VB Blog

VB2016 Call for Papers - Frequently Asked Questions

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 11, 2016

Are you interested in submitting an abstract for VB2016? We've answered some frequently asked questions about the Call for Papers, which closes next week.

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Throwback Thursday: Hash Woes

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Mar 10, 2016

This Throwback Thursday we go back to 2004, when the entire crypto community was abuzz with the news that a group of Chinese researchers had demonstrated flaws in a whole set of hash functions - VB took a closer look to clarify the situation and draw lessons from the incident.

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VB2015 paper: Mobile Banking Fraud via SMS in North America: Who's Doing it and How

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 2, 2016

Though SMS may have been claimed dead many time, it is still very much alive, and quite popular among mobile phishers. At VB2015, Adaptive Mobile researcher Cathal Mc Daid presented a paper various mobile phishing campaigns targeting North American banks.

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Throwback Thursday: Viruses on the Internet

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 25, 2016

This Throwback Thursday VB heads back to 1996 when - long before the days of driveby downloads and exploit kits - VB published a report on the state of viruses on the Internet.

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RSA and BSides San Francisco

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 24, 2016

Next week, Virus Bulletin Editor Martijn Grooten will attend the RSA conference in San Francisco, where he will give a talk entitled "How Broken Is Our Crypto Really?" He will also speak at BSides San Francisco, where he will give a talk entitled "Elliptic Curve Cryptography for Those Who are Afraid of Mathematics".

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Virus Bulletin publishes first web filter test report

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 19, 2016

After a lot of preparation, Virus Bulletin is proud to have published the first "VBWeb" comparative web filter test report, in which products' ability to block web-based malware and drive-by downloads was tested. Fortinet's FortiGuard appliance was the first product to achieve a VBWeb certification.

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VB2015 paper: Will Android Trojans, Worms or Rootkits Survive in SEAndroid and Containerization?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 18, 2016

Sophos researchers Rowland Yu and William Lee look at whether recent security enhancements to Android, such as SEAndroid and containerization, will be enough to defeat future malware threats.

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First six VB2016 sponsors announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 17, 2016

Virus Bulletin is excited to announce the first six sponsors for VB2016, the 26th international Virus Bulletin conference, which will take place in Denver, Colorado, USA 5-7 October 2016.

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VB2015 paper: Sizing cybercrime: incidents and accidents, hints and allegations

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 11, 2016

Cybercrime is big. But how big is it really? In a paper presented at VB2015 and together with the presentation video published on our website today, ESET researcher Stephen Cobb looks at previous studies that attempt the size of cybercrime and asks why we need such data and what can be done better.

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Throwback Thursday: The Thin Blue Line

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 11, 2016

This Throwback Thursday, VB heads back to 1994 when UK Fraud Squad detectives started making inroads into the most puzzling 'Whodunnit' since the Great Train Robbery. Had an outbreak of computer crime swept Britain? No, it was all part of a police training program.

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Search blog

Europe facing 38 billion spams a day by 2010

Research group releases report on future spam trends.
Research group releases report on future spam trends. Technology market research firm The Radicati Group has unveiled an in-depth study of likely future trends in the European… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/europe-facing-38-billion-spams-day-2010/

EU demands better spam and malware fighting

Commission report calls for smarter response to online onslaught.
Commission report calls for smarter response to online onslaught. An official statement from the European Commission has demanded a step up in the battle against spam, spyware and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/eu-demands-better-spam-and-malware-fighting/

Vulnerability hits F-Secure gateway products

Flaw in OpenSSL could allow DoS on servers.
Flaw in OpenSSL could allow DoS on servers. A vulnerability in OpenSSL software, used to access the administration interface in some F-Secure gateway and mail protection products,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/vulnerability-hits-f-secure-gateway-products/

Severe vulnerability hits Mac OSX

Exploit published for gaping DMG hole.
Exploit published for gaping DMG hole. A serious vulnerability found in the DMG handling on fully up-to-date installations of Apple's OSX is threatening to upset the platform's… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/severe-vulnerability-hits-mac-osx/

Spyware pushers let off fines

FTC reduces punishment for crooks 'unable to pay'.
FTC reduces punishment for crooks 'unable to pay'. Two spyware operations have settled lawsuits brought against them by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at a huge discount. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/spyware-pushers-let-fines/

