VB Blog

Five reasons to come to VB2017 in Madrid

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 25, 2017

We're not ones to make bold claims about our conference, and we suggest you ask past attendees for their opinion, but here are five reasons why we think you should come to VB2017 in Madrid.

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DMARC: an imperfect solution that can make a big difference

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 24, 2017

US Senator Ron Wyden has asked the Department of Homeland Security to implement DMARC. Martijn Grooten looks at what difference this could make for phishing attacks impersonating the US federal governent.

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Advanced and inept persistent threats to be discussed at VB2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 20, 2017

Unsurprisingly given today's threat landscape, the VB2017 programme contains several talks on various advanced persistent threats - but also a talk on what may be the polar opposite of such threats: an inept persistent threat.

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Password security is 1% choosing a half-decent password, 99% not using it anywhere else

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 18, 2017

Password security advice focuses too much on password strength and too little on avoiding password reuse, Martijn Grooten argues.

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Save the dates: VB2018 to take place 3-5 October 2018

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 17, 2017

Though the location will remain a secret for a few more months, we are pleased to announce the dates for VB2018, the 28th Virus Bulletin International Conference.

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Review: BSides Athens 2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 10, 2017

The second edition of BSides Athens saw a great and varied programme presented in the Greek capital. VB's Martijn Grooten was pleased to attend.

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Let's not help attackers by spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 7, 2017

Spreading 'FUD' in the wake of cyber-attacks is never a good idea. But it's even worse when this might be one of the attackers' implicit goals.

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Calling next-gen security researchers: student discount for VB2017 announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 7, 2017

For the third year in a row, we have set aside a limited number of student tickets for the Virus Bulletin conference, to allow 'next-generation' security researchers to experience one of the most important gatherings of security researchers around the world.

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Nominations opened for fourth Péter Szőr Award

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 4, 2017

Virus Bulletin has opened nominations for the fourth annual Péter Szőr Award, for the best piece of technical security research published between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017.

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VB2016 paper: BlackEnergy – what we really know about the notorious cyber attacks

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 3, 2017

According to some researchers, there is some evidence linking the recent (Not)Petya attacks with the BlackEnergy group - which became infamous for its targeted attacks against the Ukraine. At VB2016, ESET researchers Anton Cherepanov and Robert Lipovsky spoke about BlackEnergy, providing an overview of the group's attacks. Today, we publish their paper.

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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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