make himself a hero. This seems highly unlikely.

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Throwback Thursday: Ten memorable Virus Bulletin conference presentations - part 1

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 3, 2017

In a two-part blog post series, we look back at ten memorable VB conference presentations from the past ten years.

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Worms wiggling inside your networks are a lot harder to stop

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 3, 2017

The authors of the Trickbot banking trojan seem to have taken note of the use of SMB by WannaCry and (Not)Petya and have added an (experimental) module that uses SMB for lateral movement.

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VB2017 drinks reception to be hosted in Madrid's unique Geographic Club

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 1, 2017

To give those attending VB2017 Madrid a chance to experience a little bit of the host city, the VB2017 drinks reception will be held at the unique and fascinating Geographic Club.

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By removing VPNs from its Chinese App Store, Apple turns its biggest security asset against its users

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Aug 1, 2017

To comply with Chinese laws, Apple has removed all iOS VPN apps from its Chinese app store. This means that the company uses iOS's strongest security asset, its tightly controlled App Store, against its own users.

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VB2017 Small Talks and reserve papers announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 28, 2017

Today we announce the first two Small Talks for the VB2017 programme: ENISA will provide its perspective on the WannaCry outbreak and the lessons learned from it, while David Harley will talk about the past and present of security product testing.

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NoMoreRansom's first birthday demonstrates importance of collaboration

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 27, 2017

This week the NoMoreRansom project celebrated its first birthday. It has already helped many victims of ransomware with advice and tools and is an excellent example of collaboration between private and public partners in IT security.

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VB2017 call for last-minute papers opened

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 26, 2017

Today, we open the call for last-minute papers for VB2017. Submit before 3 September to have your abstract considered for one of the ten slots reserved for 'hot' research.

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Five reasons to come to VB2017 in Madrid

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 25, 2017

We're not ones to make bold claims about our conference, and we suggest you ask past attendees for their opinion, but here are five reasons why we think you should come to VB2017 in Madrid.

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New OpenOffice proof-of-concept widely noted

Odd payload, not spreading danger, brings attention to cross-platform worm.
Odd payload, not spreading danger, brings attention to cross-platform worm. A new proof-of-concept malware exploiting the OpenOffice document format has made headlines across the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/new-openoffice-proof-concept-widely-noted/

Norton FP trashes Chinese systems

Vital DLLs flagged as malware disable Windows XP across China.
Vital DLLs flagged as malware disable Windows XP across China. A serious false positive, caused by an erroneous update to Symantec's Norton Anti-virus product range issued late… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/norton-fp-trashes-chinese-systems/

Zango sues PC Tools for $35 million

'Reformed' adware shippers upset by detection and removal.
'Reformed' adware shippers upset by detection and removal. Adware and sometime spyware maker Zango has brought a suit against anti-spyware firm PC Tools complaining that the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/zango-sues-pc-tools-35-million/

New spam-fighting system for France

Junk mail blacklisting project goes live.
Junk mail blacklisting project goes live. A group of public bodies and private companies have joined forces to implement a new system allowing French email users to report spam… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/new-spam-fighting-system-france/

Estonian websites suffer wave of DoS attacks

Baltic republic accuses Russia of cyber-warfare.
Baltic republic accuses Russia of cyber-warfare. A wave of denial of service (DoS) attacks on Estonian websites has prompted the Estonian government to accuse its neighbour of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/estonian-websites-suffer-wave-dos-attacks/

Symantec files 8 piracy suits

Symantec pursues distributors of counterfeit software.
Symantec pursues distributors of counterfeit software.Symantec has revealed that it has filed civil lawsuits against eight US and Canadian companies accused of selling counterfeit… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/symantec-files-8-piracy-suits/

Verizon acquires Cybertrust

ICSA Labs parent company subsumed.
ICSA Labs parent company subsumed.Verizon Business, a division of Verizon Communications has announced that it is set to acquire managed security services supplier Cybertrust. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/verizon-acquires-cybertrust/

