John David McAfee

John McAfee was born on 18 September 1945 in Cinderford, Gloucestershire, England. He was the son of Don McAfee, an American soldier stationed in England during World War II, and Joan Williams, a British woman. He moved to Roanoke, Virginia, with his parents when he was young. He had a troubled childhood as his father was an alcoholic who abused him and his mother. His father committed suicide when John was 15 years old. He graduated from Roanoke College with a degree in mathematics in 1967. He then worked as a programmer at NASA's Institute for Space Studies in New York City from 1968 to 1970. He also worked at various companies such as Univac, Xerox, Computer Sciences Corporation, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Lockheed. He developed a drinking and drug problem that affected his personal and professional life. He was fired from several jobs for his erratic behavior and substance abuse. ¹ In 1987, he founded McAfee Associates, a computer security company that produced the first commercial anti-virus software. He named the software after himself and marketed it aggressively. He also offered the software for free to home users, while charging corporate customers for licenses. The software became very popular and profitable, especially after the emergence of the Michelangelo virus in 1992. He resigned from the company in 1994 and sold his remaining stake in 1996. He later disavowed any connection with the company and its products, which he criticized as ineffective and intrusive. He also claimed that he regretted naming the software after himself. ¹ He founded several other companies after leaving McAfee Associates, such as Tribal Voice (which created one of the first instant messaging programs), QuorumEx (which claimed to produce herbal antibiotics), and Future Tense Central (which developed security and privacy applications). He also became involved in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, launching a bitcoin mining operation called MGT Capital Investments in 2016. He also endorsed various cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings on his social media platforms, often charging hefty fees for his promotions. He claimed to have made millions of dollars from his cryptocurrency investments and activities. He also ran for president of the United States twice as a member of the Libertarian Party, in 2016 and 2020. He advocated for individual freedom, privacy rights, anti-war policies, drug legalization, and cryptocurrency adoption. However, he did not receive much support or attention from the voters or the media. He also faced several legal troubles throughout his life. In 2012, he was wanted for questioning in Belize over the murder of his neighbor Gregory Faull, who had a dispute with him over his dogs. McAfee fled to Guatemala, where he was arrested for illegally entering the country. He faked a heart attack to avoid being extradited to Belize and was eventually deported to the United States. In 2019, he was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for tax evasion and willful failure to file tax returns from 2014 to 2018. He allegedly hid his income and assets in cryptocurrency, offshore accounts, and other entities. He also faced a civil lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for promoting fraudulent initial coin offerings and making false and misleading statements to investors. In 2020, he was arrested in Spain at the request of the U.S. authorities while he was about to board a flight to Turkey. He was detained at the Brians 2 prison near Barcelona, where he awaited extradition to the U.S. He also claimed that he had evidence of corruption in the U.S. government and that he was being targeted for political reasons. On 23 June 2021, he was found dead in his prison cell, apparently by suicide by hanging. He was 75 years old. His death came hours after the Spanish National Court approved his extradition to the U.S. His death sparked speculation and conspiracy theories that he was murdered or that his suicide was staged. His wife, Janice McAfee, said that she did not believe that he killed himself and that he had received threats from the U.S. authorities.