The new Netflix documentary McAfee: From Viruses to Demons reveals crucial information around cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee.
This Wednesday, August 24, Netflix has put online McAfee: From viruses to demons a documentary retracing the last episodes of John McAfee’s life. The famous computer scientist became famous at the end of the 1980s after having commercialized the first anti-virus software, but it is especially the end of his life that deserves to be studied. Indeed, suspected of murder and potentially involved in drug trafficking, John McAfee had tried to escape both the Mexican cartel and Interpol. Eventually, he was arrested in October 2020 in Spain on charges of tax fraud. A year later, his body was found hanging in his prison cell. But according to the testimony of his ex-girlfriend Samantha Herrera in the documentary, the computer scientist is still alive!
Only three people in the know
According to Herrera, a young barista she met in Belize, McAfee did not die in prison last year. The young woman claims to have received a phone call from her former partner, stating that he had paid people to fake her suicide. He also assured her that only three people were in the know (at least before the documentary was broadcast). The New York Post said they tried to contact Herrera, but he did not receive a response on the matter.
What really happened to John McAfee?
Charlie Russel, the director of the documentary, however, expressed some doubts about the veracity of his words to the media Esquire: “She says it, then she looks at the camera, and I can’t figure out if she thinks it’s true or not. This is someone who was very angry with John“. Indeed, after returning to the United States, the computer scientist would have left the young Samantha to marry a former prostitute of Miami. What, perhaps, cause the resentment of the young woman: “He promised them a life together and I think they were genuinely in love, despite the huge age difference. I think he offered her a really different future and then he literally abandoned her at the border and I think that was very painful for her and it took her years to get over it“, said Russel.
What is the Netflix documentary worth?
McAfee: From Viruses to Demons tells the story of this “original computer genius turned rogue”. At his peak, the businessman was worth $100 million. But when his neighbor in Belize was murdered, he fled after inviting a film crew to go with him. With access to hundreds of hours of never-before-seen footage, the Netflix documentary shows us all the details of this period during which the authorities were pursuing McAfee. The film shows a “larger-than-life character”, a man who escaped from prison several times and claimed to have hacked the world. And all this told through revealing images and interviews with the technology pioneer himself. A unique experience that will keep you on the edge of your seat if you are interested in the life of the character.