Latest flaws affect AV giants

Symantec, McAfee and CA all patch vulnerabilities.
Symantec, McAfee and CA all patch vulnerabilities. Three of the biggest names in the security sector, McAfee, Symantec and CA, have all revealed details of flaws in their software… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/latest-flaws-affect-av-giants/

Phishing techniques and technology revealed

Serious software used to analyse phished data, and a phisher talks.
Serious software used to analyse phished data, and a phisher talks. Some insights into the workings of phishing scams were revealed this week, as a sophisticated tool designed to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/phishing-techniques-and-technology-revealed/

1.4 million Chinese infected over holiday week

May vacations bring trojan avalanche for gamers and filesharers.
May vacations bring trojan avalanche for gamers and filesharers. Chinese computers, in heavy use with many people off work for the Labour Day holiday week, have suffered a major… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/1-4-million-chinese-infected-over-holiday-week/

Five ISPs hosting a third of malware, says study

StopBadware survey finds small group of ISPs most to blame.
StopBadware survey finds small group of ISPs most to blame. In a recent study of almost 50,000 sites known to be hosting malware, five ISPs have been identified as repeat… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/five-isps-hosting-third-malware-says-study/

ZOO archive issues hit security vendors

Errors handling rare format patched by four AV and anti-spam products.
Errors handling rare format patched by four AV and anti-spam products. A researcher has revealed details of flawed implementation of a somewhat archaic archive format, .zoo, which… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/zoo-archive-issues-hit-security-vendors/

Phishing moves into more new areas

Surveys, phone lines, USB sticks and call girls the latest tactics for spammers and phishers.
Surveys, phone lines, USB sticks and call girls the latest tactics for spammers and phishers. The latest social-engineering methods being put to use by phishers show no let up in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/phishing-moves-more-new-areas/

7 critical flaws patched on Patch Tuesday

May Security Bulletin covers wide range of vulnerabilities.
May Security Bulletin covers wide range of vulnerabilities.Microsoft's latest 'Patch Tuesday' security bulletin included fixes for seven vulnerabilities, all rated 'Critical' and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/7-critical-flaws-patched-patch-tuesday/

I-SPY chases SPY-ACT through approval process

Second piece of US anti-spyware legislation given go-ahead.
Second piece of US anti-spyware legislation given go-ahead. With the 'Securely Protect Yourself Against Cyber Trespass Act' (aka SPY-ACT act) approved by a House of Representatives… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/i-spy-chases-spy-act-through-approval-process/

Questionable false positive file removed

Amendment to VB's April Linux comparative review.
Amendment to VB's April Linux comparative review. In Virus Bulletin's April 2007 Linux comparative review (see VB, April 2007, p.11), VB reported that ESET's product NOD32 had… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/questionable-false-positive-file-removed/

Microsoft to beat Symantec to corporate release punch

With Forefront due out soon, Symantec's latest release suffers further delay.
With Forefront due out soon, Symantec's latest release suffers further delay.Microsoft has announced the release to manufacture of Forefront Client, the corporate implementation of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/microsoft-beat-symantec-corporate-release-punch/

Law to stop spam reaching kids dubbed a failure

Utah registry to protect children's email leaks cash and addresses.
Utah registry to protect children's email leaks cash and addresses. A law enacted in the state of Utah, as well as some other states, with the aim of preventing spammers from… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/law-stop-spam-reaching-kids-dubbed-failure/

Botnet DoS no longer profitable

Extortion attacks fall as herders find easier money elsewhere.
Extortion attacks fall as herders find easier money elsewhere. The use of armies of botnets to carry out denial-of-service attacks on lucrative websites, as a method of extorting… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/botnet-dos-no-longer-profitable/

Touchy mail blocker upsets Gay

Content filter berates woman for using own name in mails.
Content filter berates woman for using own name in mails. A woman has complained to the New Zealand ISP Telecom after an email she sent them was bounced back to her, with a message… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/touchy-mail-blocker-upsets-gay/

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