--- title: "Thursday Buzz: Apple’s Biggest Malware Threat Ever" id: "25927" type: "post" slug: "thursday-buzz-apples-biggest-malware-threat-ever" published_at: "2014-11-06T21:00:45+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T13:01:30+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/11/06/thursday-buzz-apples-biggest-malware-threat-ever/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/11/06/thursday-buzz-apples-biggest-malware-threat-ever.md" excerpt: "Mac and iOS users get wind of the first major malware threat ever to face Apple's platforms. Also: lessons from a social media conflict involving Smucker's." taxonomy_category: - "Marketing / Communications" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "cybersecurity" - "malware protection" - "Technology" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Thursday Buzz: Apple’s Biggest Malware Threat Ever The bad news, for both iOS and Mac users? There’s a potentially damaging form of malware on the platforms, and it’s out in the wild. The slightly better news? At this point, it’s limited in reach to the Chinese market. On Wednesday, the security company Palo Alto Networks released a research paper [on a piece of malware called WireLurker (opens in a new tab)](http://researchcenter.paloaltonetworks.com/2014/11/wirelurker-new-era-os-x-ios-malware/) , which attacks iOS devices connected to an infected Mac computer’s USB port. It’s the first major piece of malware to be reported on either of Apple’s major operating systems, one that Palo Alto describes as “the biggest in scale we have ever seen.” The malware, distributed through a third-party Mac app store in China, can snoop on users’ iMessages and steal their address books, among other things. And unlike previous threats to the iOS platform, it can affect non-jailbroken phones, making the threat particularly serious to typical users. In comments on the malware threat to *The New York Times*, [Apple said it was on top of the issue (opens in a new tab)](http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/05/malicious-software-campaign-targets-apple-users-in-china/?_r=2) and offered advice on how users can protect themselves. “We are aware of malicious software available from a download site aimed at users in China, and we’ve blocked the identified apps to prevent them from launching,” a spokesperson said. “As always, we recommend that users download and install software from trusted sources.” ### More Bitter Than Sweet > The Smucker’s Facebook Fail: How to Protect Your Brand by [@LoriAlcala (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/LoriAlcala?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [http://t.co/eNqy03EhLg (opens in a new tab)](http://t.co/eNqy03EhLg) > [#cxm (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/cxm?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > [#social (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/hashtag/social?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) > > — CMSWire.com (@cmswire) [November 6, 2014 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/cmswire/status/530403627479740416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **Careful going too heavy with the ban-hammer.** The Smucker’s Facebook page is proving to be ground zero for political commentary these days—mostly due to [Tuesday’s GMO-labeling ballot initiatives](http://associationsnow.com/2014/11/roundup-ballot-initiatives-make-breakthroughs-election-night/) , which the company opposed. The company’s [decision to delete posts critical of its political stance (opens in a new tab)](http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gmo-inside-with-a-social-media-policy-like-smuckers-a-comment-has-to-be-good-or-its-gone-2014-11-03) is causing major controversy. How could they have handled the situation better? Reaching out to a panel of social experts, [the consensus at CMS Wire (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cmswire.com/cms/customer-experience/the-smuckers-facebook-fail-how-to-protect-your-brand-027083.php) is that Smuckers would have been better off actively monitoring and responding to negative comments, rather than deleting them. “A company should never consider deleting comments off of their own Facebook page unless the comments are violations of terms of service, illegal, or threatening,” said one such expert, Levick’s Peter Lamotte. “If a company is at the point of having to delete comments, they have already missed the opportunity to get ahead of the issue.” “If consumers are asking tough questions on social media—and they inevitably will, especially if you have a successful presence—it’s best to have some answers for them,” said another, BFG’s Matt Holliday. What’s your take on social management in situations such as these? *(ht @[cmswire (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/cmswire/) )* ### Other notable Links **Good news for Office users:** Microsoft has expanded the functionality of is iPad app and is now offering a free-to-use iPhone version, too. [The New York Times explains why (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/technology/microsoft-to-give-away-mobile-version-of-office-software.html) that’s such a huge shift for the company. **Getting something on the front page** of Reddit isn’t easy. This blog post by Todd W. Schneider of Genius [breaks down (opens in a new tab)](http://toddwschneider.com/posts/the-reddit-front-page-is-not-a-meritocracy/) exactly how it works. **Over at *SocialFish*,** Maddie Grant highlights Centscere, [a startup that ties nonprofit donations to social actions (opens in a new tab)](http://www.socialfish.org/2014/11/struggling-find-young-donors/) . (iStock Editorial/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. 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