VB Blog

Paper: New Keylogger on the Block

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 5, 2016

In a new paper published by Virus Bulletin, Sophos researcher Gabor Szappanos takes a look at the KeyBase keylogger, sold as a commercial product and popular among cybercriminals who use it in Office exploit kits.

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BSides Denver to take place the day after VB2016

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 28, 2016

VB2016, the 26th International Virus Bulletin conference, is an excellent reason to go to Denver, Colorado in the first week of October. But there is another reason to come to Denver: BSides Denver, which will take place the day after VB2016, on Saturday 8 October 2016.

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VB2015 paper: DDoS Trojan: A Malicious Concept that Conquered the ELF Format

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Jun 13, 2016

In their VB2015 paper, Peter Kálnai and Jaromír Hořejší look at the current state of DDoS trojans forming covert botnets on unsuspecting systems. The paper provides a technical analysis of the most important malware families, focusing on infection methods, dynamic behaviour, C&C communication, obfuscation techniques, advanced methods of persistence and stealth, and elimination of rivals.

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Throwback Thursday: Hyppönen, that Data Fellow / Finnish Sprayer

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jun 2, 2016

This week, well known and universally respected industry guru Mikko Hyppönen celebrates his 25th anniversary of working at F-Secure (formerly known as Data Fellows). VB takes a look back in the archives at two articles published in 1994: an "insight" into the life and work of the then rising star of the anti-virus world, and a virus analysis penned by the man himself.

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VB2015 paper: Economic Sanctions on Malware

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jun 1, 2016

Financial pressure can be a proactive and potentially very effective tool in making our computer ecosystems safer. By cleverly employing various trust metrics and technologies such as digital signing, watermarking, and public-key infrastructure in strategically selected places, we can encourage good behaviours and punish bad ones. In his VB2015 paper, Igor Muttik analyses and gives examples of technologies (certificates, credentials, etc.) to de-incentivize bad behaviours in several ecosystems (Windows, Android, iOS).

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Virus Bulletin's job site for recruiters and job seekers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 26, 2016

Virus Bulletin has relaunched its security job vacancy service and added a new section, in which job seekers can advertise their skills and experience.

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Throwback Thursday: One_Half: The Lieutenant Commander?

Posted by   Helen Martin on   May 26, 2016

In October 1994, a new multi-partite virus appeared, using some of the techniques developed by the Dark Avenger in Commander_Bomber. As if this were not enough, the One_Half virus could also encrypt vital parts of the fixed disk. Eugene Kaspersky provided a detailed analysis.

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Advertisements on Blogspot sites lead to support scam

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 9, 2016

Support scam pop-ups presented through malicious advertisements show that, next to vulnerable end points, gullible users remain an easy source of money for online criminals.

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To make Tor work better on the web, we need to be honest about it

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   May 6, 2016

Many websites put barriers in front of visitors who use the Tor network. If we want to make the web more accessible through Tor, we need to be honest about why this is done, rather than cry wolf about a dislike for privacy, Martijn Grooten says.

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Paper: How It Works: Steganography Hides Malware in Image Files

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 28, 2016

A new paper by CYREN researcher Lordian Mosuela takes a close look at Gatak, or Stegoloader, a piece of malware that was discovered last year and that is controlled via malicious code embedded in a PNG image, a technique known as steganography.

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Search blog

More phishers and spammers face prison time

US, Dutch and Japanese police crack down on online bad guys.
US, Dutch and Japanese police crack down on online bad guys. Of a series of arrests and convictions this week, the most spectacular headlines centre on the potential 101-year… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/more-phishers-and-spammers-face-prison-time/

Wide support for spyware teacher

Malware infestation alleged at root of porn conviction.
Malware infestation alleged at root of porn conviction. A Connecticut teacher, recently convicted of morals offences after her laptop displayed a range of pornographic sites to a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/wide-support-spyware-teacher/

Government agencies take anti-phishing action

Spear-phishing awareness training and testing for staff.
Spear-phishing awareness training and testing for staff. Personnel working for the US Coast Guard have been ordered to take phishing awareness training, while other US government… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/government-agencies-take-anti-phishing-action/

2007

Latest news from the anti-virus industry provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
NewsMagic lanterns shine at terroristsVirus Bulletin finds 40% of users think governments should write viruses to bug terrorists.19 December 2007$3.2 billion lost in phishing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/

