VB Blog

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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VB2017 preview: Android reverse engineering tools: not the usual suspects

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 19, 2017

We preview the VB2017 paper by Fortinet researcher Axelle Apvrille, in which she looks at some less obvious tools for reverse engineering Android malware.

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Malicious CCleaner update points to a major weakness in our infrastructure

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 18, 2017

Researchers from Cisco Talos have found that a recent version of the widely used CCleaner tool installed malware on the machine.

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Despite the profitability of ransomware there is a good reason why mining malware is thriving

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Sep 15, 2017

Though ransomware is far more profitable than using a compromised PC to mine bitcoins, the global distribution of malware means that there are many botnets for which mining is the most efficient way to extract money out of a PC.

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VB2017 preview: Crypton - exposing malware's deepest secrets

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 14, 2017

We preview the VB2017 paper by Julia Karpin and Anna Dorfman (F5 networks), in which they present a tool to decrypt encrypted parts of malware.

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VB2017 preview: Hacktivism and website defacement: motivations, capabilities and potential threats

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 13, 2017

We preview the VB2017 paper by Marco Romagna and Niek Jan van den Hout (The Hague University of Applied Sciences), in which they thoroughly analyse the motivations and modus operandy of hacktivists.

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Three questions to ask about security product bypasses

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 13, 2017

Proof-of-concepts for bypasses of security products always sound scary, but how seriously should we take them? VB Editor Martijn Grooten lists three questions one should ask about any such bypass to determine how serious a threat it represents.

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VB2017: WHOIS and EICAR Small Talks added

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 12, 2017

Today, we announce two more 'Small Talks' for the VB2017 programme. In one of them, Neil Schwarzman will discuss the consequences of the GDPR for WHOIS and abuse research, while the other will be hosted by three members of EICAR, who will discuss its work on a trustworthiness strategy and minimum standard.

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VB2017: nine last-minute papers announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 11, 2017

From attacks on Ukraine's power grid to web shells, and from car hacking to ransomware: we announce the first nine 'last-minute' papers on the VB2017 programme.

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Patching is important even when it only shows the maturity of your security process

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Sep 5, 2017

A lot of vulnerabilities that are discovered are never exploited in the wild. It is still important to patch them though.

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Search blog

Dial a detection

Guidance issued on how to deal with rogue Internet diallers ('porn diallers')
Guidance issued on how to deal with rogue Internet diallers ('porn diallers') UK telecoms watchdog the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/dial-detection/

Phishy goings on

Fewer than five zombie network operators are responsible for all Internet phishing attacks worldwide according to CipherTrust...
Fewer than five zombie network operators are responsible for all Internet phishing attacks worldwide according to CipherTrust... According to Commtouch Software the US, UK,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/phishy-goings/

Storms put the wind up spammers

Significant decline in the volume of spam messages seen in the days immediately following the three recent hurricanes.
Significant decline in the volume of spam messages seen in the days immediately following the three recent hurricanes. Email security firm FrontBridge Technologies Inc. reported… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/storms-put-wind-spammers/

Spam gets the sniffles

Spammers seize the opportunity to cash in on the US flu vaccine problem.
Spammers seize the opportunity to cash in on the US flu vaccine problem. Not only has the shortage of flu vaccine been something of a political hot potato in the run up to the US… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/spam-gets-sniffles/

Sender ID specification revised

Microsoft has another stab at getting its email authentication protocol approved.
Microsoft has another stab at getting its email authentication protocol approved. Microsoft has revised its Sender ID email authentication protocol and resubmitted it to the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/sender-id-specification-revised/

Trial of virus writer postponed

Sasser author made to wait.
Sasser author made to wait. The trial of self-confessed virus writer Sven Jaschan has been postponed until next year. The 18-year-old, who confessed earlier this year to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/trial-virus-writer-postponed/

RSS activated

Virus Bulletin RSS feeds revamped and live again.
Virus Bulletin RSS feeds revamped and live again. Although RSS feeds have been available from VB for some time, today we have revamped them and made them accessable to all. You… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/rss-activated/

Online 'museum' displays collection of the finest spam...

As if you haven't already seen enough...
As if you haven't already seen enough... A British man has set up his own Museum of Spam. Considering spam to be 'as much a part of contemporary culture as just about anything… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/online-museum-displays-collection-finest-spam/

Action plan on spam

15 countries sign up to international action plan on spam.
15 countries sign up to international action plan on spam. A total of 15 countries have signed up to the London Action Plan - an international action plan designed to encourage… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/action-plan-spam/

Top ten security urban legends revealed

Most common cyber security myths unveiled as part of Cyber Security Month.
Most common cyber security myths unveiled as part of Cyber Security Month. Secure Computing has revealed the 'top ten cyber security urban legends' as part of Cyber Security… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/top-ten-security-urban-legends-revealed/

FTC sues spyware outfit

US government begins crack down on spyware.
US government begins crack down on spyware. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a law suit in New Hampshire against an alleged spyware operation.The FTC filed the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/ftc-sues-spyware-outfit/

Conference photos

Take a look at the VB2004 conference photos
Take a look at the VB2004 conference photos The VB2004 conference photos are now online and available for viewing.If you would like to contribute a selection of your VB2004… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/conference-photos/

Another successful VB conference

With over 330 delegates and a collection of interesting and informative speakers, VB2004 was a great success.
With over 330 delegates and a collection of interesting and informative speakers, VB2004 was a great success. This year's VB conference, held in the beautiful city of Chicago,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/another-successful-vb-conference/

MessageLabs teams up with Symantec

Companies collaborate to provide anti-spam services.
Companies collaborate to provide anti-spam services. Email security firm MessageLabs and security company Symantec have announced that they will combine their anti-spam… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/messagelabs-teams-symantec/

October

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/10/

Symantec to block phishing

Symantec announces new service to help stop phishing scams
Symantec announces new service to help stop phishing scams Anti-virus and anti-spam vendor Symantec has announced a new service to help identify and block phishing scams. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/09/symantec-block-phishing/

IETF rejects sender ID

The Internet Engineering Task Force has rejected Microsoft's preferred anti-spam specification.
The Internet Engineering Task Force has rejected Microsoft's preferred anti-spam specification. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has rejected Microsoft's preferred… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/09/ietf-rejects-sender-id/

Governments urged to do more to combat cybercrime

The Council of Europe's 2001 Cybercrime Convention has been signed by 30 countries, but is only law in eight of these.
The Council of Europe's 2001 Cybercrime Convention has been signed by 30 countries, but is only law in eight of these. The message at a conference organized by the Council of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/09/governments-urged-do-more-combat-cybercrime/

Correction

VB regrets that an error slipped through the editorial net in the August 2004 Netware comparative review.
VB regrets that an error slipped through the editorial net in the August 2004 Netware comparative review. VB regrets that an error slipped through the editorial net in the August… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/09/correction/

Increase in infections for chinese

87.9% Thats the number of malware infected computer users in China, according to their Minister of Public Security.
87.9% Thats the number of malware infected computer users in China, according to their Minister of Public Security. According to China's Ministry of Public Security, 87.9 per… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2004/09/increase-infections-chinese/

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