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

Microsoft increases pressure on Apple to fix Safari blended threat

'Carpet bombing' vulnerability more serious than Apple claims, MS warns.
'Carpet bombing' vulnerability more serious than Apple claims, MS warns.Microsoft, whose Internet Explorer has come under frequent criticism for security vulnerabilities, has… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/microsoft-increases-pressure-apple-fix-safari-blended-threat/

June issue of VB published

The June issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The June issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The June 2008 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/june-issue-vb-published/

June

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/

Flash exploit used to steal gaming passwords

Despite initial panic, threat no longer believed to a zero-day exploit.
Despite initial panic, threat no longer believed to a zero-day exploit. In the past few days, thousands of websites have indirectly been serving malicious Adobe Flash (.SWF) files.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/05/flash-exploit-used-steal-gaming-passwords/

Almost half of users think virus-writing contests are a good idea

Shocking survey results disappoint security experts.
Shocking survey results disappoint security experts. Nearly half of the respondents in a Virus Bulletin poll said they thought that virus-writing contests are a useful way of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/05/almost-half-users-think-virus-writing-contests-are-good-idea/

MySpace wins record payout in case against spammers

'Spam Kings' Wallace and Rines fined maximum amount under federal law.
'Spam Kings' Wallace and Rines fined maximum amount under federal law. Social networking site MySpace has been awarded a record $230 million in a lawsuit it filed against… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/05/myspace-wins-record-payout-case-against-spammers/

Yahoo! searchers to get McAfee site advice

SiteAdvisor data to help check security of search results.
SiteAdvisor data to help check security of search results. Search engine giant Yahoo! has announced a deal with McAfee to incorporate site security ratings from the firm's… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/05/yahoo-searchers-get-mcafee-site-advice/

Security experts gather in Europe

Anti-malware insights pooled at AMTSO, CARO and EICAR meetings.
Anti-malware insights pooled at AMTSO, CARO and EICAR meetings. Many of the world's leading anti-malware and security experts came together in the past week, at a string of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/05/security-experts-gather-europe/

Users divided about customer liability for online fraud losses

Many users worried about lack of knowledge.
Many users worried about lack of knowledge. In a poll of more than 700 visitors to the VB website, users were divided on whether or not it is fair for online banking customers to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/05/users-divided-about-customer-liability-online-fraud-losses/

May issue of VB published

The May issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The May issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The May 2008 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or download… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/05/may-issue-vb-published/

May

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/05/

Cracked CAPTCHAs used to create malicious blogs

Blogs on Google's blogging system redirect to spam sites.
Blogs on Google's blogging system redirect to spam sites.Spammers are using botnets to mass-create phony blogs on Google's free Blogger system, with the phony entries redirecting… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/cracked-captchas-used-create-malicious-blogs/

Mass attack infects over half a million web pages

United Nations and UK Government sites among those infected by SQL injection.
United Nations and UK Government sites among those infected by SQL injection. Hackers have managed to insert malicious code into hundreds of thousands of websites, making their… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/mass-attack-infects-over-half-million-web-pages/

Phishing on rise, but anti-phishers fighting back

As UK banking body reports major increase in phishes, PayPal unveils blocking strategy.
As UK banking body reports major increase in phishes, PayPal unveils blocking strategy. A report from the UK payments industry association APACS has shown a dramatic increase in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/phishing-rise-anti-phishers-fighting-back/

China-Tibet row spills over into malware attacks

Both sides of debate targeted to spread malicious code.
Both sides of debate targeted to spread malicious code. With the political row over China's involvement in Tibet continuing to make the headlines, cybercriminals have been as quick… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/china-tibet-row-spills-over-malware-attacks/

More than 50% of users regularly double-check for false positive spam filtering

Only 12% of users trust their spam filter sufficiently not to bother sifting through spam folder.
Only 12% of users trust their spam filter sufficiently not to bother sifting through spam folder. In a poll of more than 1,000 visitors to the VB website, 52% of users say they… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/more-50-users-regularly-double-check-false-positive-spam-filtering/

HP ships infected USB keys

Autorun worms found on batch of server setup devices.
Autorun worms found on batch of server setup devices. A batch of USB thumb drives containing software intended to assist in the setup of servers have been found to contain some… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/hp-ships-infected-usb-keys/

Latest Patch Tuesday update released

Microsoft announces five 'critical' vulnerabilities need fixing.
Microsoft announces five 'critical' vulnerabilities need fixing.Microsoft has issued its monthly 'Patch Tuesday' security bulletin, with five 'critical' and three 'important'… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/latest-patch-tuesday-update-released/

'Kraken' monster botnet causing controversy

As latest botnet scare debated, Storm keeps on blowing.
As latest botnet scare debated, Storm keeps on blowing. Recent reports of a massive botnet, apparently sneaking its trojans past security software and far outnumbering better-known… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/kraken-monster-botnet-causing-controversy/

Google Groups and Blogspot used to serve malware

Company finds own IP address to be serving most malware.
Company finds own IP address to be serving most malware.Malware writers have created thousands of Google Groups with the sole purpose of serving malware, Sunbelt reports. On the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/google-groups-and-blogspot-used-serve-malware/

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