Yearly Archives: 2010

Virus Scanners for Virus Authors, Part II

April 5, 2010
10 Comments

The very first entry I posted at Krebs on Security, Virus Scanners for Virus Authors, introduced readers to two services that let virus writers upload their creations to see how well they are detected by various commercial anti-virus scanners on the market. In this follow-up post, I’ll take you inside of a pair of similar services that allow customers to periodically scan a malware sample ad receive alerts via instant message or e-mail when a new anti-virus product begins to detect the submission as malicious.

Java Patch Plugs 27 Security Holes

April 1, 2010
30 Comments

A new version of Java is available that fixes at least 27 security vulnerabilities in the ubiquitous software. To see which version of Java you have installed, visit this link and click the “Do I Have Java?” link under the big red “Free Java Download” button. The newest version that includes these 27 fixes is Java 6 Update 19.

Spam Site Registrations Flee China for Russia

March 31, 2010
17 Comments

A crackdown by the Chinese government on anonymous domain name registrations has chased spammers from Chinese registrars (.cn) to those that handle the registration of Russian (.ru) Web site names, new spam figures suggest. Yet, those spammy domains may soon migrate to yet another country, as Russia is set to enforce a policy similar to China’s beginning April 1.

Would You Have Spotted this ATM Fraud?

March 25, 2010
91 Comments

The stories I’ve written on ATM skimmers — devices criminals sometime attach to bank money machines to steal customer data — remain the most popular at Krebs on Security so far. I think part of the public’s fascination with these devices is rooted in the idea that almost everyone uses ATMs, and that it’s entirely possible to encounter this quiet, unassuming type of crime right in very neighborhoods in which we live. Indeed, police in Alexandria, Va. — just a couple of miles to the East of where I live — recently were alerted to the skimmer found on an ATM at a Wachovia Bank there.