John McAfee: from part-time fugitive to drug-fueled kingpin – The Verge The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts. 2022-07-27T20:12:39+00:00 https://www.theverge.com/rss/stream/3524233 https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/verge-rss-large_80b47e.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1 Emma Roth <![CDATA[Netflix’s upcoming Running with the Devil documents John McAfee on the run]]> https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/27/23280776/netflix-john-mcafee-documentary-running-with-devil-august-24th 2022-07-27T16:12:39-04:00 2022-07-27T16:12:39-04:00

Netflix's new documentary depicts the antivirus founder turned fugitive John McAfee and his life on the run after becoming a suspect in the 2012 murder of his neighbor in Belize (via Deadline). McAfee asked a film crew to document his experience as he evaded the authorities - and the Mexican cartel, apparently.

The documentary, called Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee, has video journalists thrown into the whirlwind that is McAfee's life. With guns, drugs, and alcohol in tow, the group traverses through Belize and Guatemala and somehow winds up on a boat headed to the Bahamas.

To say McAfee had an interesting history wo …

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]]> Mitchell Clark <![CDATA[John McAfee found dead in Barcelona prison, authorities say]]> https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/23/22547643/john-mcafee-dead-prison-spain-us-extradition 2021-06-23T17:37:08-04:00 2021-06-23T17:37:08-04:00

John McAfee, founder of the company behind McAfee Antivirus, has been found dead according to reports from Reuters, El Mundo, El País, and others. He was being held in a Barcelona prison, and the Catalan Department of Justice has stated that his death was likely caused by suicide. Lawyers for McAfee confirmed his death to Reuters and The New York Times, with one saying it was "the result of a cruel system that had no reason to keep this man in jail for so long."

If you or someone you know is considering suicide or is anxious, depressed, upset, or needs to talk, there are people who want to help.

In the US:

Crisis Text Line: Text H …

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]]> Adi Robertson <![CDATA[John McAfee charged with securities fraud for ‘pump and dump’ cryptocurrency scheme]]> https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/5/22315494/john-mcafee-fraud-securities-scheme-charges-cryptocurrency 2021-03-05T12:38:43-05:00 2021-03-05T12:38:43-05:00

John McAfee has been charged with securities fraud over a "pump and dump" cryptocurrency scheme. Federal prosecutors unsealed a case against McAfee and his executive advisor and bodyguard Jimmy Gale Watson Jr., claiming the pair earned nearly $2 million by urging Twitter followers to invest in cryptocurrencies like Reddcoin and Dogecoin, then selling off their own holdings as the price rose.

"McAfee and Watson exploited a widely used social media platform and enthusiasm among investors in the emerging cryptocurrency market to make millions through lies and deception," said US Attorney Audrey Strauss in a statement. "The defendants allegedly …

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]]> Jay Peters <![CDATA[John McAfee has been arrested in Spain and is facing extradition]]> https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/5/21503324/john-mcafee-indicted-tax-evasion-sued-doj-sec 2020-10-05T20:40:39-04:00 2020-10-05T20:40:39-04:00

John McAfee, who built a fortune selling cybersecurity software and has in recent years become a cryptocurrency evangelist, has been indicted on charges of tax evasion by the Department of Justice (DOJ). He has been arrested in Spain and is awaiting extradition, the DOJ said.

McAfee has had a contentious association with the law for years, though it's at times unclear which run-ins are real and what has been fabricated. A former 2020 US Presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party (yes, really), he claimed that the campaign was "in exile" after he was charged with "using Crypto Cuttencies [sic] in criminal acts against the U. S. Governm …

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]]> Shannon Liao <![CDATA[John McAfee reveals he charges $105,000 per promotional cryptocurrency tweet]]> https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/2/17189880/john-mcafee-bitcoin-cryptocurrency-twitter-ico 2018-04-02T16:45:21-04:00 2018-04-02T16:45:21-04:00

Software tycoon turned cryptocurrency enthusiast John McAfee recently revealed that he charges $105,000 for each tweet he sends out promoting digital coins or initial coin offerings (ICO). Last week, McAfee tweeted that his team had written up a guide on how his promotional tweets worked, and posted it to McAfee Crypto Team, an organization McAfee and his team put together to promote ICOs.

