Covering the global threat landscape

News

January issue released

The Virus Bulletin January 2005 issue is on its way.

23 December 2004

Latest VGrep

The latest version of the virus name lookup tool - VGrep, is now available.

23 December 2004

VB2005 call for papers

Virus Bulletin is seeking submissions from those wishing to present at VB2005 in Dublin - so set aside some time between the season's festive parties to get writing!

23 December 2004

Synchronized malware identification for the new year

Causing a stir in the anti-virus community last month was the announcement of a new US-led initiative whose aim is to achieve threat synchronization.

23 December 2004

Test files: Straightening the record

VB sets the record straight regarding the collection of files referenced in Peter Morley's letter 'Generic detection - a specific case' published in last months main magazine.

23 December 2004

Teen brought to book for Randex

British teenager sentenced.

22 December 2004

No deal for AOL employee

Judge refuses to accept guilty plea.

22 December 2004

Trend ousts McAfee on Hotmail

Trend Micro to take over from McAfee as new provider of virus scanning for MSN.

21 December 2004

Deal for AOL employee

AOL worker accused of selling customer email lists offered deal.

21 December 2004

Virus Bulletin RSS feeds now support Live Bookmarks

Virus Bulletin RSS feeds now support 'Live bookmarks' allowing you to browse our latest headlines directly from your browsers bookmarks menu.

20 December 2004

ISP wins $1 billion against spammers

Largest judgement against spammers to date.

20 December 2004

GIANT purchase for Microsoft

Microsoft buys anti-spyware provider.

17 December 2004

Symantec to acquire Veritas?

Just in time for Christmas?

15 December 2004

Anti-spam law 'unconstitutional'

Judge says Maryland anti-spam law is flawed.

15 December 2004

Spyware-led investigations

Australian police given power to use spyware.

14 December 2004

DDoS stunt over

Lycos ends its 'make love not spam' campaign - but not before the file had been trojanised...

7 December 2004

More spammers for the slammer?

Microsoft continues to make good use of its legal resources.

3 December 2004

Most-spammed sees end in sight

Bill Gates says he hopes to have the spam problem under control within two years - again.

2 December 2004

Email authentication in the open

35 high-profile organisations sign open letter, calling for a rapid rollout of email authentication technologies

2 December 2004

VB2005 call for papers

Virus Bulletin is seeking submissions from those wishing to present at VB2005 in Dublin - so set aside some time between the season's festive parties to get writing!

02 December 2004

Hotmail originator turns to anti-spam

Sabeer Bhatia, the man behind Hotmail, has announced that he has invested in an anti-spam company

2 December 2004

FBI's virus blunder

Virus infection nearly blew the cover on a secret FBI fraud investigation two years ago.

02 December 2004

Errata - Windows Server 2003 comparative review

VB regrets that three mistakes crept into the Comparative review published in the November issue.

02 December 2004

Save your soul with spam

Spam goes yet one step further - spiritual salvation!

2 December 2004

Academic research journal

Announcement and first call for papers of the European Research Journal in Computer Virology

02 December 2004

Season's greetings

The VB team wishes all Virus Bulletin readers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.

02 December 2004

News by email

New twice-monthly email newsletter dedicated to news and technical information about the spam and anti-spam arena launched.

2 December 2004

Spam-reporting trial

Australia's latest anti-spam initiative

1 December 2004

Australia to protect critical computer systems

Vulnerability assessment for country's critical infrastructure systems

30 November 2004

Spam survey

Do women hate spam more than men? Are humans better at identifying spam than computers? Make your contribution to (anti-)spam research...

29 November 2004

Lycos turns hippy on spam

'Make love not spam'

29 November 2004

Standardised malware naming for the new year

An end to the virus-naming problem?

25 November 2004

Latest VGrep

The latest version of the virus name lookup tool - VGrep, is now available.

22 November 2004

Most spammed

Think you've got it bad? Spare a thought for Bill.

19 November 2004

29A virus writer sentenced

Member of notorious virus-writing group found guilty.

18 November 2004

Latest VGrep

The latest version of the virus name lookup tool - VGrep, is now available.

05 November 2004

Dial a detection

Guidance issued on how to deal with rogue Internet diallers ('porn diallers')

29 October 2004

Spam becomes a collectors' item

British man sets up his own Museum of Spam.

29 October 2004

Phishy goings on

Fewer than five zombie network operators are responsible for all Internet phishing attacks worldwide according to CipherTrust...

29 October 2004

November issue released

The Virus Bulletin November issue is on its way.

29 October 2004

Storms put the wind up spammers

Significant decline in the volume of spam messages seen in the days immediately following the three recent hurricanes.

29 October 2004

Spam gets the sniffles

Spammers seize the opportunity to cash in on the US flu vaccine problem.

28 October 2004

Trial of virus writer postponed

Sasser author made to wait.

26 October 2004

Sender ID specification revised

Microsoft has another stab at getting its email authentication protocol approved.

26 October 2004

RSS activated

Virus Bulletin RSS feeds revamped and live again.

18 October 2004

Action plan on spam

15 countries sign up to international action plan on spam.

