VB Blog

Patch early, patch often, but don't blindly trust every 'patch'

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 16, 2018

Compromised websites are being used to serve fake Flash Player uploads that come with a malicious payload.

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Virus Bulletin at RSA

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 13, 2018

Next week, VB Editor Martijn Grooten will be at the RSA Conference in San Francisco.

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Broad-ranging and international VB2018 programme announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 11, 2018

VB is excited to reveal the details of an interesting and diverse programme for VB2018, the 28th Virus Bulletin International Conference, which takes place 3-5 October in Montreal, Canada.

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Netflix issue shows email verification really does matter

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 10, 2018

A clever trick taking advantage of the fact that Gmail ignores dots in email addresses could be used to trick someone into paying for your Netflix subscription - demonstrating the importance of confirmed opt-in.

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VB2017 paper: Exploring the virtual worlds of advergaming

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Apr 10, 2018

At VB2017 in Madrid, Malwarebytes' Chris Boyd presented a paper in which he looked at various aspects of advergaming, from unreadable EULAs to fake programs that promise to block ads. Today, we publish both the paper and the recording of Chris's presentation.

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New paper: Distinguishing between malicious app collusion and benign app collaboration: a machine-learning approach

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 27, 2018

Two or more mobile apps, viewed independently, may not appear to be malicious - but in combination, they could become harmful by exchanging information with one another and by performing malicious activities together. Today, we publish a new paper by a group of researchers affiliated with various UK universities and companies, which looks at how machine-learning methods can be used to detect app collusions.

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VB2016 paper: Wild Android collusions

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 26, 2018

At VB2016 in Denver, Jorge Blasco presented a paper (co-written with Thomas M. Chen, Igor Muttik and Markus Roggenbach), in which he discussed the concept of app collusion - where two (or more) apps installed on the same device work together to collect and extract data from the device - and presented discoveries of colluding code in many in-the-wild apps. Today, we publish both the paper and the recording of Jorge's presentation.

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VB2017 paper: The life story of an IPT - Inept Persistent Threat actor

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 19, 2018

At VB2017 in Madrid, Polish security researcher and journalist Adam Haertlé presented a paper about a very inept persistent threat. Today, we publish both the paper and the recording of Adam's presentation.

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Five reasons to submit a VB2018 paper this weekend

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 16, 2018

The call for papers for VB2018 closes on 18 March, and while we've already received many great submissions, we still want more! Here are five reasons why you should submit a paper this weekend.

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First partners of VB2018 announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Mar 15, 2018

We are excited to announce the first six companies to partner with VB2018.

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Search blog

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/

Gromozon hijacks Italian MSN searches

Link bombing pushes blended spyware attack to top of popular search results.
Link bombing pushes blended spyware attack to top of popular search results. The gang behind the sophisticated Gromozon blended threat, also known as LinkOptimizer, is thought to… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/gromozon-hijacks-italian-msn-searches/

OneCare fails another detection test

Microsoft product found not up to scratch in AV-Comparatives review.
Microsoft product found not up to scratch in AV-Comparatives review. Respected testing organisation AV-Comparatives has released the results of its latest in-depth test of… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/onecare-fails-another-detection-test/

Phishing techniques

Sorin Mustaca documents common and emerging phishing techniques.
Sorin Mustaca documents common and emerging phishing techniques. Despite the fact that phishing is receiving increasing amounts of media coverage, and people are more aware than… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/phishing-techniques/

March

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/

UK watchdog body backs phishing victims

Consumer group Which? urges banks to protect customers scammed online.
Consumer group Which? urges banks to protect customers scammed online. Major UK consumer protection organisation Which? has issued a call for a change to rules regarding… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/uk-watchdog-body-backs-phishing-victims/

News round-up

February's goings on in the anti-malware industry.
February's goings on in the anti-malware industry. Mobile security was something of a key theme last month, with a rash of new products released alongside updates to those… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/03/news-round/

Cartoon trojan threatens P2P users

Illegal Japanese file-sharers warned off by anime character malware.
Illegal Japanese file-sharers warned off by anime character malware. A series of trojans have been spotted targeting users of popular Japanese file-sharing system Winny. The… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/cartoon-trojan-threatens-p2p-users/

Trend troubled by further flaw

Second vulnerability unveiled this month only affects server products.
Second vulnerability unveiled this month only affects server products. Less than two weeks after details of a UPX vulnerability affecting many of Trend Micro's products were… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/trend-troubled-further-flaw/

FTC criticised for low adware fine

Latest DirectRevenue case nets mere $1.5 million penalty.
Latest DirectRevenue case nets mere $1.5 million penalty. Serial adware user DirectRevenue, along with several advertising clients, has agreed to settle a case brought by the US… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/ftc-criticised-low-adware-fine/

Fujacks writers arrested in first for China

Eight seized for writing and selling cuddly panda malware.
Eight seized for writing and selling cuddly panda malware. Eight men have been arrested in the central Chinese province of Hubei, on suspicion of involvement in the creation and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/fujacks-writers-arrested-first-china/

Trend hit by UPX vulnerability

Compression handling issue affects swathe of products.
Compression handling issue affects swathe of products. A wide range of Trend Micro security products are affected by a flaw in the handling of files compressed with UPX, which… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/trend-hit-upx-vulnerability/

Massive attack on web root servers

Large-scale DDoS barrage hits top-level DNS machines.
Large-scale DDoS barrage hits top-level DNS machines. An exceptionally large Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack took place yesterday, targeting the root DNS servers at the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/massive-attack-web-root-servers/

Popular sites carrying Javascript attacks

Superbowl stadium among many hosting malware attack.
Superbowl stadium among many hosting malware attack. Malicious Javascript has been planted on numerous legitimate websites over the weekend, attempting to take advantage of known… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/popular-sites-carrying-javascript-attacks/

Major brands hit with adware fines

Landmark case blames advertisers for malware tactics.
Landmark case blames advertisers for malware tactics. Three major brands, Priceline, Travelocity and Cingular Wireless, have settled a New York lawsuit charging them with using… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/major-brands-hit-adware-fines/

VB100 news

This month: new platform, new logo.
This month: new platform, new logo. With the overall conclusion that the release of Vista will make little difference to the overall malware landscape, VB chose this month to put… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/news/

Upcoming events

Round up of this year's must-attend spam events.
Round up of this year's must-attend spam events. The 2007 Spam Conference will take place on 30 March 2007 at MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA. The title for this year's conference is… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/upcoming-events/

Microsoft steals market share

Symantec and McAfee see drops in market share.
Symantec and McAfee see drops in market share. A report by analyst firm NPD Group has revealed that anti-malware heavyweights Symantec and McAfee both lost market share following… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/microsoft-steals-market-share/

February

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/

Vista security concerns

'Dramatically more secure'... or not?
'Dramatically more secure'... or not? January saw the full commercial release of Microsoft's latest operating system: the long-awaited Vista. Since its release arguments have… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2007/02/vista-security-concerns/

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