This is McAfee

A few weeks ago, I was doing my usual reading of celebrity news on TMZ.com when I came across the headline about John McAfee. The name I once associated with the famous antivirus software was now the leading suspect in the murder of a Florida bodybuilder named Gregory Faull in San Pedro Town. What I had read about this deranged, power-hungry maniac was eyebrow raising. But truth be told, I don’t find it to be a complete surprise that such flawed software could be associated with a complete nut job.

I recall my youth in the early 90’s which was also the early days of the web when online services were offered by now ancient companies such as Prodigy and CompuServe. My mom who had worked at a printing firm at the time was like one of many frequent users who feared their home and office computers catching the infamous Michelangelo virus. That’s when McAfee seized the opportunity to make a name for himself by making the television rounds to warn the public of its dangerous effects on as many as five million computers. Sales of his antivirus software went straight through the roof. Though to me, McAfee was living proof of how you can profit off of fear long before the Bush Administration.

Now I read in news articles about how McAfee was an alcoholic and drug addict with a preference for underage girls and surrounded himself with at least eight European security guards who carried firearms wherever we went. Even more insane to hear about was his addiction to the current bath salt craze as well as his association with South American gangs who had once tried to kill him. His personality sounds like a bad mix of Colonel Kurtz and Tony Montana.

And what about the perception of the McAfee software itself these days? I always found it to be a nuisance back when I owned a PC before I turned into a Mac guy. It would slow down my RAM speed and it never really prevented my PC from catching “cookies” on random websites. Other users have complained about the software installation flaws, the rude and uninformative customer service reps, the software’s failure to detect the most serious of malware, and the service overcharging users for using a virus removal tool even after they pay a subscription fee. Then if you even try to cancel the subscription all together, the service will continue to charge and put up excessive pop-up ads to get you to restart your subscription! This is just as erratic as McAfee himself. At this point, I would say for anyone to pay a monthly fee for defective software hoping it will protect their computer is no different from McAfee messing around loosely with girls he would honestly believe are not diagnosed with STDs.

So rather than face the charges put forth, McAfee is letting drama play out with blogs and audio recordings to update his “supporters” without revealing his whereabouts like the nutty coward he is. He is a living disease that even his own product would never detect. There is just absolutely no way I would ever trust my computer to a virus protection software designed by an alleged psychotic drug and sex offender. Should he ever get caught, I would suspect San Pedro law enforcement will McAfee far worse than the way his software consumers get treated by his customer service reps.

Read more ►

McAfee - Off to Belize to Blow it All

John McAfee, creator of the McAfee Antivirus we have all probably heard of (and learned to trust) has dipped in popularity recently in that it seems he is determined to find trouble wherever he goes.

In the beginning, McAfee fled the U.S in order to evade the taxes he would incur by staying. Belize is popularly known for being a “tax haven” and is generally heavily favored by those with large sums of money. Unfortunately for McAfee, he is now quite “shunned” by their local government for being resistant to helping out a local political party.

Obviously, the greed shines through; he is continuously trying to get away from spending his fortune, even for a good cause. What kinds of influences can this possibly have on his McAfee antivirus? Was he withholding when it came to the important aspects of his product? Who knows?

Another one of the primary reasons why McAfee fled to Belize was to set up a firm in which he would create both antibiotics and women’s Viagra from natural jungle plants. Many have a hard time taking him seriously with these spontaneous fruitless endeavors. He claims he wants to improve the health and wellness of the Belizean people by creating a natural antibiotic for them that is created and sewed straight from their own jungle plants. This is all great and noble, but unfortunately it seems McAfee’s fortune has dropped by nearly 100 million dollars in the time it took for him to go from the U.S. to Belize.

McAfee also fled in order to protect his own wealth by means of taxes, but also by avoiding the shrink in riches due to the many lawsuits that were filed or being filed against him in the U.S. He was sure that fleeing to Belize would protect him and his fortune from sure disaster. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for McAfee to lose almost his entire fortune.

Unfortunately for McAfee, fleeing the country didn’t prove productive at all for the reasons he originally fled. Of course, he landed himself a 17 year old Belizean lady friend who graciously moved in with him and he learned some interesting ways to use bath salts. But alas, he also lost nearly all of his fortune (by his standards) and he is now attempting to flee from a government which he deems “corrupt” and believes is trying to kill him.