13 October 2004

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

As if you haven't already seen enough...

13 October 2004

Top ten security urban legends revealed

Most common cyber security myths unveiled as part of Cyber Security Month.

12 October 2004

FTC sues spyware outfit

US government begins crack down on spyware.

11 October 2004

Conference photos

Take a look at the VB2004 conference photos

07 October 2004

Another successful VB conference

Over 330 delegates and a collection of interesting and informative speakers. Take a look at the photos

05 October 04

Another successful VB conference

With over 330 delegates and a collection of interesting and informative speakers, VB2004 was a great success.

04 October 2004

MessageLabs teams up with Symantec

Companies collaborate to provide anti-spam services.

02 September 2004

Symantec to block phishing

Symantec announces new service to help stop phishing scams

24 September 2004

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.

23 September 2004

IETF rejects sender ID

The Internet Engineering Task Force has rejected Microsoft's preferred anti-spam specification.

23 September 2004

Correction

VB regrets that an error slipped through the editorial net in the August 2004 Netware comparative review.

22 September 2004

Increase in infections for chinese

87.9% Thats the number of malware infected computer users in China, according to their Minister of Public Security.

21 September 2004

Symantec Buys Again

The AV company that never seems to stop buying, reveals its latest purchase.

20 September 2004

The bounty hunters are here

US Federal Trade Commission says the US government must be generous with its rewards if it decides to encourage 'bounty hunters' to track down email spammers

20 September 2004

Phish it yourself

Do-it-yourself phishing kits are available free of charge to anyone surfing the Internet.

31 August 2004

Virginian law is constitutional

US judge rules Virginia’s anti-spam law is constitutional.

27 August 2004

Chinese internet firm suspended

One-year suspension issued to mobile phone picture services supplier as punishment for carrying out unsolicited marketing.

26 August 2004

Security of hash functions called into question

The encryption field was thrown into a frenzy at the end of last month when the security of hash functions MD5, SHA-0 and SHA-1 was called into question.

23 August 2004

Verizon sues SMS spammers

Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam.

18 August 2004

CA buys PestPatrol

CA splashes out on anti-spyware technology.

17 August 2004

McAfee to buy Foundstone

McAfee splashes out on vulnerability management.

16 August 2004

XP SP2 wreaks havoc with AV

XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) establishes stronger security settings that help defend against viruses, hackers and worms.

15 August 2004

Guilty as charged

Teen admits to distributing Blaster variant.

12 August 2004

Two victories, a settlement and a reduction in spam

A promising month in the fight against spam.

10 August 2004

Spammers brought to justice

Prosecutions made in Denmark, USA and India.

28 July 2004

Mydoom.O

Latest Mydoom variant causes problems for Google.

26 July 2004

Probation for Magold author

Magold author sentenced, Finnish Lasku author arrested.

25 July 2004

Spammer to pay $40,000

Spam King agrees to settlement with NY State.

22 July 2004

Two victories, a settlement and a reduction in spam

Despite there currently being no US laws regarding SMS spam.

21 July 2004

McAfee plans move to Ireland

Emerald Isle lures another AV firm.

21 July 2004

Virus in your pocket

Latest proof-of-concept virus affects Pocket PC.

20 July 2004

Court victory for Microsoft

Spammer ordered to pay $4 million damages to Microsoft.

16 July 2004

Bumper quarter for Symantec

Profits more than doubled since last year.

15 July 2004

AOL employee colludes with spammers

AOL victim of inside job.

8 July 2004

UN to curb spam within two years

UN aims to bring spam under control by 2007.

07 July 2004

The world from an email marketer's point of view

Spam King Scott Richter says he is "out to make the Internet a better place with email marketing" .

07 July 2004

International pact to fight spam

Countries join forces to declare war on spam.

05 July 2004

Magold teen on probation

Hungarian virus writer convicted.

02 July 2004

Patent filed for voice spam blocking technology

Technology to stamp out Internet telephony spam.

29 June 2004

SMS spammer arrested

First Russian to be sentenced for sending spam.

29 June 2004

Gates urges users to turn on auto-update

Microsoft chief says users must play their part in cutting down virus combat time.

28 June 2004

7 steps to a spam-free existence?

"Stunning" survey results lead to seven-step guide.

28 June 2004

AV going mobile

Mobile providers clamour to become the first to offer AV protection for mobile phones.

27 June 2004

Microsoft issues advice about critical vulnerability

Apply your patches and update your AV software.

25 June 2004

AOL victim of inside spam job

AOL employee arrested.

24 June 2004

ISPs take responsibility

The six major ISPs of the Anti-Spam Technical Alliance say spam cannot be stopped unless they take action.

23 June 2004

Microsoft to buy NAI?

Rumours abound. NAI CEO denies them.

22 June 2004

Obituary: Marek Sell

On 12 June 2004 Marek Sell, creator of the Polish MkS_Vir anti-virus, died. Aleksander Czarnowksi looks back.

20 June 2004

AV going mobile

Mobile providers clamour to become the first to offer AV protection for mobile phones.

19 June 2004

Sasser author jobseeking

Gis' a job! Name: Sven Jaschan. Age: 18. Previous work experience: creating and distributing Internet worm(s).

