John McAfee was a walking contradiction. To some, he was the visionary who basically invented the way we protect our computers. To others, he was a paranoid fugitive who spent his final years tweeting from a yacht while fleeing the FBI. Honestly, trying to pin down exactly what John McAfee did depends entirely on which decade of his life you're looking at.
You've probably seen his name on your laptop screen a thousand times. That red shield icon? That was his legacy, even if he eventually grew to hate the very software that made him a billionaire. But his life wasn't just about code and cubicles. It was about bath salts in Belize, faked heart attacks in Guatemala, and a final, mysterious end in a Spanish prison cell.
He built the first commercial antivirus (and used fear to sell it)
Back in 1986, most people didn't even know what a computer virus was. Then came "Brain," the first major virus for the PC. McAfee, who was working at Lockheed at the time, saw the code and realized something huge. He didn't just see a technical problem; he saw a massive business opportunity.
He quit his job and started McAfee Associates in his tiny home in Santa Clara. His strategy was brilliant and, frankly, a little manipulative. He didn't just sell software; he sold the idea of a digital apocalypse. He’d go on TV and tell everyone that the world’s computers were about to melt down.
It worked.
By the early 90s, half of the Fortune 100 was using his software. He pioneered the "freemium" model long before it was a buzzword, giving the software away to individuals for free while charging corporations a ton for support and licenses. In 1994, he cashed out, selling his stake for roughly $100 million. At that point, he was done with the tech world—at least for a while.
The Belize years: From yoga to murder investigations
After the 2008 financial crash wiped out a huge chunk of his fortune—taking him from $100 million down to maybe $4 million—McAfee moved to Belize. He said he wanted a simpler life.
It wasn't simple.
He started a company called QuorumEx to develop herbal antibiotics, but things got weird fast. He surrounded himself with armed guards and local toughs. He was allegedly experimenting with psychoactive drugs. In 2012, his world imploded when his neighbor, Gregory Faull, was found dead from a gunshot wound.
Faull and McAfee had been feuding over McAfee’s dogs. When the police came to question him, McAfee didn't just answer the door. He buried himself in the sand with a cardboard box over his head so he could breathe while they searched his property. Then, he went on the run.
Why John McAfee was always running
His flight from Belize was like something out of a B-movie. He snuck into Guatemala with an 18-year-old girlfriend, faked two heart attacks to stall his deportation, and eventually got kicked back to the United States.
Once he was back on American soil, he didn't exactly lay low. He ran for President (twice) on the Libertarian ticket. He became a "crypto king," charging hundreds of thousands of dollars to tweet about obscure digital coins. The SEC eventually caught up with him, alleging he was running "pump and dump" schemes that netted him millions while leaving regular investors holding the bag.
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He also stopped paying taxes. He famously tweeted that he hadn't filed a tax return in eight years because "taxation is illegal." That was the beginning of the end.
The final act in Barcelona
In October 2020, Spanish authorities grabbed him at the airport in Barcelona. He spent nine months in prison, tweeting sporadically about the food and the "Gray Men" who were out to get him.
On June 23, 2021, the Spanish High Court authorized his extradition to the U.S. to face those tax evasion charges. A few hours later, he was found dead in his cell.
The official report said it was suicide. His wife, Janice McAfee, and many of his followers didn't believe it. They pointed to a tweet he’d sent years earlier saying, "If I suicide myself, I didn't. I was whacked."
Key things John McAfee actually did:
- Created VirusScan: The first commercial antivirus software.
- Revolutionized Software Sales: Used the "freemium" model to dominate the market.
- Became a Person of Interest: Fled Belize in 2012 following the murder of Gregory Faull (he was never charged).
- Crypto Influence: Allegedly made $23 million promoting Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) without disclosure.
- Tax Defiance: Openly refused to pay U.S. taxes for nearly a decade.
What we can learn from the McAfee saga
John McAfee’s life is a masterclass in the dangers of the "genius" myth. Because he was right about the antivirus industry in the 80s, he felt he could ignore the rules of society for the rest of his life.
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If you're looking for the "lesson" here, it's probably about the fragility of legacy. McAfee died a fugitive, broke and alone, despite having once been one of the most successful men in Silicon Valley. His story reminds us that technical brilliance doesn't always equate to personal stability.
To dig deeper into the technical side of what he built, you can look up the original "Brain" virus documentation or the early history of "McAfee Associates." If you’re more interested in the true crime aspect, the Netflix documentary Running with the Devil provides a raw, if slightly chaotic, look at his time as a fugitive. Understanding the man requires looking past the red shield icon and seeing the paranoia that eventually defined him.