Downloading and running executables from the Internet is the easiest way to get malware on you machine. People should really run only 2 kinds of programs on their machines: the open-sources ones that were reviewed by themselves or others, and the ones that are distributed by some reputable company. And thanks to web apps you often don't even need to install anything and just use a website version, which is perfect for things like live maps.
Even if whoever is promoting the malware were to open source their program, I would suspect most people would be unable to look at it and determine it is malware. If you look at the blog post referenced in the OP, you will see the malware part of the software is fairly deep in the program. It is also possible to create fake reviews, or in the case of a git website, fake stars, forks and the like. It is really best to only run software from a very reputable source, or that you personally build/create.
Jeez! People are that paranoid these days, That we have 3rd party trackers for tracking viruses, huh! They won't trust official sources but are willing to trust random third party software which might come with all sorts of tracking and other malware. LOL!
It appears the malware is selling itself as a way to more efficiently track cases, and stay more up to date.
