Conventions
Pwn2Own and 360Vulcan: the interview
Last week there was a big event for hackers from across the world, called Pwn2Own. Pwn2Own was held in Vancouver and teams of hackers and security professionals participated in order to show their hacking skills when it comes to internet browsers. One of the most amazing accomplishments at Pwn2Own came from 360Vulcan, the 360Safeguard team, who managed to tear down Internet Explorer 11 in just 17 seconds, through exploitation, and of course preparedness. Because Geek Reply is always interested in how these feats are accomplished and because we know that our readers want to get to know the people that are behind such accomplishments, we’ve brought you a surprise.
The 360Vulcan Team, lead by Mr. Wenbin Zheng, agreed to answer a few of our questions about the proud team and the Pwn2Own competition. Below, you’ll find the few questions I’ve asked the team and their responses, unedited. Although we would have liked to get more dirt on IE and the other browsers that the 360Vulcan Team works on, we did manage to find out that the young team from China is excellent at what they do: hacking. Congratulations to the team and we’re looking forward to their future accomplishments! Find out how they did it and what else they’re doing from the answers they gave below.
The 360Vulcan team won $32.500 at Pwn2Own
As for a little background, the 360Vulcan Team who took to Pwn2Own are from 360Safeguard, which is a security software kit that offers up mobile security, as well as desktop, browser and any other type of antivirus, antimalware and anti-threat software you can think of. Most everything they offer is free, so if you think having software designed by professionals who can hack IE 11 in 17 seconds is a good thing, you can go ahead and try out what they’re offering and let us know what you think about it.
Charlotte: What were your goals and aims when entering the Pwn2Own hacking competition?
Wenbin Zheng: By participating in Pwn2Own, we hope to do deep research on the browser security protection and vulnerabilities exploitation. We hope to hone our skills by taking part in this high difficulty challenge. And it is also an opportunity for reflecting technical capabilities of our team, and have chance to communicate with other International security teams.
Ch: How did you manage to hack Internet Explorer 11 so fast and what were the things that you exploited?
Wenbin Zheng: In the competition, we use the prepared exploit page, and took down IE browser in only 17 seconds. Though the time of exploiting target is short, but behind the success was a long-term process of accumulation and research. In order to take down IE 11 browser, we needed to exploit multiple 0day vulnerabilities, also we needed to defeat many security mitigations such as DEP, ALSR, Control Flow Guard, Isolated Heap, Protected Free and EPM. What’s more, as required in this contest, we had to use the 64-bit process (present in non-default configuration), and it was also an obstacle that forbidden to implement the attack by log off or restarting system.
Ch: What do you think about Microsoft’s Project Spartan replacing Internet Explorer in Windows 10?
Wenbin Zheng: Judging from current news, Microsoft may recommend users to use the Spartan browser. Because of its redesign, Spartan browser has significant improvements in its browser security. But IE browser will not be entirely replaced, since it is still the preferred choice for enterprise users. So the security of Internet Explorer is still critical. For ordinary users, it is a good thing, but it means a new challenge for researchers who work on vulnerabilities exploitation. However even the best security defense can be compromised by security professionals, Spartan is no exception.
Ch: How can you describe the 360Vulcan team and their relationship with 360Safeguard?
Wenbin Zheng: 360Vulcan Team is from 360 Safeguard team, usually works in different groups, major members from 360 Safeguard vulnerabilities research and defense team.
Ch: How have you been collaborating with Microsoft, Google and others over the years regarding browser security?
Wenbin Zheng: We have been working closely with Microsoft, Google and other vendors while working on their browsers or systems security, and provided lots of 0day vulnerabilities or patches before. In the past five years, we have received 68 official acknowledgements from Microsoft for reporting IE security vulnerabilities or Kernel vulnerabilities.
Ch: Why would you recommend 360Safeguard for internet users?
Wenbin Zheng: We bring our experiences, technologies and wisdom on security defense together to 360 Safeguard, we hope that more people can use our products, and better use our abilities to protect their network security.
