John McAfee
Founder of McAfee antivirus and a controversial public figure
- Lived
- 75 yrs
- 1945 – 2021
- Works listed
- 1
- Software
- Honours
- 0
- Awards & distinctions
- Profile views
- 0
- 0 followers
John McAfee was a British-American programmer and businessman who founded McAfee Associates in 1987 and sold one of the first commercial antivirus programs. In later life his eccentric behaviour, legal problems and run for US president drew attention. He died in a Spanish prison in 2021 while awaiting extradition.
Biography
Early career
McAfee was born in England and raised in Virginia. He studied mathematics at Roanoke College and worked as a programmer for NASA, Univac, Xerox and Lockheed.
McAfee Associates
In 1987, after the Brain computer virus appeared, he founded McAfee Associates and distributed his antivirus software as shareware, letting users try it free. The model was hugely successful. He left the company in 1994; Intel bought it in 2011.
Later life
He moved to Belize, where in 2012 police wanted to question him about a neighbour’s death; he fled to Guatemala and was deported to the US. He was not charged. He ran for president in 2016 and 2020 and promoted cryptocurrencies.
Death
In 2020 he was arrested in Spain on US tax-evasion charges. He was found dead in his cell in June 2021; Spanish authorities ruled it a suicide.
Timeline
-
1945
Born in Cinderford, Gloucestershire, England
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1987
Founds McAfee Associates
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1994
Leaves the company
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2011
Intel buys McAfee
-
2012
Flees Belize
-
2016
Seeks the Libertarian presidential nomination
-
2020
Arrested in Spain
-
2021
Dies in prison
-
2021
Died, aged 75
Notable works
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1987
McAfee VirusScan Software
Did you know?
-
1
He posted a video in 2013 showing how to uninstall McAfee software in a mocking way.
-
2
The McAfee brand continues under separate owners.
-
3
He was born in the Forest of Dean in England.
Connections
Related people
Also born on 18 September
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Shabana Azmi
Film & TV · Actress of parallel and mainstream cinema, five-time National Film Award winner
1950
-
Timotheus Höttges
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1962
-
Mark Shuttleworth
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1973
Frequently asked
Who is John McAfee?
John McAfee was a British-American programmer and businessman who founded McAfee Associates in 1987 and sold one of the first commercial antivirus programs. In later life his eccentric behaviour, legal problems and run for US president drew attention. He died in a Spanish prison in 2021 while awaiting extradition.
When did John McAfee die?
John McAfee died on 23 June 2021 at the age of 75.
Where is John McAfee from?
John McAfee was born in Cinderford, Gloucestershire, England.
What is John McAfee known for?
John McAfee is best known for Founding McAfee Associates (1987); first commercial antivirus software; later legal troubles.
References
- John McAfee — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- John McAfee — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- John McAfee (Q45864) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “John McAfee”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“John McAfee.” TrackFame, last updated 4 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/john-mcafee
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