VB Blog

WordPress users urged to manually update to fix bug that prevents automatic updating

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 8, 2018

Users of the popular WordPress content management system are urged to manually update their installation to version 4.9.4, as a bug in the previous version broke the ability to automatically install updates.

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New paper: A review of the evolution of Andromeda over the years

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 7, 2018

The Andromeda botnet (aka Gamarue or Wauchos) has plagued Internet users for more than half a decade but, following a takedown effort and the arrest of the suspected botnet owner in December 2017, it is likely we have seen the end of it. In a new paper by Fortinet researchers Bahare Sabouri and He Xu, we look back at the evolution of Andromeda from version 2.06 to 2.10 and demonstrate both how it improved its loader to evade automatic analysis/detection and how the payload varied among the different versions.

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There is no evidence in-the-wild malware is using Meltdown or Spectre

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 2, 2018

Reports of malware using the Meltdown or Spectre attacks are likely based on proof-of-concept code rather than files written for a malicious purpose.

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Throwback Thursday: Malware taking a bit(coin) more than we bargained for

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 1, 2018

This Throwback Thursday, we republish the VB2012 paper by Microsoft researcher Amir Fouda, one of the earliest papers to look at malware targeting Bitcoin.

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First time speaker? Don't be afraid of submitting to the VB2018 CFP

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 31, 2018

We especially encourage those less experienced in speaking in public to submit to the call for papers for VB2018, where we aim to provide a friendly and welcoming environment in which people can both present their own research and learn from what others have been working on.

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VB2017 paper: VirusTotal tips, tricks and myths

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 25, 2018

At VB2017 in Madrid, security researcher Randy Abrams presented an overview of the VirusTotal service and then went on to bust several of the persistent myths that surround it. Today we publish both Randy's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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Healthcare CERTs highlight the need for security guidance for specific sectors

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 24, 2018

A new computer emergency response team has been launched in the Netherlands to provide guidance specifically tailored to the healthcare sector. Martijn Grooten welcomes the development.

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VB2018 call for papers now open!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 23, 2018

Have you analysed a new online threat? Do you know a new way to defend against such threats? Are you tasked with securing systems and fending off attacks? The call for papers for VB2018 is now open and we want to hear from you!

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Book review: Serious Cryptography

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 22, 2018

VB Editor Martijn Grooten recommends Jean-Philippe Aumasson's 'Serious Cryptography' as a very solid but practically focused introduction to cryptography.

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Necurs pump-and-dump spam campaign pushes obscure cryptocurrency

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 16, 2018

A Necurs pump-and-dump spam campaign pushing the lesser known Swisscoin botnet is mostly background noise for the Internet.

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Search blog

VB2006 a resounding success - VB2007 dates revealed

As another VB conference comes to a close, dates for next year's conference are revealed.
As another VB conference comes to a close, dates for next year's conference are revealed. VB2006, which took place in Montréal last week has been declared a resounding success by… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/resounding-success-dates-revealed/

McAfee stock scandal claims bosses

CEO leaves, president fired over financial problems.
CEO leaves, president fired over financial problems. Investigations into irregularities in McAfee's finances have led to the resignation of the company CEO and board chairman… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/mcafee-stock-scandal-claims-bosses/

Met warns Haxdoor victims

Police notify 2,300 their details have been stolen.
Police notify 2,300 their details have been stolen. London's Metropolitan Police has contacted over 2,300 computer users to inform them that their details have been found on a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/met-warns-haxdoor-victims/

Domain name threat to Spamhaus

Anti-spam system at risk of losing identity.
Anti-spam system at risk of losing identity. The recent case in which a US court found anti-spam organisation Spamhaus guilty of mislabelling a company as spammers may take a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/domain-name-threat-spamhaus/

False false positives

BitDefender defends reputation, three more VB100% awards granted.
BitDefender defends reputation, three more VB100% awards granted. Since the publication of the recent VB100% results, several of the files from the clean test set causing false… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/false-false-positives/

Hormel denied spam copyright

EU court rejects trademark dispute.
EU court rejects trademark dispute.Hormel Foods, maker of the SPAM pressed meat product, has lost a case brought before the European 'Office for Harmonization of Internal Markets'… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/hormel-denied-spam-copyright/

Eight years for Russian DoS blackmailers

Extortion gang sentenced for gambling site attacks.
Extortion gang sentenced for gambling site attacks. A team of three found guilty of computer crimes and extortion have been sentenced to eight years imprisonment by a Russian… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/eight-years-russian-dos-blackmailers/

Tesco to sell budget AV product

UK supermarket giant enters software market.
UK supermarket giant enters software market. The UK's largest supermarket chain, Tesco, has announced plans to sell and support its own-brand range of low-budget software products,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/tesco-sell-budget-av-product/

Stration worm building steadily

Mass-mailer evolving as botnets spread.
Mass-mailer evolving as botnets spread. The Stration mass-mailing worm, also called Warezov by some vendors, has been spreading steadily over the last few weeks, with the creators… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/stration-worm-building-steadily/

McAfee joins Vista battle

Newspaper ad attacks Microsoft plans.
Newspaper ad attacks Microsoft plans.McAfee has joined Symantec on the warpath against Microsoft's plans for its forthcoming Vista release of Windows. In a full-page advertisement… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/mcafee-joins-vista-battle/

Gmail slashes spam FPs

Hotmail lagging behind on mislabelled ham.
Hotmail lagging behind on mislabelled ham. 'Email marketing' firm Lyris has released a study of spam false positive filtering, showing a general downward trend in falsely blocked… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/gmail-slashes-spam-fps/

Web community fights phishing

Vote-based anti-phish system launched.
Vote-based anti-phish system launched. A new database of phishing sites has been launched, with an open-source, community focus. The system, labelled PhishTank, is run by web firm… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/web-community-fights-phishing/

Trend, McAfee vulnerabilities disclosed

ActiveX and ePO flaws covered by patches.
ActiveX and ePO flaws covered by patches.Trend Micro's flagship OfficeScan Corporate Edition 7.3 has suffered a vulnerability, allowing code execution from the local network. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/trend-mcafee-vulnerabilities-disclosed/

NCSA launches security month

Watchdog kicks off awareness offensive.
Watchdog kicks off awareness offensive. US online safety organisation the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) has launched its latest public information campaign, labelling… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/ncsa-launches-security-month/

More spammers nabbed by Earthlink

ISP helps FBI track down spamming duo.
ISP helps FBI track down spamming duo. Two men pleaded guilty to spamming in a Miami court last week. The pair were accused of sending over 25,000 emails over a period of a month… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/more-spammers-nabbed-earthlink/

IE punctured yet again

Newly patched browser vulnerable to more malware.
Newly patched browser vulnerable to more malware.Microsoft's beleaguered Internet Explorer browser is once again the subject of security worries, as another fully functioning… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/ie-punctured-yet-again/

Phishers indicted

Six men charged with masterminding a phishing operation.
Six men charged with masterminding a phishing operation. Six US men have been indicted on charges of masterminding a phishing operation. According to the indictment, the six men… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/phishers-indicted/

News round-up

September's goings on in the AV industry.
September's goings on in the AV industry. The top news stories of September were undoubtedly those concerning the VML vulnerability in Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Not only was… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/news-round/

October

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/

October issue of VB published

The October issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The October issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The October 2006 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/10/october-issue-vb-published/

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