"It's self-aggrandizing and ego-stroking for us," he wrote, "However, if you're planning an ICO, trying to boost a coin, or want to shine a light on your latest project, you should overlook our swollen egos and see." The link details how each tweet costs …

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]]> Ashley Carman <![CDATA[John McAfee’s ‘hack-proof’ phone is doomed to fail]]> https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/4/28/15459314/john-mcafee-privacy-phone-announce 2017-04-28T10:23:32-04:00 2017-04-28T10:23:32-04:00

John McAfee unveiled the plans for his "first truly private smartphone" in Newsweek yesterday. He believes his device is the "most hack-proof phone" ever created. The $1,100 Android phone, called the McAfee Privacy Phone, was created through a partnership with cybersecurity firm MGT. It'll feature physical switches that allow the user to physically disconnect the battery, antennas for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and geolocation, the camera, and the microphone. McAfee also tells Newsweek that it'll be able to identify and then not connect to a Stingray or any other IMSI catcher device. It also features a web search anonymizer.

None of this sounds like …

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]]> Michael Zelenko <![CDATA[How an award-winning documentarian unearthed a damning new case against John McAfee]]> https://www.theverge.com/2016/9/14/12904402/john-mcafee-rape-murder-accusations-gringo-documentary-tiff-interview 2016-09-14T09:30:08-04:00 2016-09-14T09:30:08-04:00

At the Q&A following the premiere of Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee, a question came from the front of the audience: now that the film was out, was the director Nanette Burstein concerned for her safety? "We do have security here," Burstein said, "there were some threats made by his acolytes threatening they were going to come." It wasn't clear whether Burstein was joking, and a patter of uneasy laughter rippled across the room. "Fortunately," she said scanning the theater, "it seems okay."

Burstein has reason to be wary. Over the course of an hour a half, her documentary (a Showtime Documentary Film, premiering September 24th) l …

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]]> Michael Zelenko <![CDATA[New Showtime doc accuses John McAfee of rape and involvement in two murders]]> https://www.theverge.com/2016/9/12/12887124/john-mcafee-rape-murder-accusations-gringo-documentary-tiff 2016-09-12T09:05:48-04:00 2016-09-12T09:05:48-04:00

Almost four years since his return from Central America, much remains unknown about John McAfee's time in Belize, and why the cybersecurity expert went into hiding after the still unsolved murder of his neighbor, American expat Gregory Faull.

Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nanette Burstein, the stunning new documentary Gringo: The dangerous life of John McAfee, suggests that the millionaire founder of the McAfee antivirus empire is not only directly responsible for Faull's murder, but also the heinous torture and killing of a Belizian man named Dave Middleton. Gringo also features an interview with McAfee's onetime business partner A …

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]]> Spencer Woodman <![CDATA[At the Libertarian Convention, where blockchain evangelists dream of a perfect election]]> https://www.theverge.com/2016/5/5/11592806/libertarian-bitcoin-blockchain-voting-john-mcafee 2016-05-05T11:27:47-04:00 2016-05-05T11:27:47-04:00

Last Saturday, fans of minimal government gathered for the New York Libertarian Party Convention, which was held in the ballroom of a decidedly unflashy Ukrainian restaurant in Manhattan's East Village. The attendees, who ranged from shiny-shoed businessmen to scruffy survivalist-looking types, were there to vote for the presidential delegates who will travel to the party's national gathering in Orlando later this month.

But Nick Spanos had arrived on a slightly different mission. A former Ron Paul campaign consultant, he's now the CEO of Blockchain Technologies Corp., a new company that seeks to replace America's voting system with Bitcoin …

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]]> Sean Hollister <![CDATA[Intel phases out McAfee brand name, distancing itself from controversial founder John McAfee]]> https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/6/5282618/intel-phases-out-mcafee-brand-name-distancing-itself-from 2014-01-06T23:04:51-05:00 2014-01-06T23:04:51-05:00
mcaffee

When you think of McAfee, you might think of the Intel-owned antivirus software company, or you might think of the former druggie and part-time fugitive who founded that company over 20 years ago. Or perhaps both. Either way, Intel is attempting to sever that inconvenient association. At CES 2014 in Las Vegas, the company has announced that it will be phasing out the McAfee brand name for its security software in favor of the simpler "Intel Security." According to an Intel representative, the company named McAfee will still stick around as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intel, but the software rebranding will begin immediately. The company est …

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