XCodeGhost iOS infection toll balloons from 39 to over 4,000 apps

Some responses:

1. I’ve seen your Windows threads. They are fair, not mindless corporate cheer leading like a paid marketer would post. For your fair, objective treatment of subjects, I respect you.

2. The Apple threads that Swordmaker posts are fluff. It’s either “Rah rah, Apple is great,” or a public service announcement along the lines of “Something is wrong, but - have no fear - Apple is on it!” They lack any objectivity at all. Just the kind of stuff you’d expect a paid social marketer would post, and he avoids negative press like the plague. (As demonstrated on previous threads with multiple links.)

3. Prove the assertion on “paid social marketer?” Easy. If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. Swordmaker acts in every way like a paid social marketer. He’s a duck.

4. “Trolling the *board*” vs “Trolling threads” - Swordmaker trolls the entire board with his Apple fluff. Some days, I can’t even find the important issues of the day without having to scan past several unpaid Apple ads on FreeRepublic posted by Swordmaker. Yep. The way he posts and the sources he uses makes most of his posts unpaid Apple ads on the site. So, this ridiculous assertion that I somehow NOT see this continuous stream of unpaid Apple advertising on our site by our resident paid social marketer is just that - ridiculous. It’s in our faces, constantly. At least the posts I make on his threads aren’t visible to everyone scanning articles.

5. “False persona” - We’ve already caught Swordmaker in several blatantly obvious inconsistencies that he later tries to weave into some BS story. So, yeah, he’s a fraud.

6. As far as the unwitting comment is concerned - I just think that some people don’t see it for what it really is: a paid social marketer trolling our boards. They get something from it, but it’s the most insidious kind of brainwashing. The kind that Apple thrives on.

7. Finally, on the “Ignore” suggestion: I do, for the most part. I mean... seriously? Who could keep up with his paid social marketing activities. I don’t get paid to point out he’s a paid social marketer, so it’s not my full time job like it is his. I jump in occasionally to call him out. The fun part is that he COULD ignore me... but he can’t. Why? BECAUSE HE’S A PAID SOCIAL MARKETER! He has to protest being called that to appear legit. But...

The lady doth protest to much, methinks.

He has outed himself. Quack, quack.

That has ask the threads for the past 20 years?

Thank you for your polite and thorough response. Our opinions on some things obviously differ but we can agree to disagree on those and not spoil our dinners.

Thank you for your kind words regarding my Windows threads. I do endeavor to play fair and appreciate your seeing that. I have no grudges, and I'm nobody's fanboy.

While I agree that the majority of Swordmaker's threads are very pro-Apple, I will offer the observation that he has indeed posted threads and comments quite critical of Apple as well. I recall some regarding delayed response to some security issues, their social stances on homosexuality/LGBT, and particularly the damage done by their gay activist CEO to the company that Steve Jobs built. So I'll offer the opinion that if Apple's marketing -is- paying Swordmaker, they must be awfully tolerant of his pointed criticisms. You may dismiss them as carefully planted "cover" to pretend a sort of "balance", and there's no resolution possible to that argument. Just my opinion.

I can't say for sure, not having done a count/survey, how many pro-Apple threads get posted per day (the ones you characterize as unpaid ads). For what it's worth, I don't have any trouble avoiding them if I'm not interested in the thread topic, and I am on that ping list so I guarantee you I see them all. Maybe my eyeballs are less sensitized to Apple-related content than yours.

Regarding your comment "We’ve already caught Swordmaker...", this suggests that there really is a contingent of anti-Apple (or anti-Swordmaker) FReepers whose purpose it is to harass him at every opportunity. Swordmaker has expressed the belief that he's being targeted... Well, as they say, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you. :-)

One of the ways Swordmaker and I differ is that I'm far less likely to get caught up in the flame wars. He seems to always get right into the thick of it, and keeps going long after I would have bailed and ignored the taunts and assorted fecal matter. Granted, I did that kind of battle for a while many years ago, and was peripherally involved in the godawful Apple-flavored mess that JimRob finally stepped into in July 2010 and quieted down. Since then I've stayed out of the interpersonal fray for the most part (although I occasionally comment as I did on this thread).

