VB Blog

Paying a malware ransom is bad, but telling people never to do it is unhelpful advice

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 26, 2016

The current ransomware plague is one of the worst threats the Internet has seen and it is unlikely to go away any time soon. But telling people to never pay the ransom is unhelpful advice.

Read more  

VB2015 paper: VolatilityBot: Malicious Code Extraction Made by and for Security Researchers

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 22, 2016

In his VB2015 paper, Martin Korman presented his 'VolatilyBot' tool, which extracts malicious code from packed binaries, leveraging the functionality of the Volatility Framework.

Read more  

VB2016 programme announced, registration opened

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 21, 2016

We have announced 37 papers (and four reserve papers) that will be presented at VB2016 in Denver, Colorado, USA in October. Registration for the conference has opened; make sure you register before 1 July to benefit from a 10% early bird discount.

Read more  

New tool helps ransomware victims indentify the malware family

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 15, 2016

The people behind the MalwareHunterTeam have released a tool that helps victims of ransomware identify which of more than 50 families has infected their system, something which could help them find a tool to decrypt their files.

Read more  

It's fine for vulnerabilities to have names — we just need not to take them too seriously

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 13, 2016

The PR campaign around the Badlock vulnerability backfired when it turned out that the vulnerability wasn't as serious as had been suggested. But naming vulnerabilities can actually be helpful and certainly shouldn't hurt.

Read more  

Throwback Thursday: The Number of the Beasts

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Apr 7, 2016

The Virus Bulletin Virus Prevalence Table, which ran from 1992 until 2013, gave users a regular snapshot of what was really going on in the virus (and later malware) world, recording the number of incidents of each virus reported to VB in the preceding month. In August 2000, Denis Zenkin, a self-confessed virus prevalence table junkie, shared his findings following a study of the virus prevalence tables over the preceding few years, allowing him to determine the top ten viruses of the period, the top viruses by type and the viruses of the year.

Read more  

Paper: All Your Meetings Are Belong to Us: Remote Code Execution in Apache OpenMeetings

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 30, 2016

Security researcher Andreas Lindh recently found a vulnerability in Apache OpenMeetings that could allow remote code execution on a vulnerable server. Andreas reported the vulnerability to the OpenMeetings developers and, once it had been patched, he wrote up the details.

Read more  

Throwback Thursday: 'In the Beginning was the Word...'

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Mar 24, 2016

Word and Excel’s internal file formats used to be something in which few were interested – until macro viruses came along and changed all that. In 1996, Andrew Krukov provided an overview of the new breed of viruses.

Read more  

VB2016 Call for Papers Deadline

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 18, 2016

You have until the early hours (GMT) of Monday 21 March to submit an abstract for VB2016! The VB2016 programme will be announced in the first week of April.

Read more  

How broken is SHA-1 really?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 15, 2016

SHA-1 collisions may be found in the next few months, but that doesn't mean that fake SHA-1-based certificates will be created in the near future. Nevertheless, it is time for everyone, and those working in security in particular, to move away from outdated hash functions.

Read more  

Search blog

Patch Tuesday released closely followed by emergency update

Bumper crop of patches plus further fix leave known holes open.
Bumper crop of patches plus further fix leave known holes open. This month's 'Patch Tuesday' security bulletin from Microsoft contained eight separate updates, two more than… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/12/patch-tuesday-released-closely-followed-emergency-update/

Worm targets MS08-067 vulnerability

Exploit attack patches flaw once system penetrated.
Exploit attack patches flaw once system penetrated. A worm has been seen taking advantage of the vulnerability in Microsoft's Windows Server Service, patched out-of-cycle last… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/12/worm-targets-ms08-067-vulnerability/

Microsoft to replace OneCare with free AV product

OneCare retirement announced, new product will be lighter on systems and pockets.
OneCare retirement announced, new product will be lighter on systems and pockets.Microsoft has announced plans to put an end to its home-user security product Live OneCare, and to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/11/microsoft-replace-onecare-free-av-product/

Two updates in Microsoft's November's patch release

Just two updates released by Microsoft this month: one rated critical, one important.
Just two updates released by Microsoft this month: one rated critical, one important.Microsoft has issued two updates in the November round of its monthly patch release cycle, one… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/11/two-updates-microsoft-s-november-s-patch-release/

Microsoft issues emergency patch

Out-of-cycle update fixes serious, wormable flaw.
Out-of-cycle update fixes serious, wormable flaw.Microsoft has issued an emergency update to cover a serious vulnerability in the Windows Server service, breaking its usual monthly… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/microsoft-issues-emergency-patch/

