VB Blog

First 11 partners of VB2019 announced

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   May 15, 2019

We are excited to announce the first 11 companies to partner with VB2019, whose support will help ensure a great event.

Read more  

VB2018 paper: Fake News, Inc.

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Apr 25, 2019

A former reporter by profession, Andrew Brandt's curiosity was piqued when he came across what appeared at first glance to be the website of a small-town newspaper based in Illinois, but under scrutiny, things didn’t add up. At VB2018 he presented a paper in which he shared the results of his investigation of the site. Today, we publish his paper and the recording of his presentation.

Read more  

Paper: Alternative communication channel over NTP

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 24, 2019

In a new paper published today, independent researcher Nikolaos Tsapakis writes about the possibilities of malware using NTP as a covert communication channel and how to stop this.

Read more  

VB2019 conference programme announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 5, 2019

VB is excited to reveal the details of an interesting and diverse programme for VB2019, the 29th Virus Bulletin International Conference, which takes place 2-4 October in London, UK.

Read more  

VB2018 paper: Under the hood - the automotive challenge

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 27, 2019

Car hacking has become a hot subject in recent years, and at VB2018 in Montreal, Argus Cyber Security's Inbar Raz presented a paper that provides an introduction to the subject, looking at the complex problem, examples of car hacks, and the challenges ahead. Today, we publish both Inbar's paper and the recording of his presentation.

Read more  

VB2018 paper and video: Android app deobfuscation using static-dynamic cooperation

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 20, 2019

Static analysis and dynamic analysis each have their shortcomings as methods for analysing potentially malicious files. Today, we publish a VB2018 paper by Check Point researchers Yoni Moses and Yaniv Mordekhay, in which they describe a method that combines static and dynamic analysis to defeat app obfuscation in Android binaries. We also publish the video of their presentation.

Read more  

VB2019 call for papers closes this weekend

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 15, 2019

The call for papers for VB2019 closes on 17 March, and while we've already received many great submissions, we still want more!

Read more  

Registration open for VB2019 ─ book your ticket now!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 13, 2019

Registration for VB2019, the 29th Virus Bulletin International Conference, is now open, with an early bird rate available until 1 July.

Read more  

The VB2019 call for papers is about ... papers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 8, 2019

When we are calling for papers for the Virus Bulletin conference as we are doing now, we really mean a written paper. But don't worry if you've never written a paper - we can help!

Read more  

VB2018 video: Adware is just malware with a legal department - how we reverse engineered OSX/Pirrit, received legal threats, and survived

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 8, 2019

Amit Serper first analysed the OSX/Pirrit adware in 2016, highlighting some of its malware-like techniques, and soon afterwards started receiving legal threats from the company behind it. At VB2018 Amit gave a presentation in which he discussed both the adware and the legal threats he received for calling it malware. Today, we publish the video of Amit's presentation.

Read more  

Search blog

Google AdWords phishing campaign spreads

Users urged to login because of 'issues'.
Users urged to login because of 'issues'. A new phishing campaign that targets users of Google AdWords looks worryingly real, GFI reports. The phish begins with an email claiming… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/10/google-adwords-phishing-campaign-spreads/

Google delists all .co.cc domains from its index

Large fraction of sites deemed 'spammy or low-quality'.
Large fraction of sites deemed 'spammy or low-quality'.Google has removed all sites running on subdomains of .co.cc from its search engine index as the company believes too large a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/07/google-delists-all-co-cc-domains-its-index/

Google acquires Zynamics

Internet giant buys into security.
Internet giant buys into security. Internet giant Google has acquired software analytics firm Zynamics, it was announced yesterday. The German company, which was founded in 2004… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/google-acquires-zynamics/

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/

Morphing PDFs in new SEO poisoning trick

Harmless documents replaced by web pages containing malicious code.
Harmless documents replaced by web pages containing malicious code. Researchers at F-Secure have discovered a new SEO poisoning trick in which attackers put harmless PDFs on a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/03/morphing-pdfs-new-seo-poisoning-trick/

Security holes trouble vendors

Vulnerabilities fixed in McAfee website and Google Chrome; patch expected for Adobe Reader.
Vulnerabilities fixed in McAfee website and Google Chrome; patch expected for Adobe Reader. A range of vulnerabilities have been causing headaches recently for companies… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/05/security-holes-trouble-vendors/

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/

China hosting over half of malicious sites

StopBadware.org report highlights Chinese dominance in web malware.
StopBadware.org report highlights Chinese dominance in web malware. A report from StopBadware.org released last week found that 52% of malicious websites were hosted in China, with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/china-hosting-over-half-malicious-sites/

Spammers turn to DoubleClick for open redirect

Loophole in Google's AdSense solved, but new flaw quickly uncovered.
Loophole in Google's AdSense solved, but new flaw quickly uncovered. The good name of web giant Google continues to be a popular source of legitimacy among spammers, despite their… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/spammers-turn-doubleclick-open-redirect/

Google Groups and Blogspot used to serve malware

Company finds own IP address to be serving most malware.
Company finds own IP address to be serving most malware.Malware writers have created thousands of Google Groups with the sole purpose of serving malware, Sunbelt reports. On the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/google-groups-and-blogspot-used-serve-malware/

'Search engines should do more to fight malware'

85% of users think that search engines should be doing more.
85% of users think that search engines should be doing more. According to a recent poll, 85% of visitors to the VB website think that search engines should be doing more to fight… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/search-engines-should-do-more-fight-malware/

Gmail CAPTCHA cracked

Twenty per cent success rate sufficient to create thousands of spam accounts.
Twenty per cent success rate sufficient to create thousands of spam accounts.Gmail has become the latest free webmail service to have its CAPTCHAs cracked by spammers. Following… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/gmail-captcha-cracked/

Over 1 per cent of search results include malicious sites

Google research paper confirms significant increase in number of malware-serving websites.
Google research paper confirms significant increase in number of malware-serving websites. Recent reports of increasing numbers of websites serving malicious content have been… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/over-1-cent-search-results-include-malicious-sites/

Ledger poisons Google

Actor's death exploited by malware writers to infect computers.
Actor's death exploited by malware writers to infect computers. The death of actor Heath Ledger on Tuesday had barely been confirmed a few hours when malicious websites started… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/ledger-poisons-google/

No taste for spam?

ICANN takes steps to combat domain tasting.
ICANN takes steps to combat domain tasting. The practice of domain tasting, often used by spammers and other shady types to register tens of thousands of Internet domain names at… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/01/no-taste-spam/

Symantec warns of rigged Google search links

Advanced search options lead clickers straight to junk sites.
Advanced search options lead clickers straight to junk sites. Spammers have found a novel use for Google's advanced search options and 'I'm Feeling Lucky' function, using a… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/11/symantec-warns-rigged-google-search-links/

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/

Google buys Postini

Managed security service snapped up by giant.
Managed security service snapped up by giant. Ever-expanding web giant Google has continued its growth into both security and software-as-service spheres with the $625 million… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/07/google-buys-postini/

Online malware dangers analysed

Google, McAfee release webserver, search result figures.
Google, McAfee release webserver, search result figures. Two reports out this week have revealed some interesting statistics on the security dangers involved in browsing the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/06/online-malware-dangers-analysed/

Google buys into security

Google makes stealth purchase of security firm.
Google makes stealth purchase of security firm. Search and entertainment giant Google completed the purchase of Internet security firm GreenBorder Technologies in mid-May - but… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/google-buys-security/

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.