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

More phishers and spammers face prison time

US, Dutch and Japanese police crack down on online bad guys.
US, Dutch and Japanese police crack down on online bad guys. Of a series of arrests and convictions this week, the most spectacular headlines centre on the potential 101-year… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/more-phishers-and-spammers-face-prison-time/

Wide support for spyware teacher

Malware infestation alleged at root of porn conviction.
Malware infestation alleged at root of porn conviction. A Connecticut teacher, recently convicted of morals offences after her laptop displayed a range of pornographic sites to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/wide-support-spyware-teacher/

MMS mobile phone exploit released

Buffer overflow vulnerability in MMS SMIL exploited.
Buffer overflow vulnerability in MMS SMIL exploited. Last month saw the publication of proof-of-concept code exploiting a vulnerability in the popular mobile phone Multimedia… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/mms-mobile-phone-exploit-released/

UK anti-spam victory for Microsoft

Lawsuit won against UK spammer.
Lawsuit won against UK spammer. Microsoft has won a lawsuit against a spammer based in the UK. Microsoft launched legal proceedings against 37-year-old Paul Martin McDonald after… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/uk-anti-spam-victory-microsoft/

January

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/

Sony rootkit settlement costs escalate

Use of hidden DRM software costs company $5.75m.
Use of hidden DRM software costs company $5.75m. Sony BMG Music Entertainment's ill-advised use of hidden digital rights management (DRM) software on its CDs in late 2005 has cost… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/sony-rootkit-settlement-costs-escalate/

Government agencies take anti-phishing action

Spear-phishing awareness training and testing for staff.
Spear-phishing awareness training and testing for staff. Personnel working for the US Coast Guard have been ordered to take phishing awareness training, while other US government… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/government-agencies-take-anti-phishing-action/

2007

Latest news from the anti-virus industry provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
NewsMagic lanterns shine at terroristsVirus Bulletin finds 40% of users think governments should write viruses to bug terrorists.19 December 2007$3.2 billion lost in phishing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/

'Big Yellow' worm exploits slow Symantec patchers

Worm spotted targeting 6-month-old vulnerability in AV products.
Worm spotted targeting 6-month-old vulnerability in AV products. An alert has been issued by eEye Digital Security researchers for a new worm, which they have called 'Big Yellow',… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/big-yellow-worm-exploits-slow-symantec-patchers/

UK taxman warns of rebate phish

Mails promising tax refund just another scam.
Mails promising tax refund just another scam.Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK taxation authority, has issued a warning regarding a phishing campaign using its name.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/uk-taxman-warns-rebate-phish/

Microsoft wins block on spam list seller

Court bars bulk email address sales site from further business.
Court bars bulk email address sales site from further business.Microsoft has won a judgement against a UK man accused of selling lists of email addresses for the purpose of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/microsoft-wins-block-spam-list-seller/

BitDefender vulnerability disclosed

Details released of overflow issue reported and patched.
Details released of overflow issue reported and patched.BitDefender and several security-watching sites have unveiled details of a serious overflow vulnerability in the parsing of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/bitdefender-vulnerability-disclosed/

Yet more Word zero-day woes

Possible third vulnerability in popular software exploited.
Possible third vulnerability in popular software exploited. Reports are coming in of a new exploit for Microsoft's Word word processing software, amid speculation that the attack… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/yet-more-word-zero-day-woes/

European mailer society signs spyware charter

Direct marketeers' association adopts code of good behaviour.
Direct marketeers' association adopts code of good behaviour. The Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing (FEDMA), a common-interest and self-regulatory body for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/european-mailer-society-signs-spyware-charter/

US Postal Service accused of spamming

Customer email campaign in breach of CAN-SPAM regulations.
Customer email campaign in breach of CAN-SPAM regulations. The US Postal Service (USPS) has come under fire from anti-spam activists after a mass email campaign promoting a new… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/us-postal-service-accused-spamming/

UK phishing up 8000% in two years, says FSA

Government report shows massive rise in scams.
Government report shows massive rise in scams. A report presented to the UK government by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK's financial watchdog organisation,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/uk-phishing-8000-two-years-says-fsa/

Putting a price on spam

Email-forwarding system lets users set a fee to let spam through.
Email-forwarding system lets users set a fee to let spam through. Email-forwarding system Boxbe has come up with a new way around the spam problem - by letting its users set a fee… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/putting-price-spam/

Ransom attacks hit webmail

Accounts held hostage by data-stealing extortionists.
Accounts held hostage by data-stealing extortionists. Following the wave of 'ransomware' attacks first spotted in the summer of 2005, online extortionists have picked another… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/ransom-attacks-hit-webmail/

Patch Tuesday leaves Word open to attack

Old and new zero-day vulnerabilities to remain unpatched.
Old and new zero-day vulnerabilities to remain unpatched.Microsoft's monthly Patch Tuesday update release sees seven security patches for Windows operating systems and products,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/patch-tuesday-leaves-word-open-attack/

Sophos vulnerabilities found, patched

Fixes issued for archive handling problems.
Fixes issued for archive handling problems. Researchers working with Tipping Point's Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) program have released details of two vulnerabilities in the Sophos… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/sophos-vulnerabilities-found-patched/

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