Obituary for John McAfee: Death of a human catcher

He was considered a brilliant salesman and bon vivant. In the 1980s he developed one of the first anti-virus software. Now John McAfee has committed suicide in a prison in Spain. An obituary.

John McAfee has always loved to stage himself. In a video, recorded a good eight years ago, he shows himself surrounded by young women and with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth. He says: “I have been searched internationally, have had many wives, I was a yoga master and an anti-virus guru.” McAfee was a brilliant salesman and man catcher.

Anti-virus software pioneer

Born in 1945 on a US air force base in Great Britain, he grew up in the US state of Virginia. The father is a drinker and violent. He took his own life when John was 15 years old. McAfee is studying math. It was easy for him, he never really had to make an effort, they said. He then worked for NASA, for the copier manufacturer Xerox and finally in the 1980s for the space company Lockheed.

There he discovered the computer virus Pakistani Brain, which spreads further on the floppy disks of the time and made the disk drives slower. He begins writing anti-virus software and in 1987 founded his own company: McAfee Associates. “I freaked out at the time and thought I could stop this computer virus. And then within a day and a half I wrote a program that would remove the virus,” he said later.

In the early days there was a persistent rumor that he himself brought computer viruses into circulation in order to boost sales of his software. Either way, McAfee makes millions on corporate fear of the digital threat. In 1994 he retires and sells all shares. In the financial and real estate crisis of 2008, he lost almost everything. According to a report in the “New York Times”, only four million are left from the previous $ 100 million.

Journalist Jeff Wise met McAfee several times. He was a great storyteller, he told the radio station NPR: “He’s very charismatic. He has tattoos and dyed hair. Although he’s in his late 60s, he looks like some kind of rock star.” McAfee lived in the tax haven of Belize for a while. He throws wild parties, there is talk of drug excesses and many women. The former software entrepreneur claims that he had 47 children.

When a neighbor is shot dead, he is suspected and escaped in 2012. A Florida court sentenced him in 2019 to pay $ 25 million to the man’s estate for the death. A short time later, he is wanted by international arrest warrant for allegedly not paying taxes in the USA for eight years. Two years before his escape, he told the TV broadcaster ABC: “I’ve always gone my own way. And the drummer who sets the pace for me may sound strange, but I still follow the noise.”

Note on suicide reporting

Usually reported tagesschau.de not about suicides. We are guided by the press code: According to this, reporting on suicides calls for restraint: “This applies in particular to the naming of names and the description of more detailed accompanying circumstances. An exception can be justified, for example, if it is an incident in contemporary history of public interest . ”

Another reason for our reluctance is the increased number of copycats after reports of suicides.

If you are suicidal yourself, please seek help immediately. At the anonymous telephone counseling you will find contact persons around the clock.

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Obituary John McAfee

Marcus Schuler, ARD Los Angeles, 6/24/2021 8:56 am