Four critical updates this Patch Tuesday

11 updates to be issued by Microsoft in October's monthly patch release: 4 critical.
11 updates to be issued by Microsoft in October's monthly patch release: 4 critical.Microsoft has prepared a total of 11 updates for the October round of its monthly patch release… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/four-critical-updates-patch-tuesday/

Four critical updates in Patch Tuesday release

Monthly security update small but vital.
Monthly security update small but vital.Microsoft has released its monthly 'Patch Tuesday' batch of security updates, with only four items on the list but all of them marked… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/09/four-critical-updates-patch-tuesday-release/

Patch Tuesday sees serious DNS flaws fixed

Nothing marked critical, but some very important patches issued.
Nothing marked critical, but some very important patches issued.Microsoft's latest 'Patch Tuesday' round of security updates for once contains no bulletins marked as 'critical',… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/07/patch-tuesday-sees-serious-dns-flaws-fixed/

Microsoft releases latest Patch Tuesday fixes

7 vulnerabilities, 3 critical, addressed in June security update.
7 vulnerabilities, 3 critical, addressed in June security update.Microsoft has issued its monthly 'Patch Tuesday' set of security fixes, with seven separate areas covered of which… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/microsoft-releases-latest-patch-tuesday-fixes/

Microsoft increases pressure on Apple to fix Safari blended threat

'Carpet bombing' vulnerability more serious than Apple claims, MS warns.
'Carpet bombing' vulnerability more serious than Apple claims, MS warns.Microsoft, whose Internet Explorer has come under frequent criticism for security vulnerabilities, has… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/06/microsoft-increases-pressure-apple-fix-safari-blended-threat/

Latest Patch Tuesday update released

Microsoft announces five 'critical' vulnerabilities need fixing.
Microsoft announces five 'critical' vulnerabilities need fixing.Microsoft has issued its monthly 'Patch Tuesday' security bulletin, with five 'critical' and three 'important'… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/04/latest-patch-tuesday-update-released/

Microsoft acquires Komoku

Anti-rootkit software to become part of Forefront and OneCare.
Anti-rootkit software to become part of Forefront and OneCare. Just before Easter, Microsoft announced it had acquired Komoku, a Maryland-based company that builds anti-rootkit… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/microsoft-acquires-komoku/

Access flaw exploited via Word

Microsoft's employees hunting vulnerabilities instead of Easter eggs.
Microsoft's employees hunting vulnerabilities instead of Easter eggs. A buffer overrun vulnerability in Microsoft's Jet Database Engine, the underlying database behind Microsoft… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/access-flaw-exploited-word/

Latest Patch Tuesday release

March's Patch Tuesday sees four 'critical' updates.
March's Patch Tuesday sees four 'critical' updates.Microsoft has released its monthly 'Patch Tuesday' security bulletin. This month the bulletin features four 'critical' updates,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/latest-patch-tuesday-release/

'Olympic' emails contain malicious XLS attachments

Malware writers sprint to use vulnerabilities before next Patch Tuesday.
Malware writers sprint to use vulnerabilities before next Patch Tuesday. Security researchers have reported seeing emails containing XLS attachments designed to exploit a yet… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/03/olympic-emails-contain-malicious-xls-attachments/

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/

Vista SP1 clashing with AV products

Service Pack causing issues for several security suites.
Service Pack causing issues for several security suites.Microsoft has released details of several software products that are known to have problems running in conjunction with… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/vista-sp1-clashing-av-products/

Microsoft research revives 'friendly worm' ideas

Malware techniques proposed as update-spreading method.
Malware techniques proposed as update-spreading method. A group of Microsoft researchers have put forward proposals to use worm techniques to spread patches and updates across… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/microsoft-research-revives-friendly-worm-ideas/

Bumper Patch Tuesday short of one patch

Excel remains vulnerable as expected fix is dropped.
Excel remains vulnerable as expected fix is dropped.Microsoft has issued its monthly 'Patch Tuesday' set of security updates, with a larger than usual crop of patches for a variety… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/bumper-patch-tuesday-short-one-patch/

Live Mail CAPTCHA system bypassed

Spammers use botnet to register accounts on popular free webmail service.
Spammers use botnet to register accounts on popular free webmail service.Spammers have written a program that cracks the CAPTCHAS used by the Windows Live Mail registration system.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/02/live-mail-captcha-system-bypassed/

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.