McAfee has plummeted so low that many are actually beginning to pity him. But, it seems unwise to do so. He landed himself in this mess and who knows whether he has been taking proper care of us who use his McAfee Antivirus. When it comes down to it, it is hard to believe McAfee was doing right by the public through his McAfee Antivirus. Simply put, should we pity a man who may have such a lack in regard for people who trust him?  

Read more ►

McAfee Mistakes – Should We Pity Him Or Did He Deserve What Happened?

It truly is sad how money and power can go to one’s head – but even worse when this irrational behaviour is attached to the integrity of their brand. This is precisely what has happened to John McAfee; the founder of McAfee Software.

Brains and the mighty power of knowing how to put together a sellable product for the booming computer industry is what John McAfee originally did in the late 1980’s which permanently attached his name to the software he developed.

His software began like all others, slowly gaining the spot light in the world of security linked to computers. As time went on, investments in houses, cars and toys soon riddled the life of John McAfee. With a hundred million dollars to spend, it seemed like John was doing what John wanted to do.

Instead of investing in developing stronger, better and more viable computer virus software solutions for his customers, John McAfee lived a playboy lifestyle; riddled with claims of drug abuse, money laundering and even sexual relationships with underage women in Belize.

Is that responsible behaviour? We’ll answer that with an emphatic NO.

McAfee comes from the generation where saving money should have been instilled as a young child. Putting pennies away in a piggy bank and even in a bank as teens got older. The lack of understanding of what his success meant also shows McAfee was living in surrealism.

Everyone has to have an outlet for their energies; those who are responsible in life tend to use exercise, outdoor activities and music. The way John McAfee leans to erratic music and yoga suggests a child deprived of attention. John McAfee puts on a show everywhere he goes, always wanting to be in the lime light.

Most mega millionaires have common sense when it comes to spending their earnings. Most set up foundations, others create college funds for aspiring technology students. Still others give to charitable organizations. John McAfee seemed below this level in giving back to society. A concept even practiced in full swing today by his competitors.

In short, the type of behaviour that McAfee has displayed over the years and culminating with his arrest in Belize under suspicion of manufacturing illegal drugs for distribution must make one question the integrity of his computer software brand.

Irrational behaviour and decision making is not an overnight problem. It is often linked to certain behaviour-based issues that people have from an early age. But the industry he built relies on total trust of consumers who rely on those products keeping them safe from computer virus and online attacks.

If John McAfee displays this lack of critical thinking and good decision making today, one must believe these same attributes have been apparent in the past – or even still exist in the McAfee Antivirus which ‘proudly’ displays his name today.

Read more ►

What is the Real Consequence in the Michael Vick and John McAfee Controversy?

The most obvious and simultaneously discredited continuing drama of poor decision making has to be Michael Vick and that of McAfee Antivirus founder John McAfee. Jumping straight past the actual arrest of Vick, eventual confession with all of the fallout, as well as McAfee’s recent allegations of drug manufacturing, distribution, underage sexual relationships and even wanted in connection to the murder of his neighbour in Belize, what are most people truly focused on?

In a word; it is their Integrity.

It is well known that Vick was arrested in 2007 after significant evidence proved the operation at the Virginia based Bad News Kennels was a dog fighting ring, bankrolled and fully participated in by Vick. Football is a business, and it did not take long before Vick had to face the financial realities of losing that business. However, the controversy continued in 2009 when he was permitted back on the professional field. Many feel this was a business decision, as controversy can, in fact, be good for ratings and sports.

The controversy finally began to be quiet. There were the supporters of the change Vick claimed to be undergoing and there were those who felt he never really paid for his crimes. Everyone lined up on their side of the issue, and a tense but quiet argument stood in limbo. Vick has also developed a reputation for getting hurt on the field. Many feel that the acquisition of a Beagle was designed to draw attention away from his poor performance and injury record and reignite the passion on both sides of the issue.

