How Forbes Spreads Malware On Apple

Is there so much going on in the world today that we just cannot keep up? Yes. We cannot keep up. Most adults cannot tell the difference between fake news and real news.

That means we have a few generations of folks online who really don’t know their in’s from their out’s, up from down, and politicians from reality TV stars. Malware has run amok and today we find it being pushed by the very organizations that should hunt and destroy the malware that litters the misinformation superhighway.

Malware Forms

Malware comes in many forms these days and is not always easy to spot.

Malware (a portmanteau for malicious software) is any software intentionally designed to cause damage to a computer, server, client, or computer network.[1] Malware does the damage after it is implanted or introduced in some way into a target’s computer and can take the form of executable code, scripts, active content, and other software.[2] The code is described as computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, ransomware, spyware, adware, and scareware, among other terms. Malware has a malicious intent, acting against the interest of the computer user—and so does not include software that causes unintentional harm due to some deficiency, which is typically described as a software bug.

How does malware get placed into the world of misinformation? Tom Warren on another Forbes’ magazine headline “Apple iOS 12.1.4 Release Has A Nasty Surprise“:

The nasty surprise is that bullshit articles like this are still allowed to game SEO and Google. Time for the industry to step up and penalize this utter junk.

That is Forbes’ modus operandi. It’s how the company operates. Forbes specializes in click bait headlines to trap the unwary into sensationalist articles that are anything but a sensation of information.

Paul Crisp:

I used to always think (or assume) that Forbes was a financial news powerhouse. But after years of click bait tech news from Gordon and Ewan, I have to question the content of everything they produce now.

Forbes does not really produce much these days. It’s the business model of advertising in the 21st century. Get readers to provide content that sells; journalistic standards be damned.

Chuck Yadmark:

Forbes Contributor Network has a Nasty Surprise. There is nothing but sensational clickbait headlines. Forbes Contributor Network gives Macalope daily material

I wish. Macalope seems to be on only twice a week these days, despite a growing abundance of material. What about Forbes notorious business model?

Forbes.com uses a “contributor model” in which a wide network of “contributors” writes and publishes articles directly on the website. Contributors are paid based on traffic to their respective Forbes.com pages; the site has received contributions from over 2,500 individuals, and some contributors have earned over US$100,000, according to the company. Forbes currently allows advertisers to publish blog posts on its website alongside regular editorial content

Money talks. Yet, some decry and defy Forbes’ tactics. Check out my take on such Yellow Journalism.

Rene Ritchie:

Inform, educate, and empower. Don’t scare, sensationalize, and stupefy just to steal attention… this stuff is effectively a malware attack on readers.

I like that. A malware attack on readers. Spread it around. Forbes is malware for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.