The recent news story of the murder of Gregory Faull has become a frenzy of media interest due to the man involved: J0hn Mcafee, the Silicon Valley who years ago made millions from the anti- virus software that still bears his name. Ever since the body of  Faull on November 11, lying dead in a pool of blood in his home, Mcafee has gone into hiding.

According to the International Herald Tribune, before he became a cyber renegade, ‘Mr Mcafee led a noisy, opulent and increasingly stressful life in Belize. He was known for the retinue of prostitutes who moved in and out of his house and for employing armed guards, some of whom stood watch on the beach abutting his house. he also kept a pack of dogs on his property who barked at and sometimes bit passers by.’

Faull had apparently been bitten by one of the dogs, and had complained to police, but nothing had been done. That appears to have been a blunder in hindsight, Mcafee has said in his blog that he had no choice to flle, fearing that the police were trying to kill him. Some Mcafee watchers have a different take, claiming Mcafee had become paranoid after months of experimenting with and consuming MDPV, a psychoactive drug, these experiments were detailed on Bluelight, a blog used by some drug hobbyists.

whatever the truth, Mcafee now lives a dissident life, the details of which have gone viral. He has a reputation for being a first class hoaxer, pranks turn up in his professional life time and time again.

He has recently surfaced in Guatemala, where he has been denied asylum. Mcafee claims he wants to return to the US but does not know when that will be possible. He is still considered a ‘person of interest in the Faull case. In a recent interview in the Financial  Times he spoke abot the constraints of his wealth:

One mistake was building so many different properties around the world – at least 20. “The South Padre Island one? I spent $5million building it – I was there for one week.”

In aother words, there is a chance that he has become bored by his wealth and prefers life on the run. The final irony? He doesn’t even use Mcafee, saying,”I take it off.  Its too annoying.”

Rob Cottingham, 10/12/12