However, with McAfee the initial probe has just begun. It was discovered this past week that John McAfee, who developed the basic foundation of McAfee antivirus protection that exists today, has been hiding out in Belize from officials from multiple countries for his connection to drug charges, underage sexual relationships and even questioning his involvement in the murder of his neighbour in Belize.

McAfee’s lack of integrity over the years has surely contributed to the jam that he’s in right now and is impacting the reliability and integrity of the McAfee Antivirus Software he developed many years ago. Hiding out in Belize and afraid of what he faces if caught, McAfee is hopefully gaining some revelation as to why he is in such a predicament. Success is a wonderful thing, but if the road to it is paved with poor morals and values, you just may find yourself in terrible situations like McAfee is facing right now.

In both cases, Vick and McAfee have had their integrity questioned. Are the actions they committed just a simple mistake - or worse, are they examples of a lifetime of poor decision making. We’d defer to the ladder and even worse – this pattern of self-destructive behaviour has now spilled into the brands they represent or have in the past.

When the Michael Vick story broke, his sponsors did everything they could to separate themselves from him (except a select few). But, McAfee is not sponsored by anybody. He is the founder of a company that up until recently was regarded as highly trustworthy. This all changed when McAfee’s lifetime of poor choices surfaced.

In short, integrity is something earned through positive decision making choices. And one’s integrity truly is attached to all things they’ve touched previously. Vick has returned to the NFL and has begun his long road to earning peoples trust again. However, the path that McAfee has taken has only one end – and unfortunately it’s not a positive one.

Read more ►

The Truthful Comparison of John McAfee to Michael Jackson

They say that there are two sides to every story – but in the court of public opinion, the only thing needed to convict a person of unethical behaviour seems to be an allegation these days. Need two examples – just ask McAfee Antivirus Software founder John McAfee and former pop-singer and icon Michael Jackson.

The story of Michael Jackson is well publicised. While he was experiencing one of the most ambitious rises to fame in the music industry during the 1980s, Jackson made some personal decisions that created more than just controversy. Public support was there for his music, but one has to wonder what he truly could have become had the scandal not rocked his world, not just once, but over and over again 

Two separate allegations of child molestation that ended in multimillion dollar settlements and several allegations that never took shape did a lot of damage in the long run. Prior to these allegations, Jackson had been championing for causes involving starving children and highlighting the works of charities throughout the world. Initially, many thought he was an ambassador for the entertainment industry.

The allegations eventually clouded his work so much that he spent much time in self-imposed isolation, extending only private invitations to hundreds of sick and dying children for his questionable children's parties. What is strangely similar is the recent discovery reported by reliable news agencies of John McAfee engaging in similar-questionable behaviour.

According to published reports, the founder of McAfee Antivirus protection has recently been hiding out in Belize, under suspicion of drug manufacturing, and distribution with his live-in underage girlfriend. McAfee also allegedly allowed employees to have a competition to see who could have sex in the most places at his headquarters and is facing a wrongful death lawsuit of a man who died in an aircraft that one of his firms owned. McAfee has been known to date very young women despite him being beyond middle age.

Is this the responsible behaviour of a person who developed a very successful McAfee Antivirus software? Even worse, is this behaviour a recent discovery? Sadly, it’s not. It’s a pattern that McAfee has developed from the time he founded McAfee Antivirus in the mid 1980’s. As such, one must assume that this same lack of judgment that McAfee has shown over the years was instrumental in developing his McAfee antivirus software.

Like Michael Jackson, the decisions that McAfee have made in his long life are now tarnishing not only his legacy, but that of the company he developed. The ironic thing is that the antivirus industry is based on providing computer users complete trust in their programs. And now, it seems that that same trust is vanishing in not only McAfee, but the products he developed.

Read more ►

Martha Stewart and John McAfee – Forever Linked in Crime

Don’t get me wrong, but as much as I love those cool little nick-knacks that Martha Stewart has created over the years, she’ll always be a criminal in my eyes. And based on recent reports surfacing about McAfee Antivirus founder John McAfee hiding out in Belize; wanted in connection to murder and drug charges – he and his company have lost a lot of my respect.

