VB Blog

WordPress users urged to manually update to fix bug that prevents automatic updating

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 8, 2018

Users of the popular WordPress content management system are urged to manually update their installation to version 4.9.4, as a bug in the previous version broke the ability to automatically install updates.

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New paper: A review of the evolution of Andromeda over the years

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 7, 2018

The Andromeda botnet (aka Gamarue or Wauchos) has plagued Internet users for more than half a decade but, following a takedown effort and the arrest of the suspected botnet owner in December 2017, it is likely we have seen the end of it. In a new paper by Fortinet researchers Bahare Sabouri and He Xu, we look back at the evolution of Andromeda from version 2.06 to 2.10 and demonstrate both how it improved its loader to evade automatic analysis/detection and how the payload varied among the different versions.

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There is no evidence in-the-wild malware is using Meltdown or Spectre

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 2, 2018

Reports of malware using the Meltdown or Spectre attacks are likely based on proof-of-concept code rather than files written for a malicious purpose.

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Throwback Thursday: Malware taking a bit(coin) more than we bargained for

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 1, 2018

This Throwback Thursday, we republish the VB2012 paper by Microsoft researcher Amir Fouda, one of the earliest papers to look at malware targeting Bitcoin.

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First time speaker? Don't be afraid of submitting to the VB2018 CFP

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 31, 2018

We especially encourage those less experienced in speaking in public to submit to the call for papers for VB2018, where we aim to provide a friendly and welcoming environment in which people can both present their own research and learn from what others have been working on.

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VB2017 paper: VirusTotal tips, tricks and myths

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 25, 2018

At VB2017 in Madrid, security researcher Randy Abrams presented an overview of the VirusTotal service and then went on to bust several of the persistent myths that surround it. Today we publish both Randy's paper and the recording of his presentation.

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Healthcare CERTs highlight the need for security guidance for specific sectors

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 24, 2018

A new computer emergency response team has been launched in the Netherlands to provide guidance specifically tailored to the healthcare sector. Martijn Grooten welcomes the development.

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VB2018 call for papers now open!

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 23, 2018

Have you analysed a new online threat? Do you know a new way to defend against such threats? Are you tasked with securing systems and fending off attacks? The call for papers for VB2018 is now open and we want to hear from you!

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Book review: Serious Cryptography

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 22, 2018

VB Editor Martijn Grooten recommends Jean-Philippe Aumasson's 'Serious Cryptography' as a very solid but practically focused introduction to cryptography.

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Necurs pump-and-dump spam campaign pushes obscure cryptocurrency

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 16, 2018

A Necurs pump-and-dump spam campaign pushing the lesser known Swisscoin botnet is mostly background noise for the Internet.

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Search blog

VirusTotal project aims to remediate false positives

Security vendors to receive alerts when legitimate files are detected as malicious.
Security vendors to receive alerts when legitimate files are detected as malicious.False positives are a huge problem for the IT industry in general and for security products in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2015/02/virustotal-project-aims-remediate-false-positives/

IEEE announces Anti-Malware Support Service

'Software taggant system' and 'clean file metadata exchange' discussed at previous VB conferences.
'Software taggant system' and 'clean file metadata exchange' discussed at previous VB conferences. Wouldn't it be nice if providers of software packers included a licence key in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2014/03/ieee-announces-anti-malware-support-service/

Sophos red flags Google Analytics

Popular analytics tool mistakenly flagged as 'high risk'.
Popular analytics tool mistakenly flagged as 'high risk'. Security firm Sophos had an embarrassing moment this morning when its scanner flagged Google Analytics as malicious.… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/06/sophos-red-flags-google-analytics/

Keylogger on Samsung laptops proves to be false alarm

AV product wrongly flags malware based on existence of directory.
AV product wrongly flags malware based on existence of directory. A number of security bloggers raised concern yesterday about the apparent presence of a keylogger on Samsung… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2011/03/keylogger-samsung-laptops-proves-be-false-alarm/

McAfee offers payments to cover FP cleanup costs

Compensation for faulty update victims could set precedent.
Compensation for faulty update victims could set precedent. Victims of the erroneous McAfee DAT update last month are being offered cash payments to cover costs incurred in fixing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2010/05/mcafee-offers-payments-cover-fp-cleanup-costs/

False positive problem hits avast! users

Human failure blamed for faulty update.
Human failure blamed for faulty update. A relatively small subsection of the massive user base for Alwil's ever-popular avast! products were hit by a string of false positives last… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/12/false-positive-problem-hits-avast-users/

Serious false positive hits users of old McAfee engines

Batch of system files wrongly flagged as malware, current versions not affected.
Batch of system files wrongly flagged as malware, current versions not affected. An update released by McAfee last week resulted in problems around the world, as some vital system… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/serious-false-positive-hits-users-old-mcafee-engines/

VB announces latest VBSpam certification results

Two products achieve top level VBSpam Platinum award.
Two products achieve top level VBSpam Platinum award. Virus Bulletin has announced the results of its second comparative review of anti-spam products, revealing two top-level… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/07/vb-announces-latest-vbspam-certification-results/

DKIM usage shows significant growth

US banks urged to use authentication method
US banks urged to use authentication method In a report on its website, Internet giant Cisco states it has been seeing almost 700,000 non-spam messages that contain valid DKIM… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2009/06/dkim-usage-shows-significant-growth/

McAfee false positive flags Vista component

Innocent file labelled trojan.
Innocent file labelled trojan.McAfee has updated one of its detections after a faulty update led to an integral component of the Windows Vista operating system being falsely… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/10/mcafee-false-positive-flags-vista-component/

Tough weekend for AV giants as FPs and DNS issues hit

Trend false alert cripples users' systems, Sophos sites taken out by DNS mixup.
Trend false alert cripples users' systems, Sophos sites taken out by DNS mixup. Two of the larger security firms, Trend Micro and Sophos, had a busy weekend cleaning up after… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2008/09/tough-weekend-av-giants-fps-and-dns-issues-hit/

NOD32 alerts on suspect adverts

False positive reveals sneaky techniques used in ads.
False positive reveals sneaky techniques used in ads.ESET's NOD32 product was updated several times in close succession over the weekend, as false positives were introduced… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/07/nod32-alerts-suspect-adverts/

Symantec sued for false positive

Chinese FP issue leads to court case.
Chinese FP issue leads to court case. A Chinese lawyer has begun court proceedings against security firm Symantec, claiming damages as a result of the widely-publicised false… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/06/symantec-sued-false-positive/

Norton FP trashes Chinese systems

Vital DLLs flagged as malware disable Windows XP across China.
Vital DLLs flagged as malware disable Windows XP across China. A serious false positive, caused by an erroneous update to Symantec's Norton Anti-virus product range issued late… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/05/norton-fp-trashes-chinese-systems/

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