VB Blog

VB2017 preview: Beyond lexical and PDNS (guest blog)

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Oct 5, 2017

In a special guest blog post, VB2017 Silver sponsor Cisco Umbrella writes about a paper that researchers Dhia Mahjoub and David Rodriguez will present at the conference this Friday.

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Avast to present technical details of CCleaner hack at VB2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 2, 2017

The recently discovered malicious CCleaner version has become one of the biggest security stories of 2017. Two researchers from Avast, the company that had recently acquired CCleaner developer Piriform, will share the results of their investigations at VB2017 in Madrid this week.

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VB2017 preview: Walking in your enemy's shadow: when fourth-party collection becomes attribution hell

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Oct 2, 2017

We preview the VB2017 paper by Kaspersky Lab researchers Juan Andrés Guerrero-Saade and Costin Raiu on fourth-party collection and its implications for attack attribution.

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VB2017 preview: Offensive malware analysis: dissecting OSX/FruitFly.B via a custom C&C server

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 29, 2017

We preview Patrick Wardle's VB2017 paper, in which the Synack researcher analyses the mysterious OSX/FruitFly malware by setting up a custom C&C server.

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VB2017 - information for press

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 28, 2017

More than 50 security industry experts will present conference papers to their peers at VB2017 next week, and there are several papers on the programme with a certain newsworthiness. There is still time for cybersecurity journalists to apply for a press pass.

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VB2017 preview: BPH exposed - RBN never left they just adapted and evolved. Did you?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 25, 2017

We preview the VB2017 paper by Dhia Mahjoub (OpenDNS) and Jason Passwaters (Intel471) who combine an actor-centric and a network-centric approach to analysing bulletproof hosting operations.

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Test your technical and mental limits in the VB2017 foosball tournament

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 22, 2017

As has become tradition, VB2017 will once again see a security industry table football tournament. Register your team now for some great fun and adrenaline-filled matches in between sessions in Madrid!

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The case against running Windows XP is more subtle than we think it is

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 21, 2017

Greater Manchester Police is one of many organizations still running Windows XP on some of its systems. This is bad practice, but the case against running XP is far more subtle than we often pretend it is.

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Hot FinSpy research completes VB2017 programme

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 21, 2017

Researchers from ESET have found a new way in which the FinSpy/FinFisher 'government spyware' can infect users, details of which they will present at VB2017 in Madrid.

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Transparency is essential when monitoring your users' activities

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Sep 20, 2017

Activity monitoring by security products in general, and HTTPS traffic inspection in particular, are sensitive issues in the security community. There is a time and a place for them, VB's Martijn Grooten argues, but only when they are done right.

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Ransom trojan demands Windows re-activation

Criminals make money through calls to supposedly free phone number.
Criminals make money through calls to supposedly free phone number. A new piece of ransomware has been discovered that shows the PC user a blue screen and asks them to re-activate… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/04/ransom-trojan-demands-windows-re-activation/

Android SMS trojan goes wild

Premium-rate text scam shows growing cracks in smart phone security.
Premium-rate text scam shows growing cracks in smart phone security. The first known SMS trojan affecting smart phones running Google's Android operating system has been observed… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/08/android-sms-trojan-goes-wild/

AV-Comparatives publishes malware removal test

16 products challenged to remove selection of tricky infections.
16 products challenged to remove selection of tricky infections. Independent testing body AV-Comparatives has published its latest set of test results, a comparison of how well… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/10/av-comparatives-publishes-malware-removal-test/

AMTSO members summit covers controversial issues

Expert body gets to grips with string of difficult subjects.
Expert body gets to grips with string of difficult subjects. A meeting of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organisation (AMTSO) took place this week, with leading experts from… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/10/amtso-members-summit-covers-controversial-issues/

Rogue AV claims to send money to environmental causes

'Green AV' best added to blacklist to avoid red faces.
'Green AV' best added to blacklist to avoid red faces. In an attempt to lure users into buying it, the rogue anti-malware product Green AV claims to send US$2 per purchased product… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/09/rogue-av-claims-send-money-environmental-causes/

Anti-Obama sentiments used in spam campaign

'DDoS software' turns out to be malware.
'DDoS software' turns out to be malware. In a new spam campaign users are being urged to participate in a DDoS attack on the website of American president Barack Obama in protest… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/08/anti-obama-sentiments-used-spam-campaign/

Valentine's lures lead to infection

Predicted spate of romance hooks under way.
Predicted spate of romance hooks under way. After numerous security watchers predicted a barrage of phishing and malware attacks associated with Valentine's Day this week, the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/02/valentine-s-lures-lead-infection/

Google shows off in-house browser beta

Open-source 'Chrome' promises security as well as efficiency.
Open-source 'Chrome' promises security as well as efficiency. Ever-expanding web giant Google has released an early version of its own browser, developed in house but under… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/09/google-shows-house-browser-beta/

Malware writing teacher revives old rows

College instructor claims to be fighting industry monopoly.
College instructor claims to be fighting industry monopoly. As announced to much controversy last year, a course in computer security at Sonoma State University, California, is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/08/malware-writing-teacher-revives-old-rows/

Trojan-to-worm automation tool spotted

GUI gizmo adds extra spreading menace to any malware.
GUI gizmo adds extra spreading menace to any malware. Researchers at Panda have discovered a simple and colourful graphical application designed to add basic worm techniques to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/trojan-worm-automation-tool-spotted/

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/

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/

IE8 to include malware filtering

New features list includes upgrade to security provision.
New features list includes upgrade to security provision. The next version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser, IE8, could include malware detection as standard, in an… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/ie8-include-malware-filtering/

Showy malware pushes rogue anti-malware product

MonaRonaDona trojan leads searchers to remover scam.
MonaRonaDona trojan leads searchers to remover scam. An infection which advertises its presence using the name 'MonaRonaDona' is leading victims to search for a cure - and many of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/showy-malware-pushes-rogue-anti-malware-product/

Malware going local

Report sees trend toward greater localisation of threats.
Report sees trend toward greater localisation of threats.McAfee's latest Sage report focuses on increased localisation in malware, with spam, phishing and malcode all showing great… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/malware-going-local/

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/

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/

Malcode from Mexico and Africa predicted to boom

Developing world expected to contribute heavily to future cybercrime.
Developing world expected to contribute heavily to future cybercrime. A report from F-Secure has predicted increasing levels of malware creation and operation in 'developing'… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/malcode-mexico-and-africa-predicted-boom/

Batch of Dutch MP3 players ships with malware

Worm included as unwanted extra for music lovers.
Worm included as unwanted extra for music lovers. A shipment of MP3 players sold in recent months by Dutch firm Victory has been found to be infected with the Fujacks worm, which… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/batch-dutch-mp3-players-ships-malware/

Usual fare for holiday season

Storm ecards and social site spyware mark unsurprising year end.
Storm ecards and social site spyware mark unsurprising year end. With large portions of the globe celebrating various festivals over the past few weeks, an expected upsurge in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/usual-fare-holiday-season/

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