Spammers and phishers target Christmas shoppers

Online shoppers and email users face heightened festive risks.
Online shoppers and email users face heightened festive risks. With the annual Christmas spending frenzy fast approaching, phishing is as usual on the rise, targeting inexperienced… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/spammers-and-phishers-target-christmas-shoppers/

McAfee in anti-phishing confusion

Latest study rates all filters poorly, slates SiteAdvisor.
Latest study rates all filters poorly, slates SiteAdvisor. In two recent studies of anti-phishing technologies, one (sponsored by Microsoft) rated Internet Explorer highest, while… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/mcafee-anti-phishing-confusion/

ISS to integrate BitDefender

Big Blue adds anti-virus and anti-spyware to desktop security product.
Big Blue adds anti-virus and anti-spyware to desktop security product.IBM announced yesterday that its Internet Security Systems (ISS) subsidiary will be including anti-virus and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/iss-integrate-bitdefender/

Zango still in spyware game

Dodgy tactics continue despite ruling.
Dodgy tactics continue despite ruling. Several researchers have complained that adware-fuelled media company Zango continues to use deceptive practices, despite the recent case… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/zango-still-spyware-game/

UK toughens law against DoS, tools

New law ups penalties for hacking, but could threaten security research.
New law ups penalties for hacking, but could threaten security research. The UK 'Police and Justice Bill 2006', introduced into UK law this month, has drawn some approval for its… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/uk-toughens-law-against-dos-tools/

Trojan planted on Chinese banking site

Backdoor dropper sneaked onto bank card operator's servers.
Backdoor dropper sneaked onto bank card operator's servers. News sources in China are reporting that the website of China UnionPay, a China-wide cross-bank credit card service used… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/trojan-planted-chinese-banking-site/

Patch Tuesday vulnerability exploited

Attack developed within two days of disclosure.
Attack developed within two days of disclosure. The Workstation Service flaw announced and patched on Tuesday, one of the most critical vulnerabilities covered by Microsoft's… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/patch-tuesday-vulnerability-exploited/

Worm targets Real Media files

McAfee warns of dangerous movies and music.
McAfee warns of dangerous movies and music. Researchers at McAfee's Avert Labs have warned of a new worm, dubbed 'W32/Realor', which doctors the contents of Real Media files… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/worm-targets-real-media-files/

Firefox anti-phishing better, says Mozilla

Browser phishing filters battle for supremacy.
Browser phishing filters battle for supremacy.Mozilla has released results of an independently run test of phishing filters, in which its latest product, Firefox 2.0, is compared… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/firefox-anti-phishing-better-says-mozilla/

Panda vulnerabilities revealed

ActiveScan remote access holes patched, details disclosed.
ActiveScan remote access holes patched, details disclosed. Several vulnerabilites have been found in Panda Software's ActiveScan product. The problems could be used to initiate a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/panda-vulnerabilities-revealed/

Mobile firewalls released

Trend, F-Secure add extra layer to smartphone security.
Trend, F-Secure add extra layer to smartphone security. Two new products have been unveiled this week offering firewall protection for smartphones and PDAs, with both Trend Micro… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/mobile-firewalls-released/

AVG, F-PROT suffer vulnerabilities

Reports of buffer overflows and other problems.
Reports of buffer overflows and other problems. A series of vulnerabilities have been discovered and patched in Grisoft's AVG Antivirus. Several issues with archive handling could… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/avg-f-prot-suffer-vulnerabilities/

Courts shut down spyware pushers

Media Motor operation frozen by FTC case.
Media Motor operation frozen by FTC case. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has brought a case against the spyware operation Media Motor, with the company and its affiliates… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/courts-shut-down-spyware-pushers/

Russians dominate spammer top ten

Half of ten worst spammers from former USSR.
Half of ten worst spammers from former USSR. This week's list of the top ten 'worst spammers and spam gangs', released by spam fighters Spamhaus, is dominated by eastern Europeans,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/russians-dominate-spammer-top-ten/

Forefront Client reaches beta

Microsoft corporate security product goes into public test.
Microsoft corporate security product goes into public test.Microsoft's long-awaited corporate security suite, Forefront Client Security, has been released to public beta. The new… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/11/forefront-client-reaches-beta/

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