VB Blog

Paper: How It Works: Steganography Hides Malware in Image Files

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 28, 2016

A new paper by CYREN researcher Lordian Mosuela takes a close look at Gatak, or Stegoloader, a piece of malware that was discovered last year and that is controlled via malicious code embedded in a PNG image, a technique known as steganography.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Search blog

Genuine sites hacked by spammers

PHP flaws used to lend legitimate air to spam content.
PHP flaws used to lend legitimate air to spam content. Webmasters are being warned to ensure their sites are properly protected, after a wave of spams have been spotted using links… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/genuine-sites-hacked-spammers/

MySpace latest to sue spammer Wallace

Social site takes on notorious junk mail merchant.
Social site takes on notorious junk mail merchant. Serial spammer Sanford 'Spamford' Wallace faces yet another lawsuit, this time from hugely popular social networking site… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/myspace-latest-sue-spammer-wallace/

TJX hack thought biggest ever

Over 45 million card numbers gathered in massive breach.
Over 45 million card numbers gathered in massive breach. A report into a security breach at major US retailer TJX has revealed a lengthy and sophisticated attack which scooped vast… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/tjx-hack-thought-biggest-ever/

Fujacks writer's removal tool slated

Virus creator's anti-virus not up to scratch, says Symantec.
Virus creator's anti-virus not up to scratch, says Symantec. A cleanup tool created by the writer of the Fujacks virus, also known as the 'Panda burning incense' virus in reference… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/fujacks-writer-s-removal-tool-slated/

Another Windows zero-day exploit seen in wild

Trojans sneaking in through animated cursor flaw.
Trojans sneaking in through animated cursor flaw. A vulnerability has been discovered in the handling of .ani files, used for animated cursors on web pages and in HTML emails, and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/another-windows-zero-day-exploit-seen-wild/

Major companies hosting spam bots

Zombies in corporate networks spotted pumping out spam.
Zombies in corporate networks spotted pumping out spam. Network security company Support Intelligence has found evidence of bot-infected zombies sending spam from within many of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/major-companies-hosting-spam-bots/

Woolworths to join UK AV market

Retail chain set to issue own-label software range.
Retail chain set to issue own-label software range. Major UK high street retailer Woolworths is set to follow supermarket giant Tesco in releasing its own-brand range of software… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/woolworths-join-uk-av-market/

Huge haul of ID data stolen by trojan

Smart Russian spyware gathered info 'unnoticed' for 54 days.
Smart Russian spyware gathered info 'unnoticed' for 54 days. According to researchers at SecureWorks, a sophisticated trojan which spread through browser exploits, harvested… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/huge-haul-id-data-stolen-trojan/

Search, link and trackback spam flooding web

Blogs, social sites and search results rivaling email for junk ads.
Blogs, social sites and search results rivaling email for junk ads. Email, long the most popular and lucrative means of getting advertising in front of computer users, is being… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/search-link-and-trackback-spam-flooding-web/

Malware danger and profitability rising

Symantec, FBI reports show general increases in money-driven threats.
Symantec, FBI reports show general increases in money-driven threats. Two major new reports on computer security issues have shown a steady rise in just about every aspect of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/malware-danger-and-profitability-rising/

MS admits serious problems with OneCare

Detection failures and other issues confirmed, improvements promised.
Detection failures and other issues confirmed, improvements promised.Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare, hit by a series of public relations difficulties recently with failures in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/ms-admits-serious-problems-onecare/

RSA to provide trojan removal services

Anti-fraud system provides avenue for reporting and stopping targeted attacks.
Anti-fraud system provides avenue for reporting and stopping targeted attacks. Security firm RSA has announced a new system to block spyware and phishing fraud, by taking down… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/rsa-provide-trojan-removal-services/

No fanfare for Windows Server 2003 SP2

Major update release emerges in mysterious silence.
Major update release emerges in mysterious silence.Microsoft has released a new service pack for its Windows Server 2003 platform, almost entirely without warning or promotion. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/no-fanfare-windows-server-2003-sp2/

Yet more vulnerabilities in major security products

Serious McAfee buffer overflow flaws join yet another Trend UPX issue.
Serious McAfee buffer overflow flaws join yet another Trend UPX issue. Several vulnerabilities have been found in McAfee's ePolicy Orchestrator management tool, which could be… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/yet-more-vulnerabilities-major-security-products/

Trend takes over HijackThis

Popular free spyware-spotting tool acquired by security giant.
Popular free spyware-spotting tool acquired by security giant.Trend Micro has announced the acquisition of HijackThis, the popular freely available tool designed to reveal hidden… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/trend-takes-over-hijackthis/

UK bankers show 44% rise in online theft

APACS study records major increase in phishing fraud earnings.
APACS study records major increase in phishing fraud earnings. UK banking payments body APACS has released its latest figures for credit card and other types of banking fraud,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/uk-bankers-show-44-rise-online-theft/

OneCare causing Outlook havoc

Old mailbox deletion bug resurfaces, upsets users
Old mailbox deletion bug resurfaces, upsets usersMicrosoft's Windows Live OneCare has been the cause of considerable frustration to its users recently, with an issue with the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/onecare-causing-outlook-havoc/

Report on TLD DNS DDoS attack released

Fact sheet on web root server bombardment published by ICANN.
Fact sheet on web root server bombardment published by ICANN. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body responsible for controlling the DNS system… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/report-tld-dns-ddos-attack-released/

SEC halts trading in spammed stocks

Share trading in 35 pumped and dumped companies suspended.
Share trading in 35 pumped and dumped companies suspended. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced yesterday that it had suspended trading in the stocks of 35… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/sec-halts-trading-spammed-stocks/

New Zealand passes anti-spam law

As bulk emailing is regulated in NZ, Canada hears calls for similar laws.
As bulk emailing is regulated in NZ, Canada hears calls for similar laws. The New Zealand government announced last week the final passing of a law to control spam originating in… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/new-zealand-passes-anti-spam-law/

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