John McAfee: The Antisocial Virus | 219
6/22/20261 hr 2 min
John McAfee was a brilliant but volatile programmer who helped pioneer antivirus software, making himself a fortune in the early days of personal computing. But he had an addictive personality and a short attention span, so after walking away from cybersecurity, he spent his life chasing bigger thrills, taking wilder risks, and getting into trouble in multiple countries. Behind the scenes, a lifetime of relentless self-indulgence was destroying everything – and everyone – around him, leaving him high, broke, and on the run from the U.S. authorities.
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First 90 secondsSarah Hagi· Host0:00
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Scaachi Koul· Host0:08
A heads up to our listeners, this episode contains mention of suicide and descriptions of sexual assault. Please listen with care. [upbeat music] Sarah, I'm assuming you had a computer in the '90s. Is that right?
Sarah Hagi· Host0:25
Well, I personally didn't 'cause I was a child, as were you. [laughs] But I did come from a family where we had computers and internet very early. Like, we had all this stuff before other people did, so- Right ... I've been online, you know?
Scaachi Koul· Host0:39
[laughs] Right, you come by it honestly. Well, what do you remember about McAfee antivirus software?
Sarah Hagi· Host0:45
I remember it just being everywhere, like every single computer had that antivirus software, but I also remember my father not really liking it and thinking it was kind of, uh, basic. But it was definitely a time when everyone was downloading things for the first time, and anything could give you a virus, you know?
Scaachi Koul· Host1:05
Yeah, it felt like for a time you could not use a computer without being bombarded by McAfee notifications. Well, today we're gonna talk about the man behind the name and how he went from coding genius to lifestyle guru to repeated international fugitive. [upbeat music] It's 2013 in Portland, Oregon.