I don’t sugar coat things – as I’m sure you can see by the opening paragraph. So, let’s be blunt. When somebody is convicted or accused of a crime in any way, shape or form, it is due to the personal decisions they made to place them in such a situation. Whether they are innocent or guilty of the crime, they made a decision that placed them in hot water in the first place.

In 2004, Martha Stewart was sentenced to a short prison visit and a mere five months under house arrest for what evidence could be collected regarding insider trading. The federal charges of insider trading never stuck, but she was charged, convicted, and sentenced on charges of obstruction of justice, lying about a stock sale, and a few other misdemeanour type toppings.

Her significant stock in ImClone Systems Inc. was dumped only a day before the company would announce vital information that would result in some serious damage to their financial stability, causing stocks to fall out. The initial impact was quite telling. Her company's own stocks bottomed out and the couple of hundred people who worked for her company, Martha Stewart Inc. suddenly found themselves without employment.

Now let’s look at McAfee’s situation. When allegations of illegal drug activity and murder investigation by McAfee Antivirus founder John McAfee surfaced, the internet message boards lit up with thousands of loyal computer antivirus users expressing concerns over the reliability of the McAfee Antivirus protection programs that McAfee created – even though he left the company nearly two-decades ago.

When anybody who is in the public lime light engages in any unethical behaviour in their personal life, it always impacts their professional careers and brand as well. Need another example; how about Lance Armstrong – he’s pretty much the modern poster-boy of how to betray the trust of the general public. Need another? How about Pete Rose, Joe Paterno, even General David Petraeus – who has been regarded as a true American patriot; and finds him being labelled as a traitor by some.

The facts don’t lie – the assumption of guilt in America is good enough to convict somebody in the court of public opinion. This is a fact of life folks. Whether right or wrong, ethical or not, it’s the world we live in today.

The decisions that John McAfee have made in his life are not by circumstance, or his wealth – it’s a personal flaw, but one that he chose to travel. As a result, his once highly regarded McAfee Antivirus software must now be questioned on whether it was originally developed by a whack-job. And based on the truth about McAfee’s lifestyle – that’s a forgone conclusion.

Read more ►

Lack of Integrity Lands McAfee Anti-Virus Developer Hiding Out in Belize

Once worth over $100 million dollars, John McAfee is now worth next to nothing financially and is on the run from authorities is Belize due to claims that he was running a meth lab from his home. Belize authorities stormed McAfee’s home, shooting his dog dead and taking McAfee to a cell in which he had to sleep on a cold, hard floor. Authorities found weapons and what some are calling a “meth lab”, though McAfee states that he simply had ingredients for an antibiotic he was developing.

McAfee is well known for developing a highly successful internet security software program, called McAfee Antivirus, in the late 1980’s. A bright young man, McAfee seemed to have it all. He was well-educated, married, and by most standards, successful and wealthy.

But success does not always paint a glamorous picture. McAfee seemed to have some moral issues that ended up hurting him in the long run. From the time of his early career, McAfee would allow certain “morally questioning” behaviors to occur around his business, such as allowing Wiccan witch employees to enjoy drum banging on the front lawn of his anti-virus software firm.

He also allegedly allowed employees to have a competition to see who could have sex in the most places at his headquarters and is facing a wrongful death lawsuit of a man who died in an aircraft that one of his firms owned. McAfee was also reportedly shacking up with a 17-year old teen in Belize and has been known to date very young women despite him being beyond middle age.

Lack of integrity, or adherence to moral principles, is a sure fire way to lose so much internally and externally. Plenty of men and women, such as McAfee, have sacrificed their integrity along their journey to success and the results are often heartbreaking and tragic.

McAfee’s lack of integrity over the years has surely contributed to the jam that he’s in right now and is impacting the reliability and integrity of the McAfee Antivirus Software he developed many years ago. Hiding out in Belize and afraid of what he faces if caught, McAfee is hopefully gaining some revelation as to why he is in such a predicament. Success is a wonderful thing, but if the road to it is paved with poor morals and values, you just may find yourself in terrible situations like McAfee is facing right now.

Skimping on integrity is never worth the consequences. And in regards to the way the public is beginning to perceive McAfee Antivirus software programs or anything attached to McAfee – this type of behavior can literally destroy a company; and rightfully so.

Read more ►