VB Blog

Throwback Thursday: A troubled world

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Feb 9, 2017

In early 1991, the world was a troubled place and conflict and violence were being reported globally on a daily basis. With this as a backdrop, the world of "indiscriminate" computer viruses which "victimise in a random and unpredictable manner" seemed relatively trivial to then Editor of VB, Edward Wilding.

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VB2016 video: Nymaim: the Untold Story

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Feb 8, 2017

Until very recently, the Nymaim banking trojan was a serious problem in Poland. Today, we publish the video of the VB2016 presentation by CERT Polska researchers Jarosław Jedynak and Maciej Kotowicz, in which they analyse this malware-dropper-turned-banking-trojan.

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The Living Dead Anti-Virus

Posted by   Virus Bulletin on   Feb 2, 2017

Should users uninstall their anti-virus products, as was recently suggested by a security expert in a widely shared article? In a guest post, security consultant Hendrik Pilz explains why he doesn't think this is a good idea.

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Paper: The journey and evolution of God Mode in 2016: CVE-2016-0189

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 31, 2017

In a new paper published by Virus Bulletin, FireEye researchers Ankit Anubhav and Manish Sardiwal analyse the 'God Mode' vulnerability CVE-2016-0189 in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

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VB2016 video: Neverquest: Crime as a Service and On the Hunt for the Big Bucks

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 30, 2017

At VB2016, Peter Kruse gave a presentation detailing the Neverquest trojan, the alleged author of which was arrested in Spain earlier this month. Today, we publish the recording of Peter's presentation.

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VB2016 paper: Great crypto failures

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 24, 2017

Crypto is hard, and malware authors often make mistakes. At VB2016, Check Point researchers Yaniv Balmas and Ben Herzog discussed the whys and hows of some of the crypto blunders made by malware authors. Today, we publish their paper and the recording of their presentation.

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Call for Papers: VB2017

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 19, 2017

We have opened the Call for Papers for VB2017. We are particularly interested in receiving submissions from those working outside the security industry itself.

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Ransomware not a problem for half of businesses

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 11, 2017

According to a report by IBM Security, 70 per cent of businesses that are the victim of a ransomware attack end up paying the ransom. However, the report also suggests that a little over half of businesses manage to avoid getting infected at all, showing they must be doing something right.

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Ransomware would be much worse if it wasn't for email security solutions

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jan 5, 2017

The latest VBSpam test brings good news: at least 199 out of every 200 emails containing a malicious attachment were blocked by email security solutions. All of the full solutions tested achieved a VBSpam award, with five earning a VBSpam+ award.

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Throwback Thursday: The malware battle: reflections and forecasts

Posted by   Helen Martin on   Jan 5, 2017

"Another year has come to its end and the malware battle still rages on." In January 2004, Jamz Yaneza reflected on the year just ended and pondered what the coming year would have in store for the AV industry.

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School without thought

University course teaches students to write malware.
University course teaches students to write malware. The University of Calgary has announced very proudly on its website that a new undergraduate course will 'focus on developing… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/06/school-without-thought/

June

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/06/

Military intelligence

US Army gets serious about anti-virus.
US Army gets serious about anti-virus. The US Army is using products supplied by Trend Micro to protect users of its Army Knowledge Online service from viruses, malicious content… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/04/military-intelligence/

Same old, same old

Virus writers plead stupidity...
Virus writers plead stupidity... Just days after his creation made its first appearance in the Wild, the suspected author of the Iraqi war-themed W32/Ganda worm has been tracked… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/04/same-old-same-old/

April

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/04/

Security in the classroom

Microsoft supporting secure code initiative at University of Leeds
Microsoft supporting secure code initiative at University of Leeds Microsoft seems to be taking security education seriously these days. The software company has pledged support -… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/04/security-classroom/

Lighter sentences for virus writers?

A US report claims that sentences for computer-related crimes are too harsh.
A US report claims that sentences for computer-related crimes are too harsh. The USA's largest group of defence lawyers has backed a report claiming that sentences for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/03/lighter-sentences-virus-writers/

March

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/03/

Anti-virus for Lindows

Lindows teams up with Central Command to sell Linux anti-virus - a step in the right direction, but perhaps not far enough...
Lindows teams up with Central Command to sell Linux anti-virus - a step in the right direction, but perhaps not far enough... Of the Linux distributions, Lindows is possibly the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/02/anti-virus-lindows/

Symantec press release backfires

Watch out for your marketing department...
Watch out for your marketing department... It makes a change to be reporting on the under-hyping of a virus threat, rather than the usual story of anti-virus companies… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/02/symantec-press-release-backfires/

VB2003 programme announced

Details of the VB2003 conference programme announced ...
Details of the VB2003 conference programme announced ... Details of the VB2003 conference programme have been announced and are available online.VB2003 will host more than 30… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/02/programme-announced/

Calling all speakers

Submit your papers for VB2003 now!
Submit your papers for VB2003 now! Virus Bulletin has extended the deadline for submissions from those wishing to present at VB2003, the Thirteenth Virus Bulletin International… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/02/calling-all-speakers/

Standing up for free speech

NAI lands itself a hefty fine...
NAI lands itself a hefty fine... Network Associates Inc. (NAI) has landed itself a hefty fine to start the new year after a New York court ruled against the company last month in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/02/standing-free-speech/

February

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/02/

Two years for three viruses

Author of Gokar, Redesi and Admirer jailed for two years.
Author of Gokar, Redesi and Admirer jailed for two years. Simon Vallor, a 22-year-old web designer from Wales, who pleaded guilty to creating and distributing a trio of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/02/two-years-three-viruses/

Virus writers get a helping hand

Two organizations send viruses to mailing list subscribers...
Two organizations send viruses to mailing list subscribers... Despite the recent conviction of Welsh Wiccan Simon Vallor, for writing and distributing three mass-mailing viruses,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/01/virus-writers-get-helping-hand/

W32/B(e)agle

VB predicts: 'Beagle's bark worse than its bite', 'Beware of Bagles in the morning', 'The Beagle has landed', ad nauseam.
VB predicts: 'Beagle's bark worse than its bite', 'Beware of Bagles in the morning', 'The Beagle has landed', ad nauseam. At first glance, W32/Bagle.A is not a particularly… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/01/w32-b-e-agle/

News summary...

Trend estimates $5b virus damage in 2003, monoculture blues, Symantec 'reels from week of mishaps', more MiMail, and more...
Trend estimates $5b virus damage in 2003, monoculture blues, Symantec 'reels from week of mishaps', more MiMail, and more... Trend Micro kicks off today's news summary with an… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/01/news-summary/

Microsoft rights management

What digital and information rights management may mean for the industry.
What digital and information rights management may mean for the industry. Microsoft is frequently accused of being a hive of lax security, but the company has been very public… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/01/microsoft-rights-management/

RIAA worm

RIAA allegedly buying worms to stop P2P piracy
RIAA allegedly buying worms to stop P2P piracy It would appear Gobbles Security has done it again, only this time under the guidance of everyone's favourite dark corporation, the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2003/01/riaa-worm/

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