Category Archives: malware

All forms of software that act with malicious intent

Report: Internet Explorer 9 leads in socially-engineered malware protection

February 14, 2012 – 6:17 pm

By Dancho Danchev According to a newly released report from NSS Labs, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9 outperforms competing browsers in protecting against socially engineered malware. More details:

By ddanchev | Also posted in Exploits, Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, social engineering, Threat Research | Leave a Comment

Researchers intercept two client-side exploits serving malware campaigns

February 8, 2012 – 4:52 pm

By Dancho Danchev Security researchers from Webroot have intercepted two currently live client-side exploits serving malware campaigns that have already managed to infect over 20,000 PCs across the globe, primarily in the United States. Based upon detailed analysis, it can be concluded that both campaigns are launched by the same cybercriminal. More details:

By ddanchev | Also posted in Downloaders, Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Keyloggers, Passwords, Threat Research, Trojans | Comments (1)

Researchers spot Citadel, a ZeuS crimeware variant

February 8, 2012 – 1:35 pm

By Dancho Danchev Security researchers from “Tracking Cyber Crime” have spotted a new ZeuS crimeware variant, that’s based on the leaked ZeuS source code from last year. Dubbed Citadel, the crimeware is positioned as a universal spyware system, whose modular nature allows cybercriminals to offer flexibly priced value-added services such as managed malware crypting, and [...]

By ddanchev | Also posted in Downloaders, Keyloggers, Passwords, rootkit, Threat Research, Trojans | Leave a Comment

A peek inside the Smoke Malware Loader

February 3, 2012 – 5:07 pm

By Dancho Danchev The competitive arms race between security vendors and malicious cybercriminals constantly produces new defensive mechanisms, next to new attack platforms and malicious tools aiming to efficiently exploit and infect as many people as possible. Continuing the “A peek inside…” series, in this post I will profile yet another malware loader. This time it’s [...]

By ddanchev | Also posted in Downloaders, Keyloggers, Passwords, Threat Research, Trojans | Leave a Comment

Cybercriminals generate malicious Java applets using DIY tools

January 30, 2012 – 3:22 pm

By Dancho Danchev Who said there’s such a thing as a trusted Java applet? In situations where malicious attackers cannot directly exploit client-side vulnerabilities on the targeted host, they will turn to social engineering tricks, like legitimate-looking Java Applets, which will on the other hand silently download the malicious payload of the attacker, once the [...]

By ddanchev | Also posted in Backdoors, Downloaders, Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Keyloggers, social engineering, Stupid malware tricks, Threat Research, Trojans | Comments (1)

Cisco releases ‘Cisco Global Threat Report’ for 4Q11

January 29, 2012 – 7:12 pm

By Dancho Danchev Cisco Systems, recently announced the release of ’Cisco Global Threat Report’ for 4Q11, containing threat intelligence based on Cisco’s observation of the malicious threat landscape. Key summary points:

By ddanchev | Also posted in Botnet activity, Enterprises, Internet security industry, phishing, spam, Targets | Comments (1)

A peek inside the uBot malware bot

January 26, 2012 – 12:18 pm

By Dancho Danchev Participants in the dynamic cybercrime underground ecosystem are constantly working on new cybercrime-friendly releases in the form of malware bots, Remote Access Tools (RATs) and malware loaders. Continuing the “A peek inside…” series, in this post I will profile yet another DIY (do-it-yourself) malware bot, available at the disposal of cybercriminals at [...]

By ddanchev | Also posted in Threat Research, Keyloggers, Passwords, Downloaders, Trojans, Backdoors | Comments (1)

Researchers intercept a client-side exploits serving malware campaign

January 25, 2012 – 12:14 pm

By Dancho Danchev Security researchers from Webroot have intercepted a currently active, client-side exploits-serving malicious campaign that has already managed to infect 18,544 computers across the globe, through the BlackHole web malware exploitation kit. More details:

By ddanchev | Also posted in Backdoors, Downloaders, Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Keyloggers, Passwords, rootkit, Threat Research, Trojans | Comments (1)

A peek inside the Umbra malware loader

January 20, 2012 – 11:46 am

By Dancho Danchev The thriving cybercrime underground marketplace has a lot to offer. From DIY botnet builders, DIY DDoS platforms, to platforms for executing clickjacking and likejacking campaigns, next to drive-by malware attacks, the ecosystem is always a step ahead of the industry established to fight back. Continuing the “A peek inside…” series, in this [...]

By ddanchev | Also posted in Threat Research, Keyloggers, Trojans, Backdoors | Comments (2)

How malware authors evade antivirus detection

January 18, 2012 – 6:37 pm

By Dancho Danchev Aiming to ensure that their malware doesn’t end up in the hands of vendors and researchers, cybercriminals are actively experimenting with different quality assurance processes whose objective is to increase the probability of their campaigns successfully propagating in the wild without detection. Some of these techniques include multiple offline antivirus scanning interfaces [...]

By ddanchev | Also posted in Backdoors, Dialers, Downloaders, Keyloggers, Phishing Trojans, Ransomware, Rogue Security Products, rootkit, Trojans, Uncategorized | Comments (8)
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