I'm having a nice quiet evening and so I'll go now, give my 17-year-old orange kitty a scritch behind his ears, grab some much-delayed dinner, and wish you a similarly pleasant evening.

> That has ask the threads for the past 20 years?

Nope, the link I posted only gets the ones since I created the Windows Ping List. It searches for keyword "windowspinglist" which didn't exist prior to that.

If you want to go all the way back, you can, but you'll have to manually search on keywords like "windows" or "microsoft", and search on titles with those or similar words.

I have a life I think I’ll let my comment stand as is.

> I have a life I think I’ll let my comment stand as is.

Okay. But did I misinterpret your question? I assumed that "ask" was meant to be "all" ("That has ALL the threads for the past 20 years?").

No you got it right.

7. Finally, on the “Ignore” suggestion: I do, for the most part. I mean... seriously? Who could keep up with his paid social marketing activities. I don’t get paid to point out he’s a paid social marketer, so it’s not my full time job like it is his. I jump in occasionally to call him out. The fun part is that he COULD ignore me... but he can’t. Why? BECAUSE HE’S A PAID SOCIAL MARKETER! He has to protest being called that to appear legit. But...

LIAR. You haven't even the decency and civility to include me in a comment in which you are denigrating me, asshat. . . as you lie about me more. You've been repeatedly doing that. I have been on this forum for 14 years. . . but only been keeping the Apple Ping list for about 11 of those. You and others lie repeatedly about me and stalk me. You've been told by me and several others but YOU'VE appointed yourself as more important that 700 plus other Freepers who have asked me to keep them informed of things about Apple . . . some are NOW telling you to butt out, but you still won't listen, putting YOUR biased and delusional opinion over theres. You are an unwelcome intruder in these threads whose only purpose is disruption. YOU ARE A SKUNK AT A PICNIC. Listen to what others are telling you and quit acting like an asshat.

Fun part? What makes these threads or even FreeRepublic your personal playground to trash as YOU see fit? What gives you the right to insult fellow Freepers just because it's FUN??? Incivility and rude behavior is what Liberals, DEMOCRATS and juvenile delinquents do.

The owner of FreeRepublic is well aware of these threads so it is not your place to second guess the content of what the owner of FreeRepublic allows. He has in fact personally ZAPPED Apple thread trolls in the past. YOU are not the censor.

Okay. But did I misinterpret your question? I assumed that "ask" was meant to be "all" ("That has ALL the threads for the past 20 years?").

Sigh. As you can see, Dayglored, for-q-clinton is all accusation and no follow through. It is ALWAYS this way, with these guys. They don't give a damn what is said. They are right, you are wrong. Irrational.

> ...YOU ARE A SKUNK AT A PICNIC...

Now, Swordmaker, I was gonna let your comment stand unassisted, but the above... well I just have to jump in.

You see, it happens I like skunks (the striped furry variety).

They're really quite unobtrusive animals, mostly keep to themselves, don't like trouble and avoid it whenever possible... Of course they've got some amazingly potent defense ammunition if they get attacked or feel threatened. I've gotten sprayed a dozen or so times in my life, a couple times at point-blank range.

You see, I was a wildlife rehabilitator for many years, many years ago. Specialized in skunks and other difficult animals. Crawled under many a porch to extract a hurt, scared, pissed-off skunk.

Come to think of it, that experience was a lot like some of these threads.

Just sayin'. Now I'm crawling back into my burrow... :-)

Some parting thoughts from me...

Do you know how I became aware of Swordmaker’s unhealthy obsession with Apple? Sometime in the past two years, I stumbled on to an Apple thread and made a comment. Now, I don’t remember if it was a particularly negative comment, but it must not have been pro-Apple, because Swordmaker jumped down my throat, started calling me a “troll,” accused me of spreading “FUD,” and accused me of being part of some vast right wing conspiracy called the “Apple Haters Brigade.” Naturally, this caught my attention.