Ch: What projects is 360Vulcan and 360Safeguard working on for the future that would interest our readers and internet users?
Wenbin Zheng: In the future, 360Vulcan Team will still focus on the security vulnerabilities exploitation and defense technologies of software and system, to seek new technologies and challenges. 360Safeguard Team will better use and combine our research achievements, to better applying into our security products.
Ch: How do you think hacking as a skill benefits security professionals and software developers?
Wenbin Zheng: Hacking as a skill benefits the software vendors and security companies to constantly improving and perfecting the defense technology. Only with a deeper understanding of attack techniques can make security professionals and software developers know how to avoid security problems, design better security products in depth.
In exactly two weeks, an epic journey will start in the heart of Transylvania for all those who love comics, games, and movies. The Transylvania Comic Con starts on October 18 and invites all participants to enjoy a three-day event where they will get to unleash their imagination at the cosplay contest, meet their favorite actors at the photo ops and photographs sessions, or find out interesting things at the panels hosted by the event. Great fun is granted even for those who would just like to take a look at the ComicCon and do some shopping of really cool items or snap some pictures with famous props, such as the Iron Throne.
The Transylvania Comic Con will take place in the heart of Transylvania, at the BT Arena in Cluj-Napoca. The event starts on Friday, October 18 at 4 P.M and lasts until Sunday, October 20. The stage hosts’ roles will be filled by Maria Muller and Ken Huegel. Some of the celebrities invited to the event are ‘Vikings’ and ‘Hunger Games’ star Alexander Ludwig, Kevin McNally Pirate of the Caribbean, ‘Spartacus’, ‘Arrow’, and ‘Shanarra’ star Manu Bennet, Rick Cosnett, from ‘The Vampire Diaries’, ‘Stargate Atlantis’ star David Nykl, and Roger Ashton- Griffiths, who played Mace Tyrell in Game of Thrones. Cosplay enthusiasts will get to see Daisy Cosplay and Imriel Cosplay.
Transylvania Comic Con will also welcome three featured artists and a Cosplay Guest, who wasn’t announced yet. The schedule is not public yet, and the timetable is subject to change, however, on October 5 participants will get the first glimpse at the program, from where they will find out more about the guests of the event. What we already know is that Transylvania Comic Con will host cosplay competitions on Saturday and Sunday. The General Cosplay Competition hosted on Saturday targets solo cosplay enthusiasts only, while on Sunday groups will get the chance to show off their costumes. This is also the day of the qualifiers for the international cosplay competition Clara Cow Cosplay Cup.
Tickets for the Transylvania Comic Con are still available for purchase, except for the VIP 3 Days Tickets, which are all sold out. The rules for participants and the tickets can all be found on the event’s homepage, here. It will definitely be an epic event, so we hope to see you there!
The countdown has begun. There are less than three weeks until Transylvania ComicCon kicks off. The three-day event will take place in the heart of Transylvania, in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, between 18 October and 20 October at the BT Arena. Those who will attend the event will get to meet some really cool guests and can participate in numerous activities, all of which are going to be amazingly fun. The schedule of the event won’t be available for another couple of days, however, the majority of guests are known.
Transylvania ComicCon will welcome some beloved actors, such as Alexander Ludwig, Kevin McNally, Manu Bennett, Rick Cosnett, David Nykl, and Roger Ashton- Griffiths. The event will be hosted by Maria Muller and Ken Huegel, and the YouTubers/ streamers of the Transylvania ComicCon will be Cluj-Napoca’s own Creative Monkeyz. It is not yet clear who the featured artists will be, but this should become known on October 5th, when the event’s schedule will become available on the website.
