In , he wrote the first commercial anti-virus software , founding McAfee Associates to sell his creation. He resigned in and sold his remaining stake in the company.
He disavowed the company's continued use of his name in branding, a practice that has persisted in spite of a short-lived corporate rebrand attempt under Intel ownership.
McAfee's fortunes plummeted in the financial crisis of β His personal and business interests included smartphone apps, cryptocurrency , yoga , light-sport aircraft [ 8 ] and recreational drug use. He resided for a number of years in Belize , but returned to the United States in while wanted in Belize for questioning on suspicion of murder. McAfee was a vocal advocate for privacy and personal freedom , central to his libertarian campaigns in and McAfee received a bachelor's degree in mathematics in from Roanoke College in Virginia, which subsequently awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree in In , he joined Computer Sciences Corporation as a software consultant.
He worked for consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton from to Initially McAfee did not seek a large userbase of paying users, but rather wanted to raise awareness of the need to be protected from computer viruses. In August , McAfee stepped down as chief executive and remained with the company as the chief technical officer.
He was succeeded by Bill Larson. After various mergers and ownership changes, Intel acquired McAfee in August McAfee expressed his pleasure at the name change, saying, "I am now everlastingly grateful to Intel for freeing me from this terrible association with the worst software on the planet.
