John McAfee, creator of McAfee antivirus software, passes away at 75

The founder and creator of McAfee Antivirus Software, John McAfee died in a prison cell in Brians 2 Penitentiary on June 23, 2021. The security and medical personnel tried to revive him but failed to do so following which the prison confirmed his death. McAfee died hours after a Spanish court passed a ruling in favour of his extradition to the US on tax evasion charges. According to the Justice Department, McAfee earned a lot of money through cryptocurrency promotion, consultation work, guest speaking and selling the rights to life's stories for a documentary but avoided taxes on the same. 

John McAfee, the creator of McAfee Antivirus, passes away at 75

Following the tax evasion and securities fraud charges, McAfee was kept in the Brians 2 Penitentiary in Barcelona since the arrest in October 2020. Javier Villalba, In a Spanish court hearing conducted last month, the 75-year old entrepreneur appealed to not be sent to the United States for conviction. However, the court's decision was in favour of his extradition to the United States, soon after the news of John McAfee suicide came in.

McAfee's lawyer has stated that the software creator died by hanging himself in his cell as he was afraid to be convicted in the United States. John McAfee had been avoiding the US authorities for a long time. He was cited in Tennessee for tax evasion charges and then in New York for cryptocurrency fraud. As stated earlier, McAfee was arrested in October 2020 while he was trying to evade Istanbul. 

McAfee Associates, the company behind McAfee antivirus, was started by John McAfee in 1987, in his house in California. McAfee planned to create antivirus software for professionals, which is one of the most successful antivirus software to date. By the year 1990, McAfee was already earning about $5 million a year through licensing fees. The company went public in the year 1992, and McAfee's stocks in the venture increased to $80 million. However, the software pioneer resigned in 1994, with minimal impact on the business. In 2010, Intel bought the company for a whopping $7.7 billion. 

IMAGE: AP