VB Blog

Subtle change could see a reduction in installation of malicious Chrome extensions

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 13, 2018

Google has made a subtle change to its Chrome browser, banning the inline installation of new extensions, thus making it harder for malware authors to trick users into unwittingly installing malicious extensions.

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Paper: EternalBlue: a prominent threat actor of 2017–2018

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 11, 2018

We publish a paper by researchers from Quick Heal Security Labs in India, who study the EternalBlue and DoublePulsar exploits in full detail.

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'North Korea' a hot subject among VB2018 talks

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jun 1, 2018

Several VB2018 papers deal explicitly or implicitly with threats that have been attributed to North Korean actors.

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Expired domain led to SpamCannibal's blacklist eating the whole world

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 31, 2018

The domain of the little-used SpamCannibal DNS blacklist had expired, resulting in it effectively listing every single IP address.

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MnuBot banking trojan communicates via SQL server

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 30, 2018

Researchers at IBM X-Force have discovered MnuBot, a banking trojan targeting users in Brazil, which is noteworthy for using SQL Server for command and control communication.

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Throwback Thursday: Giving the EICAR test file some teeth

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 24, 2018

The 68-byte EICAR test file plays as important a role today as it did 19 years ago. In this week's Throwback Thursday we look back at a VB99 conference paper in which Randy Abrams described how this 'miracle tool' worked and how it could be used.

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XMRig used in new macOS cryptominer

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 23, 2018

A new piece of cryptocurrency-mining malware on macOS has been found to use the popular XMRig miner.

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Tendency for DDoS attacks to become less volumetric fits in a wider trend

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 22, 2018

CDN provider Cloudflare reports an increase in DDoS attacks targeting layer 7 and focusing on exhausting server resources rather than sending large volumes of data. This fits in a wider trend.

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Turkish Twitter users targeted with mobile FinFisher spyware

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 15, 2018

Through fake social media accounts, users were tricked into installing an Android application that was actually a mobile version of the FinFisher spyware.

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Hide'n'Seek IoT botnet adds persistence

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 9, 2018

The Hide'n'Seek IoT botnet has received an update to make its infection persist on infected devices beyond a restart.

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Meta-phishing

Phishing warning contains link to... phishing site.
Phishing warning contains link to... phishing site. The anti-malware industry can congratulate itself for there being an increasing awareness among users about phishing. Users are… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/meta-phishing/

M&S joins high-street AV retail crowd

Upmarket store to match rivals in security software selling.
Upmarket store to match rivals in security software selling. Leading UK retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has joined fellow high-street chain Woolworths and supermarket leviathan… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/m-amp-s-joins-high-street-av-retail-crowd/

Bumper Patch Tuesday short of one patch

Excel remains vulnerable as expected fix is dropped.
Excel remains vulnerable as expected fix is dropped.Microsoft has issued its monthly 'Patch Tuesday' set of security updates, with a larger than usual crop of patches for a variety… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/bumper-patch-tuesday-short-one-patch/

Trend vs. ClamAV patent row hots up

Free software advocates call for boycott of Trend.
Free software advocates call for boycott of Trend. With legal proceedings ongoing between Trend Micro and gateway appliance specialist Barracuda Networks, concerning Barracuda's… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/trend-vs-clamav-patent-row-hots/

Over 1 per cent of search results include malicious sites

Google research paper confirms significant increase in number of malware-serving websites.
Google research paper confirms significant increase in number of malware-serving websites. Recent reports of increasing numbers of websites serving malicious content have been… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/over-1-cent-search-results-include-malicious-sites/

Storm Valentines run under way

Seasonal spam and malware barrage gets going.
Seasonal spam and malware barrage gets going. The expected run of 'Storm' spams, pushing links to their latest line of malware disguised as Valentine's messages, has begun, with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/storm-valentines-run-under-way/

More PDF exploits seen in wild

Adobe Reader and Acrobat flaws open way for further document attacks.
Adobe Reader and Acrobat flaws open way for further document attacks. A string of vulnerabilities in Adobe's PDF viewing and editing software, disclosed late last week by Adobe and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/more-pdf-exploits-seen-wild/

Live Mail CAPTCHA system bypassed

Spammers use botnet to register accounts on popular free webmail service.
Spammers use botnet to register accounts on popular free webmail service.Spammers have written a program that cracks the CAPTCHAS used by the Windows Live Mail registration system.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/live-mail-captcha-system-bypassed/

Complex attack targets Better Business Bureau

Sophisticated scam uses personalised mails, real site redirects.
Sophisticated scam uses personalised mails, real site redirects. A highly sophisticated email phishing scam is using a redirection flaw in the website of the Better Business Bureau… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/complex-attack-targets-better-business-bureau/

Yahoo! jukebox flaw exploits in wild

Zero day vulnerability in music system rapidly targeted.
Zero day vulnerability in music system rapidly targeted.Vulnerabilities in Yahoo! Jukebox, a free music-management system provided by Yahoo!, have been exploited by in-the-wild… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/yahoo-jukebox-flaw-exploits-wild/

FTC fines spammers over $2.5 million

Drug pushers busted for phony claims and CAN-SPAM breaches.
Drug pushers busted for phony claims and CAN-SPAM breaches. After a successful case brought by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a pharmaceuticals firm and its head have been… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/ftc-fines-spammers-over-2-5-million/

419 scammers plead guilty in US

African trio admit attempts to defraud via spam.
African trio admit attempts to defraud via spam. Three men, two from Nigeria and a third from Senegal, entered guilty pleas in a Brooklyn, New York, courtroom last week after being… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/419-scammers-plead-guilty-us/

Fake security blogs lead to malware

Blogger sites play on fears to draw victims to porn, trojans.
Blogger sites play on fears to draw victims to porn, trojans. According to a report from Aladdin, numerous fake security blogs have been set up on the Google-owned Blogger blogging… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/fake-security-blogs-lead-malware/

New security software testing standards body formed

AMTSO to promote cross-industry debate and higher standards in testing.
AMTSO to promote cross-industry debate and higher standards in testing. A collaborative group from across the security industry has officially been founded this week, aiming to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/new-security-software-testing-standards-body-formed/

February issue of VB published

The February issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download.
The February issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to download. The February 2008 issue of Virus Bulletin is now available for subscribers to browse online or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/february-issue-vb-published/

February

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/

Barracuda battles Trend Micro patent claims

Trend demands licensing for gateway virus scanning idea.
Trend demands licensing for gateway virus scanning idea.Barracuda Networks has announced it is fighting a legal battle against Trend Micro, who has claimed US patent rights to the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/barracuda-battles-trend-micro-patent-claims/

First virus-writing arrests in Japan

Winny worm authors brought to book - for copyright violation.
Winny worm authors brought to book - for copyright violation. Japan has seen its first ever arrests of virus writers, with three men taken into custody in Kyoto last week and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/first-virus-writing-arrests-japan/

Ledger poisons Google

Actor's death exploited by malware writers to infect computers.
Actor's death exploited by malware writers to infect computers. The death of actor Heath Ledger on Tuesday had barely been confirmed a few hours when malicious websites started… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/ledger-poisons-google/

Polyglot worm spreads through MSN

Worm changes language to target wide audience.
Worm changes language to target wide audience. A new worm has been discovered that spreads through MSN Messenger. Once active, the worm opens random TCP ports to connect to an IRC… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/polyglot-worm-spreads-through-msn/

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