Next thing I know, I’ve got people yelling at me to “stay off the Apple threads!!!” for the filthy, dirty crime of dissenting with the pro-Apple line.

Wow.

How did I become aware of Swordmaker? Why did I start paying any attention to his activities? Pretty much that initial reaction. Naturally, I piqued up. “Hmmm...” I thought, “Maybe that ‘Apple fan-boi’ rhetoric is true. After all, all I did was dissent on FR and I was treated like I am part of some kind of conspiracy.”

So, I tried a couple more posts, just to check it out. See what would happen. My favorite response was when Swordmaker actually pinged his entire Ping List and ordered them to attack me for having the temerity of going on an Apple thread and saying something not nice about Apple.

Now I’m curious. I tried explaining myself, “No guys: I don’t hate Apple. I currently own and have owned Apple products. My current phone is an Android because I prefer it... BUT... do you see how this reaction to dissent on the threads is a tad ridiculous?”

Out came the book-long responses, complete with marketing graphics, et al, that never really addressed that point, just continued to extol the virtues of Apple. OK, fine. For a while, I decided to be at peace. Swordmaker claimed to be running a Ping List on “all things related to Apple.” Unfortunately, though, by this point, he caught my attention. So - without really wanting to - I’m *seeing* his posts in forum and - whaddya know? - it’s not “all things related to Apple” after all! It’s three kinds of posts:

1. Apple is great and just released the greatest thing and is the greatest company in the world articles.

2. Something bad about Apple, but - don’t worry! - Apple is on it, everything will be alright, and keep using and buying Apple products with the greatest confidence. (The comical part is that even when the article would say something to the exact contrary, Swordmaker would *conveniently* translate the article in the best possible terms for Apple for his Ping List.)

3. “Android sucks” articles. “You are a fool if you ever buy Android.” Also, Samsung. Or any competitor to Apple. They suck, all around.

After seeing this blatant pattern, it became clear that - while he may not have started in this forum as a paid social marketer - he parlayed his membership in this forum into a paid social marketing gig with Apple. (Quack.)

So, yeah - there are a bunch of people who “watch” Swordmaker. Why? Probably because the way he and his minions treat dissent. When you have such an overwhelmingly negative experience for disagreeing on a *product*, it’s bound to draw your attention. Eventually, you want to know what’s up. Watch long enough, and the answer is self-evident.

I don’t consider this a flame war. I’m just calling attention to the fact FR has a regular stream of advertising/propaganda being pumped into the forum. Apple should be billed for it. (Oh, and I’m sure Swordmaker donates to the forum. It just goes on his expense report. I wonder if that counts as billing? Hmmm...)

They're really quite unobtrusive animals, mostly keep to themselves, don't like trouble and avoid it whenever possible... Of course they've got some amazingly potent defense ammunition if they get attacked or feel threatened. I've gotten sprayed a dozen or so times in my life, a couple times at point-blank range.

I was a bit hasty, Dayglored. Comparing bolobaby to a skunk is insulting to all skunks everywhere. My apologies to the entire species of Musteloidea Mephitidae. They are much nicer than bolobaby. They do act only in self-defense.

So, I tried a couple more posts, just to check it out. See what would happen. My favorite response was when Swordmaker actually pinged his entire Ping List and ordered them to attack me for having the temerity of going on an Apple thread and saying something not nice about Apple.

I recall that event and your claiming I pinged the Ping list and my response to you that I had not. I found your assumption quite amusing. No sir. I have never> pinged the entire Ping list to a comment of yours, nor would I have done such a thing. Do you seriously have such a high opinion of yourself that you would merit such attention? How arrogant of you. I knew you were a narcissist but you have confirmed with that claim. I would not waste the time of over 700 Freepers to bring you to their attention. They have better things to do. I don't ping people for trivial idiots. I merely pinged the Freepers in the Thread whom you had insulted with a general nasty comment about all Apple users. As I recall, there were probably at most about eight to ten participants of that thread whom you smeared. You hilariously conflated that into the entire ping list of 700 plus.

