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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

'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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

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.

Read more  

Search blog

Prolific spammer indicted

Notorious spammer Alan Ralsky charged with spamming and stock fraud.
Notorious spammer Alan Ralsky charged with spamming and stock fraud. Infamous prolific spammer Alan Ralsky has been indicted over his alleged involvement in an international… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/prolific-spammer-indicted/

2008

Latest news from the anti-virus industry provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
NewsMS to release out-of-band patch for critical IE vulnerabilityUsers advised to patch ASAP. 17 December 2008IE zero-day danger growingLarge numbers of users vulnerable to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/

Spammers and scammers in court

Spammers required to pay $200,000; 419 scammers face prison sentence.
Spammers required to pay $200,000; 419 scammers face prison sentence. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has settled a court case with a spamming advertising company.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/spammers-and-scammers-court/

Guidelines issued for UK hacker tool ban

Government issues guidelines in response to lobbying.
Government issues guidelines in response to lobbying. The British government has published a set of guidelines for the application of a law that makes it illegal to create or… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/guidelines-issued-uk-hacker-tool-ban/

Anti-malware school

F-Secure launches malware analysis course at Helsinki University.
F-Secure launches malware analysis course at Helsinki University. Researchers at F-Secure have decided to do their bit in helping to educate the next generation of malware… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/anti-malware-school/

Mortgage spam rockets

Spammers take note of US interest rate cuts.
Spammers take note of US interest rate cuts. Mortgage spam saw a significant increase last month in conjunction with the interest rate cuts announced by the US Federal Reserve.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/mortgage-spam-rockets/

Magic lanterns shine at terrorists

Virus Bulletin finds 40% of users think governments should write viruses to bug terrorists.
Virus Bulletin finds 40% of users think governments should write viruses to bug terrorists.In a survey of visitors to the Virus Bulletin website, 40% of computer users said they… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/magic-lanterns-shine-terrorists/

$3.2 billion lost in phishing attacks in 2007

Gartner survey reveals US losses to phishing gangs.
Gartner survey reveals US losses to phishing gangs. Analyst firm Gartner has estimated that $3.2 billion was lost by 3.6 million US computer users in phishing attacks over the 12… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/3-2-billion-lost-phishing-attacks-2007/

Zero-day exploit for Japanese word processor Ichitaro

Trend Micro notes increase in regionally targeted attacks as trojan becomes latest to exploit a Ichitaro flaw.
Trend Micro notes increase in regionally targeted attacks as trojan becomes latest to exploit a Ichitaro flaw. A trojan has been found to be exploiting a buffer overflow… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/zero-day-exploit-japanese-word-processor-ichitaro/

Survey finds 75% lose trust in data-loss firms

Security breaches seriously undermining public respect.
Security breaches seriously undermining public respect. A survey carried out jointly by security company Check Point and research firm YouGov has found public reaction to data… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/survey-finds-75-lose-trust-data-loss-firms/

Latest VB100 announced

Windows Server 2003 products to be tested.
Windows Server 2003 products to be tested. VB has issued a call for submissions for the latest VB100 comparative review, which will measure the performance of products for the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/latest-announced/

VB100 update

Several issues resulting from recent Windows 2000 test cleared up.
Several issues resulting from recent Windows 2000 test cleared up. After a busy and drama-filled VB100 month, several issues arising from the test have been subject to further… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/update/

Four IE bugs fixed by Patch Tuesday release

Seven updates, three critical in monthly security update.
Seven updates, three critical in monthly security update.Microsoft has released its monthly 'Patch Tuesday' security bulletin, featuring seven updates of which three are marked… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/four-ie-bugs-fixed-patch-tuesday-release/

Cyber attackers breach defences at secret US labs

Spearphishing and trojans penetrate research lab security.
Spearphishing and trojans penetrate research lab security. At least one major US science lab, used to handle highly classified government and military material, has had its… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/cyber-attackers-breach-defences-secret-us-labs/

Grisoft acquires Exploit Prevention Labs

AVG to incorporate LinkScanner in further consolidation of security offerings.
AVG to incorporate LinkScanner in further consolidation of security offerings.Grisoft, developer of the AVG security product whose free version is widely deployed on home-user… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/grisoft-acquires-exploit-prevention-labs/

UK spooks spooked by possible Chinese hacking

MI5 warns of suspected corporate espionage onslaught.
MI5 warns of suspected corporate espionage onslaught. The UK security service MI5 has issued an alert to 300 leading firms, warning them to ensure best possible security measures… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/uk-spooks-spooked-possible-chinese-hacking/

Vista fails to reassure web users

50% of users don't believe Vista has made the Internet any safer.
50% of users don't believe Vista has made the Internet any safer. According to a recent poll, 50% of visitors to the VB website do not believe that Windows Vista has made the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/vista-fails-reassure-web-users/

Yuletide greetings

Festive wishes.
Festive wishes. The members of the VB team extend their warm wishes to Virus Bulletin readers for a very happy holiday season and a healthy and prosperous new year. This Christmas… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/yuletide-greetings/

December

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/

Botnet roasting on an open fire

FBI reports successes of operation Bot Roast; McAfee predicts cyber espionage for 2008.
FBI reports successes of operation Bot Roast; McAfee predicts cyber espionage for 2008. The FBI has revealed that eight individuals have been indicted, pled guilty or been… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/12/botnet-roasting-open-fire/

We have placed cookies on your device in order to improve the functionality of this site, as outlined in our cookies policy. However, you may delete and block all cookies from this site and your use of the site will be unaffected. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to Virus Bulletin's use of data as outlined in our privacy policy.