Detecting obfuscated JavaScripts from known and unknown obfuscators using machine learning

JavaScript is a common attack vector to probe for known vulnerabilities to select a fitting exploit or to manipulate the Document Object Model (DOM) of a web page in a harmful way. The JavaScripts used in such attacks are often obfuscated to make them hard to detect using signature-based approaches. On the other hand, since the only legitimate reason to obfuscate a script is to protect intellectual property, there are not many scripts that are both benign and obfuscated. A detector that can reliably detect obfuscated JavaScripts would therefore be a valuable tool in fighting JavaScript based attacks. In this paper, we compare the performance of nine different classifiers with respect to correctly classifying obfuscated and non-obfuscated scripts. For our experiments, we use a data set of regular, minified, and obfuscated samples from jsDeliver and the Alexa top 5000 websites and a set of malicious samples from MELANI. We find that the best of these classifiers, the boosted decision tree classifier, performs very well to correctly classify obfuscated and non-obfuscated scripts with precision and recall rates of around 99 percent. The boosted decision tree classifier is then used to assess how well this approach can cope with scripts obfuscated by an obfuscator not present in our training set. The results show that while it may work for some obfuscators, it is still critical to have as many different obfuscators in the training set as possible. Finally, we describe the results from experiments to classify malicious obfuscated scripts when no such scripts are included in the training set. Depending on the set of features used, it is possible to detect about half of those scripts, even though those samples do not seem to use any of the obfuscators used in our training set

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation: an effective treatment for refractory non-neurogenic overactive bladder syndrome?

Purpose: To assess the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for treating refractory overactive bladder syndrome (OAB). Patients and methods: A consecutive series of 42 patients treated with TENS for refractory OAB was prospectively investigated at an academic tertiary referral centre. Effects were evaluated using bladder diary for at least 48h and satisfaction assessment at baseline, after 12weeks of TENS treatment, and at the last known follow-up. Adverse events related to TENS were also assessed. Results: Mean age of the 42 patients (25 women, 17 men) was 48years (range, 18-76). TENS was successful following 12weeks of treatment in 21 (50%) patients, and the positive effect was sustained during a mean follow-up of 21months (range, 6-83months) in 18 patients. Following 12weeks of TENS treatment, mean number of voids per 24h decreased significantly from 15 to 11 (p<0.001) and mean voided volume increased significantly from 160 to 230mL (p<0.001). In addition, TENS completely restored continence in 7 (39%) of the 18 incontinent patients. Before TENS, all 42 patients were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied; following 12weeks of TENS treatment, 21 (50%) patients felt satisfied or very satisfied (p<0.001). No adverse events related to TENS were noted. Conclusions: TENS seems to be an effective and safe treatment for refractory OAB warranting randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation: an effective treatment for refractory non-neurogenic overactive bladder syndrome?

PURPOSE: To assess the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for treating refractory overactive bladder syndrome (OAB). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A consecutive series of 42 patients treated with TENS for refractory OAB was prospectively investigated at an academic tertiary referral centre. Effects were evaluated using bladder diary for at least 48 h and satisfaction assessment at baseline, after 12 weeks of TENS treatment, and at the last known follow-up. Adverse events related to TENS were also assessed. RESULTS: Mean age of the 42 patients (25 women, 17 men) was 48 years (range, 18-76). TENS was successful following 12 weeks of treatment in 21 (50 %) patients, and the positive effect was sustained during a mean follow-up of 21 months (range, 6-83 months) in 18 patients. Following 12 weeks of TENS treatment, mean number of voids per 24 h decreased significantly from 15 to 11 (p < 0.001) and mean voided volume increased significantly from 160 to 230 mL (p < 0.001). In addition, TENS completely restored continence in 7 (39 %) of the 18 incontinent patients. Before TENS, all 42 patients were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied; following 12 weeks of TENS treatment, 21 (50 %) patients felt satisfied or very satisfied (p < 0.001). No adverse events related to TENS were noted. CONCLUSIONS: TENS seems to be an effective and safe treatment for refractory OAB warranting randomized, placebo-controlled trials

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics' resources: focus on curated databases

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (www.isb-sib.ch) provides world-class bioinformatics databases, software tools, services and training to the international life science community in academia and industry. These solutions allow life scientists to turn the exponentially growing amount of data into knowledge. Here, we provide an overview of SIB's resources and competence areas, with a strong focus on curated databases and SIB's most popular and widely used resources. In particular, SIB's Bioinformatics resource portal ExPASy features over 150 resources, including UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, ENZYME, PROSITE, neXtProt, STRING, UniCarbKB, SugarBindDB, SwissRegulon, EPD, arrayMap, Bgee, SWISS-MODEL Repository, OMA, OrthoDB and other databases, which are briefly described in this article

Refractory chronic pelvic pain syndrome in men: can transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation help?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for treating men with refractory chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A consecutive series of 60 men treated with TENS for refractory CPPS was evaluated prospectively at an academic tertiary referral centre. The effects of treatment were evaluated by a pain diary and by the quality of life item of the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index at baseline, after 12 weeks of TENS treatment, and at last known follow-up. Adverse events related to TENS were also assessed. RESULTS: The mean (95% confidence interval, CI; range) age of the 60 men was 46.9 (43.5-50.3; 21-82) years. TENS was successful after 12 weeks of treatment in 29 (48%) patients and a positive effect was sustained during a mean (95%, CI; range) follow-up of 43.6 (33.2-56; 6-88) months in 21 patients. After 12 weeks of TENS treatment, mean (95% CI) pain visual analogue scale decreased significantly (P < 0.001) from 6.6 (6.3-6.9) to 3.9 (3.2-4.6). Patients' quality of life changed significantly after TENS treatment (P < 0.001). Before TENS, all 60 patients felt mostly dissatisfied (n = 17; 28%), unhappy (n = 28; 47%) or terrible (n = 15; 25%). After 12 weeks of TENS treatment, 29 (48%) patients felt mostly satisfied (n = 5), pleased (n = 18) or delighted (n = 6). No adverse events related to TENS were noted. CONCLUSION: TENS may be an effective and safe treatment for refractory CPPS in men, warranting randomized, placebo-controlled trials