Now pay attention, bolobaby: I do not ever "order" any members of the Apple Ping List or even those on that thread to attack anyone. . . ever. I merely brought their attention to your behavior. If they found your conduct egregious, they were FREE to do as they pleased. They were not "mind-numbed robots" to borrow a phrase from critics of Rush Limbaugh, as other anti-Apple haters have called them in the past.

As I recall they found your behavior quite egregious. You just confirmed it with your comments about being told to go away. It is indeed appropriate to tell someone insulting all Apple users to "stay off Apple threads!" when you behave like a boor.

Yes, I posted Android articles when there was an issue that could be a problem for the Android users on FreeRepublic they needed to know about such as a major security vulnerability (if you looked you'd see I pinged the Apple Ping list because many Apple users have Android phones), or something I admit that was ironic, because there was no Android ping list.

“You are a fool if you ever buy Android.”

You put in quotation marks things, meaning I have written those words, when I know for a fact I have not. Where have I ever said such a thing? You can go to every single Android thread and you will not find me ever writing those words. Nor, bolobaby, have I ever implied them. Since I have not, and know for a fact I would not have said it, you are again lying to make me appear something I am not. . . to people who may never have been on those threads. You, sir, are a liar, trying to smear me to advance your agenda. You are using Alinsky propaganda techniques to denigrate me. What does that make you?

You, because you always see "evil" in anything associated even peripherally with Apple, assume ulterior motivations. . . but you are becoming obviously delusional to assume that a thread on Android is in any way associated and the association is constructed only in your sick mind, apparently because you know there are problems.

Dayglored and I talked over the need for an Android Ping List on FR and then tried to find someone to host an Android Ping list. It took several days, but ThunderSleeps stepped up and volunteered and with our advice on how to run a Ping list, got it up and running.

I now always ping ThunderSleeps to such articles when I post or see them because he has created such a ping list. I will continue posting such articles.

You claim "book-long responses, complete with marketing graphics, et al, that never really addressed that point" when they always address the point, and have links to the facts. They are "not" marketing graphics but graphics used as exhibits to counter your or others' claims, usually from authoritative sources and always sourced with links to those sources. . . and seldom from Apple. Just because I know how to refute specious arguments with well documented and well written presentations does not mean they are from Apple.

I have been a published author, editor and publisher. I don't turn out crap. When I have made statements just on my own, I have been attacked for not providing sources or proof. So, bolobaby, I've learned to go ahead and provide it before the argument develops. Now, here you are attacking me for providing such thorough documentation. I get attacked for it both ways with you Apple Haters.

After seeing this blatant pattern, it became clear that - while he may not have started in this forum as a paid social marketer - he parlayed his membership in this forum into a paid social marketing gig with Apple. (Quack.)

And again you create a delusional scenario created out of whole cloth from nothing. . . making you a lying asshat. You have no evidence except your house-of-cards theory based on no evidence at all, except your house-of-cards.

2. Something bad about Apple, but - don’t worry! - Apple is on it, everything will be alright, and keep using and buying Apple products with the greatest confidence. (The comical part is that even when the article would say something to the exact contrary, Swordmaker would *conveniently* translate the article in the best possible terms for Apple for his Ping List.)

What you don't tell is that when I have contradicted an article, one I have often posted, they are usually FUD, based on rumors, and I have researched the actual facts, post the research with links to those facts. I will stand on my record as being generally correct. . . against your "The sky is falling" believe anything negative that is published that is Anti-Apple. I have seen far too many of the FUD articles and can recognize them easily. . . especially the ones that are retreads of events that have been long refuted. Those are very easy to shoot down because I often know the facts off the top of my head. . . and you anti-Apple haters prefer the myths and will repeat them at a drop of a FUD story, er, hat. So I will sigh, and again refute them, with chapter and verse and links to the actual facts, not the false myths that have worked their way into Google as "facts" merely because they have been repeated so often. Just because a lie is repeated doesn't make it any less false.

You will find I have more facts at my fingertips than you have myths because I have 38 years working in this field and an excellent memory of what actually happened (and I was often there) and very good knowledge of how to do research for primary resources, not just do Google searches for easy answers.