MMS mobile phone exploit released

Buffer overflow vulnerability in MMS SMIL exploited.
Buffer overflow vulnerability in MMS SMIL exploited. Last month saw the publication of proof-of-concept code exploiting a vulnerability in the popular mobile phone Multimedia… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/mms-mobile-phone-exploit-released/

UK anti-spam victory for Microsoft

Lawsuit won against UK spammer.
Lawsuit won against UK spammer. Microsoft has won a lawsuit against a spammer based in the UK. Microsoft launched legal proceedings against 37-year-old Paul Martin McDonald after… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/uk-anti-spam-victory-microsoft/

January

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/

Sony rootkit settlement costs escalate

Use of hidden DRM software costs company $5.75m.
Use of hidden DRM software costs company $5.75m. Sony BMG Music Entertainment's ill-advised use of hidden digital rights management (DRM) software on its CDs in late 2005 has cost… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/01/sony-rootkit-settlement-costs-escalate/

UK taxman warns of rebate phish

Mails promising tax refund just another scam.
Mails promising tax refund just another scam.Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK taxation authority, has issued a warning regarding a phishing campaign using its name.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/uk-taxman-warns-rebate-phish/

Microsoft wins block on spam list seller

Court bars bulk email address sales site from further business.
Court bars bulk email address sales site from further business.Microsoft has won a judgement against a UK man accused of selling lists of email addresses for the purpose of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/microsoft-wins-block-spam-list-seller/

BitDefender vulnerability disclosed

Details released of overflow issue reported and patched.
Details released of overflow issue reported and patched.BitDefender and several security-watching sites have unveiled details of a serious overflow vulnerability in the parsing of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/bitdefender-vulnerability-disclosed/

'Big Yellow' worm exploits slow Symantec patchers

Worm spotted targeting 6-month-old vulnerability in AV products.
Worm spotted targeting 6-month-old vulnerability in AV products. An alert has been issued by eEye Digital Security researchers for a new worm, which they have called 'Big Yellow',… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/big-yellow-worm-exploits-slow-symantec-patchers/

Yet more Word zero-day woes

Possible third vulnerability in popular software exploited.
Possible third vulnerability in popular software exploited. Reports are coming in of a new exploit for Microsoft's Word word processing software, amid speculation that the attack… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/yet-more-word-zero-day-woes/

European mailer society signs spyware charter

Direct marketeers' association adopts code of good behaviour.
Direct marketeers' association adopts code of good behaviour. The Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing (FEDMA), a common-interest and self-regulatory body for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/european-mailer-society-signs-spyware-charter/

US Postal Service accused of spamming

Customer email campaign in breach of CAN-SPAM regulations.
Customer email campaign in breach of CAN-SPAM regulations. The US Postal Service (USPS) has come under fire from anti-spam activists after a mass email campaign promoting a new… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/us-postal-service-accused-spamming/

UK phishing up 8000% in two years, says FSA

Government report shows massive rise in scams.
Government report shows massive rise in scams. A report presented to the UK government by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK's financial watchdog organisation,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/uk-phishing-8000-two-years-says-fsa/

Ransom attacks hit webmail

Accounts held hostage by data-stealing extortionists.
Accounts held hostage by data-stealing extortionists. Following the wave of 'ransomware' attacks first spotted in the summer of 2005, online extortionists have picked another… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/ransom-attacks-hit-webmail/

Putting a price on spam

Email-forwarding system lets users set a fee to let spam through.
Email-forwarding system lets users set a fee to let spam through. Email-forwarding system Boxbe has come up with a new way around the spam problem - by letting its users set a fee… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/putting-price-spam/

Patch Tuesday leaves Word open to attack

Old and new zero-day vulnerabilities to remain unpatched.
Old and new zero-day vulnerabilities to remain unpatched.Microsoft's monthly Patch Tuesday update release sees seven security patches for Windows operating systems and products,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/patch-tuesday-leaves-word-open-attack/

Sophos vulnerabilities found, patched

Fixes issued for archive handling problems.
Fixes issued for archive handling problems. Researchers working with Tipping Point's Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) program have released details of two vulnerabilities in the Sophos… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/sophos-vulnerabilities-found-patched/

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