In Memoriam: John McAfee, 1945–2021. R.I.P.
John David McAfee took his own life yesterday, said his lawyer. A Spanish prison witnessed his final breath on this earth.
AV pioneer, wannabe president, fugitive and polymath, John divided opinions in a way few others in this industry could possibly achieve. The world will be a duller place without him.
The internet has been remembering McAfee—mostly fondly. In today’s SB Blogwatch, we share the love.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits to remember John by. Not to mention: Serenade.
He Will Be Missed
Sad, shocking news. Inti Landauro and Joan Faus report it—“Larger-than-life software mogul John McAfee dies”:
All power corrupts”
British-born U.S. technology entrepreneur John McAfee died on Wednesday by suicide in a Barcelona prison: … McAfee’s lawyer, Javier Villalba, said the anti-virus software pioneer died by hanging as his nine months in prison brought him to despair.
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McAfee worked for NASA, Xerox and Lockheed Martin before launching the world’s first commercial anti-virus in 1987. He sold his software company to Intel in 2011. … The program still carries his name and has 500 million users worldwide.
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McAfee had lived for years on the run from U.S. authorities. … He was indicted in Tennessee on tax evasion charges and was charged in a … fraud case in New York. … Spain’s high court said on Wednesday it agreed to extradite McAfee to the United States. [He previously] lived in Belize for several years. He fled after police sought him for questioning in the 2012 murder of a neighbour.
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McAfee was a prolific user of Twitter, where he had 1 million followers. … His last public tweet [was] on June 18: “All power corrupts. Take care which powers you allow a democracy to wield.”
A colorful figure? You could say that, as Daniel Kuhn explains—“McAfee, known as much for a life of drugs, women and guns as for the software that bears his name, was a popular cryptocurrency showman”:
Signs point to a suicide”
John McAfee, software pioneer, ex-presidential candidate, cryptocurrency entrepreneur and paid advocate, lived a storied life. … Although McAfee was a pivotal figure in the history of computing, his stature within crypto was tarnished by failed projects, broken promises and associations with alleged scams.
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A man born against the state, he led authorities on a manhunt in the years prior to being detained by Spanish police in 2020. … Signs point to a suicide, according to Spain’s justice department. Hours before his body was found, the Spanish High Court ruled McAfee could be extradited to the U.S.
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In 2012, he fled Belize [and] surfaced in Guatemala, where he was detained by authorities. After that, he went to Seattle by way of Miami, where he lived an uncharacteristically low-profile life until running for president in 2016 as Libertarian.
But did he really kill himself? Rachel E. Greenspan, Steven Asarch and Connor Perrett sound exasperated—“QAnon followers are already spreading Epstein-like conspiracy theories”:
Conspiracy theorists”
Just minutes after the news broke … QAnon conspiracy theorists baselessly suggested that the antivirus software pioneer died by other means … including the word “suicide” in quotes. … A 2019 tweet from the antivirus software mogul’s verified Twitter account appeared to be emboldening some of these claims: “If I suicide myself, I didn’t,” the tweet said.
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QAnon, a wide-ranging, far-right conspiracy theory … notably spread a similar theory when disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in 2019: “Epstein didn’t kill himself” eventually became a major online meme.
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QAnon leaders weighing in on McAfee’s death comes as no surprise, as the conspiracy theorists frequently repackage news stories to promote their own beliefs. … Conspiracies alleging that McAfee had a “dead man’s switch,” or a device that activates when its owner dies, were also being shared.
My friend and colleague Sean Michael Kerner remembers John fondly—“McAfee Found Dead”:
More wrong than right”
While McAfee has purposely and actively distanced himself from the McAfee security company, he has remained an active voice in various matters of security and public affairs. Over the years, McAfee has tried to disassociate himself with the company and the core anti-virus technology that bore his name.
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One of his most famous diatribes … is a somewhat ‘unsuitable for viewing at work’ ranting video … effusively proclaiming he has nothing to do with the anti-virus vendor. … At the Infosecurity Europe 2015 event, the ever combative McAfee [slammed] the state of the security industry in an interview: “I think there’s more wrong than right in the security industry – because it’s a business like anything and the purpose of business is to make money and survive.”
As does neom:
Positive energy”
I met John in an Atlanta airport lounge years ago. I recognized him immediately as I’ve always admired him, and I decided to go up to him and tell him as much.
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I told him I respected him, and that I was sure he’d lived an incredible life and thanked him for his contributions. He was clearly … inebriated and insisted he called his wife so I could recount the story to her. I did.
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In the brief time I spent with him, I have to say he had pretty positive energy for someone who was portrayed the way he was.
He was the candle that burned twice as bright. Or so W.S.Gosset seems to say:
Prized his freedom”
RIP. A sad, and a little bewildering, end to a rambunctious life.
He lived loud and a bit mad, but utterly prized his freedom. Perhaps a little too much.
In a similar vein, Craefter crafts this mini-eulogy:
Boring”
A loss. The world just got a bit more boring.
Some say he was mad. But teach quotes the late, great Terry Pratchett:
Just eccentric”
He can’t be mad. I’ve been around; if a man has lots of money he’s just eccentric.
And, although he misuses the C-word, Moog42’s feelings are apt:
RIP Sir”
Crazy guy, crazy life, but if you’ve been in tech over the decades you can’t help but have been touched by the McAfee journey. His passing ages us all. RIP Sir.
Lest we forget where this journey started, Big Nemo ’60 remembers:
R.I.P. Mr. McAfee”
I have memories of the old days as a self-taught IT guy … I was the only one in the company who was familiar with these newfangled PCs. We had an outbreak of the Stoner virus [so] I persuaded my boss that we needed some kind of “protection.” And it worked! From then on, for many years, we got regular updates on floppy disks — via mail without the “e”.
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R.I.P. Mr. McAfee, and thanks for all.
Meanwhile, lewax00 awaits the next shoe:
On-brand”
Looking forward to an article in a few months where he emerges from a cocaine fueled binge in some dinky island nation without an extradition treaty and admits he faked the whole thing. At the very least, it would be very on-brand for him.
People struggling with depression or thoughts of harming themselves or of taking their own life can get help: The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in distress, as well as best practices for professionals and resources to aid in prevention and crisis situations.
And Finally:
You have been reading SB Blogwatch by Richi Jennings. Richi curates the best bloggy bits, finest forums, and weirdest websites … so you don’t have to. Hate mail may be directed to @RiCHi or [email protected]. Ask your doctor before reading. Your mileage may vary. E&OE. 30.
Image sauce: Gage Skidmore (cc:by-sa)