Probably because the way he and his minions treat dissent.

As far as I know, I have no "minions," bolobaby. The only people you think are "minions" are Freepers whom you have insulted when they dared disagree with you. Suddenly, when they disagree, they become my "minions" or they are my "minions" because they are members of the Apple Ping list. How is that again? Are they the "mind-numbed Robots," the MacBots that exist in your delusional world who refuse to listen to your advice about buying cheaper devices and computers??? Who are these minions I know nothing about? Please tell me. Is Dayglored one of my "minions?" I am certain he'd like to get a minion paycheck.

Probably because the way he and his minions treat dissent.

You come into a thread and unpack your flame thrower and start flaming me and all Apple users, throwing insults left and right and you "don't consider it a 'Flame War'?" You ARE delusional. You don't get to make that decision. The people being flamed make that decision, asshat. We are the ones being burned by your flames.

> Please tell me. Is Dayglored one of my "minions?"

LOL! Me, a minion? You must be bananas!!

http://images.m-magazine.com/uploads/photos/file/17096/pantone-minion-color.jpg

And yes, I bloody got out of bed to post that, and now I'm going back. Good night!

Night, my minion, you . . . I thought you were the one with only one eye, though. I lose track, there are so many of you. . .

What ever. I’m not invested in apple as much as you are. And when I’ve done it in the past you ignored or changed the question.

“No sir. I have never> pinged the entire Ping list to a comment of yours, nor would I have done such a thing.”

Another Swordmaker LIE that he makes so glibly. This was such an offensive tactic, that the Admin Mod removed Swordmaker’s post. Easy enough for him to lie about it now, I guess, but he and I both know it happened. My “Minions, attack!” response is still floating around as some proof that it occurred.

See, dayglored? This is what I’m talking about. A straight-up lie. Maybe he thought he was safe to make due to the post being removed, but you determine for yourself why his post was removed here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3259424/posts?page=26#26

Please note the subsequent attacks from some of his Ping List using some incredibly offensive terms. (”Anal bleeding,” for example.)

Take a look at the nature of the thread. See if resembles what I have described or what Swordmaker describes in his lengthy post.

“No sir. I have never> pinged the entire Ping list to a comment of yours, nor would I have done such a thing.” - LIE

“I merely pinged the Freepers in the Thread whom you had insulted with a general nasty comment about all Apple users.” - LIE, which interestingly contradicts his prior claim sentences before to NEVER have pinged his list to a comment of mine. When you look at the thread, though, my comments are very specifically about him.

“I have been a published author, editor and publisher. I don’t turn out crap.” - LIE, just look at this response. ;-) OK, OK, now I’m just teasing.

*Shrug* I’m done with this thread for now, but this is just another bald-faced, demonstrably disprovable lie from Swordmaker. One of the reasons he throws around the word “FUD” so much is that he’s projecting. As a paid social marketer, he knows *exactly* what FUD is and uses in posts like this. Standard propaganda tool.

He’s good at his job, I’ll give him that. That’s why I call him out, because others may not see it.

What ever. I’m not invested in apple as much as you are. And when I’ve done it in the past you ignored or changed the question.

You've never done it. I know you cannot find such egregious conduct. Try to tell the truth, for-q-clinton. Find the same level of virulent attack on USERS. . . you keep avoiding the facts. You cannot. Apple users do not attack Windows users in Windows threads, it just doesn't happen. They are the minority and they know it.

Dang you don’t let a point end do you? It’s as if you think getting the last word in means you win a cupcake or something.

Bottomline is Apple has malware in their official App Store that is impacting real users using their software & hardware. This is very serious and a big blow to their reputation.

Trying to attack me because I said macbot and idummy (or whatever I called it) as if that’s the most disgusting thing one could call a person. Get a grip. That’s like me getting upset over someone saying Micro$oft or Windoze or windblows. OMG....they just insulted me.

Guess where swordmaker lives? Hint: It’s within commuting distance to Apple’s HQ.