18 June 2004

FTC says no to 'Do Not Spam'

A 'Do Not Spam' list could actually increase spam levels, says FTC.

16 June 2004

Microsoft AV still on track

Not forgotten...

16 June 2004

Virus calling

First mobile phone worm discovered.

15 June 2004

More spammers sued

Microsoft throws its weight around against spammers

11 June 2004

Virus cost MOD £10 million

Ministry of Defence reveals Lovgate found a weakness in its defences

9 June 2004

Hormel halts Spam King in his tracks

No 'Spam King' clothing line for Richter.

17 June 2004

DIY do not spam

Chicago businessman takes matters into his own hands

2 June 2004

Taiwanese Trojan writer arrested

Suspect not a teenager for a change.

28 May 2004

German government spammed

Government email systems overwhelmed

27 May 2004

Legislation: NZ makes a move

New Zealand government moves toward anti-spam legislation

27 May 2004

Cajun spammer tells it like it is

Straight talking spammer

23 May 2004

Spend, spend, spend for Symantec

Anti-spam company to become AV vendor's latest purchase

20 May 2004

Buying and selling

Trend buys back shares, Sybari prepares to sell

13 May 2004

No rest for German police

Arrest of suspected Sasser author, arrest of suspected Phatbot author and questioning of five more suspects - all within the space of 7 days.

13 May 2004

SpamCop at receiving end of a restraining order

Venerable spam reporting outfit SpamCop has had a restraining order granted against it on behalf of alleged spammer OptInRealBig.com.

12 May 2004

Spam on the catwalk

Spammer extraordinaire launches own clothing line

6 May 2004

Figures and fluctuations

Dips, increases and the cost of dealing with spam

6 May 2004

Law and order

Spamming set to become illegal in the Netherlands and other legislative news...

5 June 2004

NAI reverts to McAfee

Network Associates Inc. (NAI) to streamline and adopt (not so) new name.

5 May 2004

Call for papers: AVAR 2004

AVAR calls for papers

02 May 2004

Business news

Acquisitions and new product lines

28 April 2004

Symantec vulnerabilities

eEye reports four new Symantec vulnerabilities

20 April 2004

Business news

Acquisitions and new product lines

18 April 2004

New sentencing, new legislation

United States Sentencing Commission gets busy...

1 April 2004

No bull?

Eset vs. BullGuard

01 April 2004

Shrinking violets

Consolidation in the anti-spam industry

1 April 2004

Patent for Postini

Postini wins U.S. patent for email filtering

31 March 2004

Roll up, roll up

AOL raffles spammer's Porsche

30 March 2004

New kid on the certification block

CheckVir starts certification program

28 March 2004

A bit of R&R

Man. Loves. His. Spam. No really.

21 March 2004

News summary

AMD introduces hardware-level AV protection

19 March 2004

Fine for dialler spam

UK watchdog fines US company for sending spam

1 March 2004

ISPs refile lawsuits

AOL and EarthLink refile suits against spammers

1 March 2004

SMS spam goes down Down Under

Anti-spam code of conduct proves successful

1 March 2004

Errata: Windows NT comparative review

After re-testing, Alwil's AVAST! product gains a VB 100% award.

28 February 2004

China sets deadline for spammers

China blacklists offending IP addresses

22 February 2004

News summary

Microsoft source-code leak; Gigabyte arrested; Israelis, Egyptians and Trojans; weddings delayed in Thailand.

16 February 2004

Plans, acquisitions and royalty

NAI makes plans, Symantec acquires software manufacturer, Sophos receives royal visitors

15 February 2004

Gigabyte arrested

Well known female virus writer arrested. Finally.

14 February 2004

More core wars

Virus vs virus - new Welchia variant seeks to destroy Mydoom.

12 February 2004

News summary

MyDoom soap opera continues, hacker sentenced, Bill Gates' anti-spam crusade

03 February 2004

News summary

Why technical writing is best left to technical journalists, Netcraft monitors SCO, and February's VB magazine

02 February 2004

Congressional attack on inboxes

US Congressional representatives send bulk email

29 January 2004

An end to 419 spam?

Nigerian government takes action.

29 January 2004

MyDoom, YourDoom, OurDoom

SCO offers a bounty for the arrest of the MyDoom author, Bruce Perens offers a conspiracy theory...

28 January 2004

Divine intervention

AV on a spiritual level

25 January 2004

Waiting, reflecting and removing

Microsoft reports success of Blaster removal tool

23 January 2004

News summary...

Blaster (variant) author charged, AhnLab warns against complacency, India launches CERT-In, more on monoculture, and what's new in the spam world...

20 January 2004

Email coaching for marketers

DMA releases quick-glance reference guide for email marketers.

15 January 2004

Ahnlab partners with Sina.com

Ahnlab gets major ASP deal in China.

13 January 2004

Security-conscious processors

AMD and Intel prep technology to prevent buffer overflows at the hardware level.

12 January 2004

Weekend round-up

Narrowband blues, 2004 predictions, VeriSign scuttles Symantec, Dloader/Xombie

12 January 2004