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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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).

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

Search blog

March

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/

UK watchdog body backs phishing victims

Consumer group Which? urges banks to protect customers scammed online.
Consumer group Which? urges banks to protect customers scammed online. Major UK consumer protection organisation Which? has issued a call for a change to rules regarding… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/uk-watchdog-body-backs-phishing-victims/

News round-up

February's goings on in the anti-malware industry.
February's goings on in the anti-malware industry. Mobile security was something of a key theme last month, with a rash of new products released alongside updates to those… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/news-round/

Phishing techniques

Sorin Mustaca documents common and emerging phishing techniques.
Sorin Mustaca documents common and emerging phishing techniques. Despite the fact that phishing is receiving increasing amounts of media coverage, and people are more aware than… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/phishing-techniques/

Cartoon trojan threatens P2P users

Illegal Japanese file-sharers warned off by anime character malware.
Illegal Japanese file-sharers warned off by anime character malware. A series of trojans have been spotted targeting users of popular Japanese file-sharing system Winny. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/cartoon-trojan-threatens-p2p-users/

Trend troubled by further flaw

Second vulnerability unveiled this month only affects server products.
Second vulnerability unveiled this month only affects server products. Less than two weeks after details of a UPX vulnerability affecting many of Trend Micro's products were… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/trend-troubled-further-flaw/

FTC criticised for low adware fine

Latest DirectRevenue case nets mere $1.5 million penalty.
Latest DirectRevenue case nets mere $1.5 million penalty. Serial adware user DirectRevenue, along with several advertising clients, has agreed to settle a case brought by the US… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/ftc-criticised-low-adware-fine/

Fujacks writers arrested in first for China

Eight seized for writing and selling cuddly panda malware.
Eight seized for writing and selling cuddly panda malware. Eight men have been arrested in the central Chinese province of Hubei, on suspicion of involvement in the creation and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/fujacks-writers-arrested-first-china/

Trend hit by UPX vulnerability

Compression handling issue affects swathe of products.
Compression handling issue affects swathe of products. A wide range of Trend Micro security products are affected by a flaw in the handling of files compressed with UPX, which… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/trend-hit-upx-vulnerability/

Massive attack on web root servers

Large-scale DDoS barrage hits top-level DNS machines.
Large-scale DDoS barrage hits top-level DNS machines. An exceptionally large Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack took place yesterday, targeting the root DNS servers at the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/massive-attack-web-root-servers/

Popular sites carrying Javascript attacks

Superbowl stadium among many hosting malware attack.
Superbowl stadium among many hosting malware attack. Malicious Javascript has been planted on numerous legitimate websites over the weekend, attempting to take advantage of known… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/popular-sites-carrying-javascript-attacks/

Upcoming events

Round up of this year's must-attend spam events.
Round up of this year's must-attend spam events. The 2007 Spam Conference will take place on 30 March 2007 at MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA. The title for this year's conference is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/upcoming-events/

Microsoft steals market share

Symantec and McAfee see drops in market share.
Symantec and McAfee see drops in market share. A report by analyst firm NPD Group has revealed that anti-malware heavyweights Symantec and McAfee both lost market share following… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/microsoft-steals-market-share/

February

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/

Vista security concerns

'Dramatically more secure'... or not?
'Dramatically more secure'... or not? January saw the full commercial release of Microsoft's latest operating system: the long-awaited Vista. Since its release arguments have… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/vista-security-concerns/

Major brands hit with adware fines

Landmark case blames advertisers for malware tactics.
Landmark case blames advertisers for malware tactics. Three major brands, Priceline, Travelocity and Cingular Wireless, have settled a New York lawsuit charging them with using… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/major-brands-hit-adware-fines/

VB100 news

This month: new platform, new logo.
This month: new platform, new logo. With the overall conclusion that the release of Vista will make little difference to the overall malware landscape, VB chose this month to put… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/news/

UK police 'can no longer cope' with e-crime

Report demands more resources and national IT squad.
Report demands more resources and national IT squad. A report issued by the Metropolitan Police has admitted that, despite serious under-reporting of computer-related crime… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/uk-police-can-no-longer-cope-e-crime/

MySpace sues Spam King

Serial spammer faces more fines for abusing social system.
Serial spammer faces more fines for abusing social system. Regular spammer and lawsuit loser Scott Richter, last seen being sued by Infinite Monkeys, faces more legal and financial… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/myspace-sues-spam-king/

Fujacks hype incenses analysts

Chinese reports of 'major threat' thought unlikely.
Chinese reports of 'major threat' thought unlikely. Reports in the Chinese Shanghai Daily of a 'five-star cyber worm' which could be 'one of the most devastating cyber worms ever… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/fujacks-hype-incenses-analysts/

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.