VB Blog

VB2018 call for last-minute papers opened

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 27, 2018

The call for last-minute papers for VB2018 is now open. Submit before 2 September to have your abstract considered for one of the nine slots reserved for 'hot' research.

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VB2017 paper and update: Browser attack points still abused by banking trojans

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 25, 2018

At VB2017, ESET researchers Peter Kálnai and Michal Poslušný looked at how banking malware interacts with browsers. Today we publish their paper, share the video of their presentation, and also publish a guest blog post from Peter, in which he summarises the recent developments in this space.

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New paper: Does malware based on Spectre exist?

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 16, 2018

It is likely that, by now, everyone in computer science has at least heard of the Spectre attack, and many excellent explanations of the attack already exist. But what is the likelihood of finding Spectre being exploited on Android smartphones?

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More VB2018 partners announced

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 11, 2018

We are excited to announce several more companies that have partnered with VB2018.

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Malware authors' continued use of stolen certificates isn't all bad news

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 10, 2018

A new malware campaign that uses two stolen code-signing certificates shows that such certificates continue to be popular among malware authors. But there is a positive side to malware authors' use of stolen certificates.

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Save the dates: VB2019 to take place 2-4 October 2019

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 6, 2018

Though the location will remain under wraps for a few more months, we are pleased to announce the dates for VB2019, the 29th Virus Bulletin International Conference.

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Necurs update reminds us that the botnet cannot be ignored

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 6, 2018

The operators of the Necurs botnet, best known for being one of the most prolific spam botnets of the past few years, have pushed out updates to its client, which provide some important lessons about why malware infections matter.

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Nominations opened for fifth Péter Szőr Award

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 3, 2018

Virus Bulletin has opened nominations for the fifth annual Péter Szőr Award, for the best piece of technical security research published between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018.

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.SettingContent-ms files remind us that it is features, not bugs we should be most concerned about

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jul 3, 2018

Security researcher Matt Nelson has discovered how .SettingContent-ms files can be embedded into Office files to deliver malware.

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We cannot ignore the increased use of IoT in domestic abuse cases

Posted by   Martijn Grooten on   Jun 26, 2018

The New York Times reports that smart home devices are increasingly used in cases of domestic abuse.

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Search blog

European mailer society signs spyware charter

Direct marketeers' association adopts code of good behaviour.
Direct marketeers' association adopts code of good behaviour. The Federation of European Direct and Interactive Marketing (FEDMA), a common-interest and self-regulatory body for… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/european-mailer-society-signs-spyware-charter/

Putting a price on spam

Email-forwarding system lets users set a fee to let spam through.
Email-forwarding system lets users set a fee to let spam through. Email-forwarding system Boxbe has come up with a new way around the spam problem - by letting its users set a fee… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/putting-price-spam/

Ransom attacks hit webmail

Accounts held hostage by data-stealing extortionists.
Accounts held hostage by data-stealing extortionists. Following the wave of 'ransomware' attacks first spotted in the summer of 2005, online extortionists have picked another… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/ransom-attacks-hit-webmail/

Patch Tuesday leaves Word open to attack

Old and new zero-day vulnerabilities to remain unpatched.
Old and new zero-day vulnerabilities to remain unpatched.Microsoft's monthly Patch Tuesday update release sees seven security patches for Windows operating systems and products,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/patch-tuesday-leaves-word-open-attack/

Sophos vulnerabilities found, patched

Fixes issued for archive handling problems.
Fixes issued for archive handling problems. Researchers working with Tipping Point's Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) program have released details of two vulnerabilities in the Sophos… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/sophos-vulnerabilities-found-patched/

MIME tricks beat email virus scanners

Simple encoding dodges slip malware past gateways.
Simple encoding dodges slip malware past gateways. A security researcher released a report last week claiming that some simple manipulation allowed him to get mails containing the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/mime-tricks-beat-email-virus-scanners/

Smartphone security sphere to reach $5 billion by 2011

Market analysts foresee boom in mobile threats and security market.
Market analysts foresee boom in mobile threats and security market. UK-based telecoms analyst Juniper Research has released a report predicting a steady rise in attacks on… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/smartphone-security-sphere-reach-5-billion-2011/

Anti-spyware activists condemn rogue MP3 search firm

CDT and StopBadware unite in call for action against spyware pushers.
CDT and StopBadware unite in call for action against spyware pushers. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and StopBadware.org have issued a joint complaint to the Federal… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/anti-spyware-activists-condemn-rogue-mp3-search-firm/

Adobe hit by second vulnerability

More document software security worries.
More document software security worries. PDF software giant Adobe has released details of its second vulnerability in little over a week. The first, which was discovered in the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/adobe-hit-second-vulnerability/

Free firewalls rated best in leak tests

Leakage review puts Comodo, Jetico way ahead of field.
Leakage review puts Comodo, Jetico way ahead of field. An in-depth study subjecting 23 different personal firewall products to a range of leak tests has granted two free products,… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/free-firewalls-rated-best-leak-tests/

Mobile spam wave hits Europe

Multilingual SMS spams reported.
Multilingual SMS spams reported. Mobile security researchers at F-Secure have received numerous reports of SMS spams from across Europe, in a variety of languages. Links in the… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/mobile-spam-wave-hits-europe/

Trojan spreading mobile spyware

Consumer phone-snooping tool dropped by Symbian malware.
Consumer phone-snooping tool dropped by Symbian malware. A new variant of the MultiDropper trojan targeting Symbian smartphones has included amongst its payload a 'legitimate'… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/trojan-spreading-mobile-spyware/

MS Word zero-day exploit seen in wild

Microsoft warns of attacks using vulnerability.
Microsoft warns of attacks using vulnerability.Microsoft has issued a security bulletin warning of a serious vulnerability discovered in several versions of Microsoft Word and… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/ms-word-zero-day-exploit-seen-wild/

MySpace hit by worm, adware and phishing

Exploit in QuickTime file infecting social site profile pages.
Exploit in QuickTime file infecting social site profile pages. A malicious QuickTime movie file is spreading across social networking site MySpace, embedding itself in the user… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/myspace-hit-worm-adware-and-phishing/

Firm charged $1 million in rogue spyware case

Heavy fines and fees hit fake 'Spyware Cleaner' pushers.
Heavy fines and fees hit fake 'Spyware Cleaner' pushers. A Seattle court has announced a $1 million settlement in a case brought against a spyware firm, marking the first… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/firm-charged-1-million-rogue-spyware-case/

EU to fund Symantec phishing studies

Security firm in consortium researching phishing prevention.
Security firm in consortium researching phishing prevention.Symantec announced yesterday an award of funding from the European Commission to pay for research into securing email… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/eu-fund-symantec-phishing-studies/

Vista launched, malware still a danger

New Windows version on sale, but viruses remain a threat, says Sophos
New Windows version on sale, but viruses remain a threat, says Sophos The corporate version Microsoft's long-awaited update to its Windows operating system was finally released… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/vista-launched-malware-still-danger/

China source of huge phishing surge

Spam watchers see major jump in scam spam sent from China
Spam watchers see major jump in scam spam sent from China Analysts at email and web security firm Marshal have reported a major spike in the numbers of phishing email originating… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/china-source-huge-phishing-surge/

Stocking filler

Collection of 419 baiting tales.
Collection of 419 baiting tales. If you're stuck for a last-minute Christmas gift idea, Mike Berry's new book could be the answer. Mike Berry is the creator of 'scam-baiting'… https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/stocking-filler/

December

Anti-virus and security related news provided by independent anti-virus advisors, Virus Bulletin
https://www.virusbulletin.com/blog/2006/12/

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