John McAfee says he infected laptops with malware, spied and stole passwords.........

John McAfee says he infected laptops with malware, spied and stole passwords from Belize officials:

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/01/07/john-mcafee-infected-laptops/

 

I don't really keep up with stories concerning John McAfee for lack of interest but if this is true, it sure makes me think of what people can do...

 

My question is, when was this done? Because that would speak volumes. The guy is making it impossible to believe he's a "victim" of corruption. He's a known drug user, drug producer, surrounds himself with drug runners and organized crime associates, is wanted for questioning about a murder, fled the country he was wanted in and now claims to have committed numerous computer crimes against a government. Even if the guy is completely innocent of the murder, he'd now have more serious charges piled on him, and his own mouth is discrediting him every time he opens it.

What he needs to do is work out his arrangements where ever he is now in private, and shut up. No media, no rebel exploits and no blogging. Soon people are going to quit caring anyway until something huge pops up. Right now he just sounds desperate at best, a nutjob at worst.

 

I haven't been following this story line much, but I do wonder this... if as you say, the man is incriminating himself every time he opens his mouth, why do you say he needs to shut up? Let him talk.

 

Oh don't get me wrong, I love watching him bury himself farther in that hole he seems to love digging. But common sense would tell any somewhat intelligent, mentally stable criminal to not draw so much attention to him or herself and to keep the flapping of the gums to a minimum. The man is not Al Capone.

 

I found his blog which was mentioned in the article to be an interesting read.

 

Makes you wonder who will be next.?
There comes a point in your life when you simply have to put your faith and trust in someone.
If this isolated case is anything to go by then it opens a plethora of conjecture concerning all the security companies leaders.

 

I think it's safe to say the majority of security company leaders aren't going to run around Belize and elsewhere acting out "Burn Notice" episodes. Unless you're Eugene Kaspersky of course (by rumor), but at least he would be legit and not some nutjob in a drug haze.

 

On one hand you have forum posts about drugs, on the other hand you have reports that he's been a militant teetotaler for years and a police search of his house that turned up nothing; his claim is that he was trolling, which fits. The bottom line is that we shouldn't judge. As far as his bodyguards, his story is that they were hired to kill him and he offered them more money. Again, we're just in no position to judge; it's a different world down there.

But yeah; John McAfee no longer has any ties to the company he started, and this doesn't speak to any security software leaders. Of course getting infected is always a possibility, and if you have access to privileged information then you need to be more diligent and don't accept free laptops from John McAfee

 

I've been to that area of the world quite a bit and, you're right, there are areas there that would make 1980s Compton, CA look like Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. His drug use and work is pretty much proven. I'm not shocked his house was clean, he has shown he has enough brain power to cover himself. The thing about judging someone is that you shouldn't, no. But just like you never know someone is an idiot until they open their mouth, when someone is constantly behaving in a manner that contradicts what they say, your judgement is no longer necessary.

 

The thing about drugs -- especially drugs like that -- is that it tends to alter a person's judgement. People that do drugs like that also tend not to last as long as he has; certainly not in the shape that he's in. Drugs like that have a profound impact on a person's mind and body, and all I've been able to find is the forum posts that do indeed look like they could just be trolling. From everything I've seen about bath salts, the comedown is anything but "smooth."

I'll completely agree that he's a shady and slimy guy, and he was living in a shady, slimy environment. The legal stuff, though, we can leave to the legal system. I prefer to avoid facilitating gossip.

 

Personally, it appears Mcafee for some reason, is looking for attention. His claims about what he did to laptops in Belize, etc., is slimy indeed if it is true.

It does make one realize how fragile 'security' really is and how truly secure is anything online? I am not so sure it is, especially today with so much snooping, and a lot of this in my opinion has been made even more insecure via all the "cloud" that applications have transitioned to, most AV's etc.

I always wonder, do we really know what gets transmitted to these "clouds"? i do not know, other than companies stating it is secure and safe with no personal data, and all the other assurances. How do we know?

 

These weren't online, though; he bought laptops, installed keyloggers on them himself, then put the laptops back in the boxes like new and gave them to the targeted people as gifts.

The moral of the story is not to accept gifts from eccentric rich white guys living in the jungle, especially if they're named McAfee

 

Thanks Notok for the details.

Indeed...now that is what I call pretty slimy.

I will try and remember your advice regarding jungle guys and Mcafee LOL

have a good weekend Notok

Jim

 

You should give the article a read; it's kind of bizarre. I think there's more going on between him and the Belize government than either of them are saying.

 

There is an interesting article about McAfee here

 

Hey hey hey Notok:

Thought I'd help here by making your post politically correct

 

Malware, Drugs, Murder? and what else?

 

The forbidden 3-letter word?

This man has really gone down the toilet recently. I really wonder what the hell has happened to him. He's knee deep in trouble and IMO from this point on it's just a vortex of trouble for him!

It strikes me as odd, as what he says requires a lot of skill and a lot of money. For someone who hasn't been in the industry for nearly twenty years, I wonder what gave him both. I know for a fact that programming in the 90s wasn't quite the same as it is in the modern day.

 

John are you there? Come and explain yourself?