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

What's in a number?

Latest round of spam stats.
Latest round of spam stats. According to various reports last month, spam now accounts for 83%, 85%, 91.9% or 95% of all emails received. Regardless of the inconsistencies, the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/what-s-number/

China to try e-stamping out spam

Postage stamps to become the norm for Chinese emailers?
Postage stamps to become the norm for Chinese emailers? The national Internet regulator in China has announced future plans to introduce 'e-stamp' technology in an attempt to curb… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/10/china-try-e-stamping-out-spam/

Another security hole found in GMail

Vulnerability latest in a growing list of holes in Google's web applications.
Vulnerability latest in a growing list of holes in Google's web applications. A significant security hole has been found in Google's web mail application GMail. Security… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/another-security-hole-found-gmail/

Vulnerabilities closed in OpenOffice, StarOffice

Flaws patched in TIFF parsing code.
Flaws patched in TIFF parsing code. Security researchers at iDefense revealed last week that OpenOfficeversion 2.0.4 and earlier versions are vulnerable to maliciously crafted TIFF… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/vulnerabilities-closed-openoffice-staroffice/

Fujacks/Panda virus authors sentenced, offered job

Fujacks author put away for four years.
Fujacks author put away for four years. Four men who were charged last month with writing, selling and spreading the W32/Fujacks virus and worm (a.k.a. the 'Panda burning… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/fujacks-panda-virus-authors-sentenced-offered-job/

Microsoft files further adware patent

User behaviour monitors could be used to target ads.
User behaviour monitors could be used to target ads. Following a patent application disclosed some months ago, details have been released of another adware scheme patented by… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/microsoft-files-further-adware-patent/

St. Petersburg US Consulate website hacked

Malware served by official government site.
Malware served by official government site. Web-watchers at Sophos have reported spotting malware hosted on the website of the US Consulate in St. Petersburg, using obfuscated… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/st-petersburg-us-consulate-website-hacked/

Boot virus shipped on German laptops

Aged malware installed on batch of Vista systems.
Aged malware installed on batch of Vista systems. A consignment of laptops from German manufacturer Medion, sold through German and Danish branches of giant retail chain Aldi, have… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/boot-virus-shipped-german-laptops/

VB2007 last-minute hot-topic papers revealed

Schedule for up-to-the-minute tech talks announced.
Schedule for up-to-the-minute tech talks announced.VB has unveiled the schedule for a series of up-to-the-minute technical presentations at the VB2007 conference next week (19-21… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/last-minute-hot-topic-papers-revealed/

Quiet Patch Tuesday

Four flaws fixed in minimal security update.
Four flaws fixed in minimal security update.Microsoft's monthly 'Patch Tuesday' release of security updates for Windows and other software has been fairly quiet this month - with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/quiet-patch-tuesday/

AOL quietly drops free-to-all AV offering

Gratis software now for members only, old users may be at risk.
Gratis software now for members only, old users may be at risk. A month ago we reported on AOL's switch of providers for its free anti-virus software offering, from the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/aol-quietly-drops-free-all-av-offering/

New worm spreading via Skype

Multilingual malware posing as porn in chat messages.
Multilingual malware posing as porn in chat messages. VoIP and chat system Skype has been targeted by another worm, sending chat messages to harvested contacts posing as links to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/new-worm-spreading-skype/

Yahoo!-owned ad firm serves up trojans

Infectious flash adverts displayed on major sites.
Infectious flash adverts displayed on major sites. Advertising supplied by ad firm Right Media, a company bought out by web giant Yahoo! earlier this year after an initial… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/yahoo-owned-ad-firm-serves-trojans/

Storm DDoS hits anti-scam sites

419 fighters attacked - NFL and TOR latest spam hooks.
419 fighters attacked - NFL and TOR latest spam hooks. The massive botnet amassed by the 'Storm' (Zhelatin/Nuwar/Dorf/etc.) attack continues to target new victims, with the TOR… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/storm-ddos-hits-anti-scam-sites/

Minor flaws patched in Sophos AV

Security vulnerabilities found and fixed.
Security vulnerabilities found and fixed. Two separate flaws have been reported in Sophos's anti-virus engine, affecting most of its product range and allowing security bypass and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/minor-flaws-patched-sophos-av/

Kaspersky-Zango case heralded as groundbreaking

Judge sets precedent upholding users' rights to block badware.
Judge sets precedent upholding users' rights to block badware. A lawsuit brought by adware-pusher Zango against Kaspersky Lab was dismissed last week, with the judge in the case… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/kaspersky-zango-case-heralded-groundbreaking/

Cybercrime rivals real-world crime rates

Researchers estimate 3 million online crimes committed in UK last year.
Researchers estimate 3 million online crimes committed in UK last year. A research group has issued a report estimating levels of cybercrime in the UK during 2006, finding that an… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/cybercrime-rivals-real-world-crime-rates/

Spamhaus $11 million fine thrown out

Appeal court quashes earlier e360 compensation ruling.
Appeal court quashes earlier e360 compensation ruling. Anti-spam operation Spamhaus, previously ordered to pay $11 million to mass-mailing firm e360 Insight after refusing to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/spamhaus-11-million-fine-thrown-out/

China denies Pentagon hacking claims

'Hacked by Chinese' row rumbles on.
'Hacked by Chinese' row rumbles on. The Chinese government has vigorously denied accusations, made in a report in UK newspaper The Financial Times on Monday, that Chinese hackers… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/china-denies-pentagon-hacking-claims/

APWG and FTC combine to fight ID fraud

Agencies join forces to release safety guidance documents.
Agencies join forces to release safety guidance documents. The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have pooled their resources and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/09/apwg-and-ftc-combine-fight-id-fraud/

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