Besides having photo ops and autograph sessions with the aforementioned guests, participants will also be able to show off their imagination and skills at the cosplay contests. The solo General Cosplay Competition starts on October 19 from 13:00. The group competition starts on Sunday, also at 13:00. At the same time, the qualifiers for the international cosplay competition Clara Cow Cosplay Cup will start. Other activities participants can attend at the Transylvania ComicCon include panels, and props& booths. Naturally, there will be an artists’ alley, a gaming area, and a shopping area too.
The entry fee for the Transylvania ComicCon is really affordable. Those who want to have a photo op and get the autograph of Kevin McNally or Roger Ashton-Griffiths have to pay less than 15 Euros for the treat. The VIP three-day tickets cost less than 100 Euros, while one-day entry fees are as low as 10 Euros. These prices may be incredibly low but the level of fun will go incredibly high at the Transylvania ComicCon. Check out the event and all it has to offer here.
Let’s travel back to 2000s. Can you remember the time when MMORPG genre popped up out of nowhere? Early genre games such as Everquest, World of Warcraft or Guild Wars were considered to be the prophets of the new age of PC gaming. MMORPGs or Massively Multiplayer Role-Playing Games have been considered the most gratifying, rewarding, immersive, and time-soaking games out there. However, as time went by, only a handful of MMORPGs managed to secure their communities and stay a little while longer.
So today we’re talking some time (and internet space), introducing the very best games of the MMORPG genre. Some of these games are old and can brag about their long history while some of them are fairly fresh inviting fans of the genre to explore seemingly unending content. Most importantly – all of these games are alive and will grant you hundreds of hours of joy.
- The Elder Scrolls Online
We begin our list with the youngest of the bunch. ZeniMax Online Studios creation, The Elder Scrolls Online is set in the magical continent of Tamriel which will be familiar to the fans of TES franchise. The game’s storyline is indirectly related to other games of the franchise; however, the game is set way far back before the events of Oblivion, or Skyrim. Currently the game has two expansions: The Morrowind and the Summerset, however, the developers have promised a third expansion The Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr which is coming out on June 4, 2019.
- Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy XIV is developed and published by Square Enix. First released back in 2013 the game quickly became a hit among many MMORPG genre fans across PC and PlayStation communities. It has tons of great content which is keep on coming even to this day. Recently Square Enix has announced yet another game expansion titled Shadowbringers which will bring a variety of new dungeons and include yet another playable race: the rabbit-like Viera, already known to the fans of Final Fantasy XII. The game will also increase its level cap from 70 to 80 and introduce a number of new zones to explore.
- Guild Wars 2
This ArenaNet MMORPG game certainly deserves a spotlight in our list. Guild Wars 2 is an attractive piece because of its ever-living world structure which captivates players with multiple quests, continuing storyline, and rewarding gameplay mechanics. The game is also considered among the best MMORPGs because of its freedom and versatility when it comes to personalization. You can literally create, augment, and specialize your character in such a way that it would be exceptionally unique to your preferred playstyle.
- RuneScape
RuneScape is the oldest game on our list, however, it carries the very same explorer’s spirit within. It’s safe to assume that if you’re interested in MMORPG genre you’ve tried this game already at a certain point in time. We can still remember the wood chopping, fire making, and fishing activities which required hours upon hours of discipline, and we also remember how much joy did that provide. And it still does if you’re patient enough. That’s why it secured a spot on our list!
- World of Warcraft
No MMORPG games list would be complete without the king of the genre. It has been over 14 years since Blizzard released World of Warcraft. The game was a phenomenal success and became one of the most iconic titles of all time. World of Warcraft is even included in the video game Hall of Fame and there are plenty of reasons why. Even today the game is huge and has millions of players logging in to play it every month. Throughout its history World of Warcraft has seen 7 major game expansions with tons of great content to explore. Furthermore, Blizzard is planning to release a Classic version of the game sometime this summer which means that the king of MMORPGs can be entering its second lifecycle. If you’ve never played – we do recommend you give it a try.
While some of these games can be played for free, some will require you to purchase certain expansions (or game time). On Eneba Marketplace you’ll find everything you need in order to start your new MMORPG adventure!
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