article thumbnail

Why Malware Crypting Services Deserve More Scrutiny

Krebs on Security

If you operate a cybercrime business that relies on disseminating malicious software, you probably also spend a good deal of time trying to disguise or “crypt” your malware so that it appears benign to antivirus and security products. This story explores the history and identity behind Cryptor[.]biz

Malware 211
article thumbnail

Spam Kingpin Peter Levashov Gets Time Served

Krebs on Security

.” Over the course of his 15-year cybercriminal career, Severa would emerge as a pivotal figure in the cybercrime underground , serving as the primary moderator of a spam community that spanned multiple top Russian cybercrime forums. The government argued that under U.S.

Antivirus 287
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Ten Years Later, New Clues in the Target Breach

Krebs on Security

That reporting was based on clues from an early Russian cybercrime forum in which a hacker named Rescator — using the same profile image that Rescator was known to use on other forums — claimed to have originally been known as “Helkern,” the nickname chosen by the administrator of a cybercrime forum called Darklife.

article thumbnail

Former Russian Cybersecurity Chief Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison

Krebs on Security

Sergei Mikhailov , formerly deputy chief of Russia’s top anti-cybercrime unit, was sentenced today to 22 years in prison. In a telephone interview with this author in 2011, Vrublevsky said he was convinced that Mikhailov was taking information gathered by Russian government cybercrime investigators and feeding it to U.S.

article thumbnail

Glupteba botnet is back after Google disrupted it in December 2021

Security Affairs

The blockchain-enabled botnet has been active since at least 2011, researchers estimated that the Glupteba botnet was composed of more than 1 million Windows PCs around the world as of December 2021. We also recommend monitoring DNS logs and keeping the antivirus software up to date to help prevent a potential Glupteba infection.”

DNS 96
article thumbnail

The History of Computer Viruses & Malware

eSecurity Planet

Though polite, the Creeper was still an annoyance to some, and in 1971, Ray Tomlinson developed the first antivirus software , called Reaper. One of the first pieces of antivirus software , McAfee’s VirusScan, was released in 1987. It also would actively shut down antivirus processes to evade detection and removal.

Malware 140
article thumbnail

Breach Exposes Users of Microleaves Proxy Service

Krebs on Security

” Microleaves has long been classified by antivirus companies as adware or as a “potentially unwanted program” (PUP), the euphemism that antivirus companies use to describe executable files that get installed with ambiguous consent at best, and are often part of a bundle of software tied to some “free” download.