John McAfee running for president
Anti-virus software tycoon John McAfee plans to run for President, the developer confirmed on Tuesday. He will run under his own newly created "Cyber Party."
http://time.com/4025991/john-mcafee-running-for-president/?xid=tcoshare
The self-described "eccentric millionaire," known for a strange run-in with authorities in Belize three years ago, said his primary motivation to enter the race was the government's problems with security and surveillance.
"We are losing privacy at an alarming rate — we have none left. We've given up so much for the illusion of security and our government is simply dysfunctional," he said, adding that he plans to release an explainer for his new Cyber Party.
John McAfee is running [for] president
McAfee, developer of the first commercial anti-virus program, has said he is going to announce a bid for the White House, and will create the Cyber Party to do so. "I have a huge underground following on the web," he told CNN. The website McAfee2016.com has also popped up.
Related Stories
Russia Today reports
The US public doesn't need a Digital Security Commission; they need the FBI to stop deceiving everyone and tell the truth that it wants to spy on Americans, John McAfee, developer of the first commercial anti-virus program told RT's Ed Schultz.
[...] "The FBI wants Apple to change their software so that it removes the check for security, so that we don't check for security anymore. Once it has that software, they can use that software on any phone. But they say they only need it for one phone."
[...] "You need a hardware engineer and a [software] engineer. The hardware engineer takes the phone apart and copies the instruction set, which are the iOS and applications, and your memory. And then you run a program called a disassembler, which takes all the ones and zeros and gives you readable instructions. Then the coder sits down and he reads through. What he is looking for is the first access to the keypad, because that is the first thing you do when you input your pad. It'll take half an hour. When you see that, then he reads the instructions for where in memory this secret code is stored. It is that trivial--a half an hour.
...The FBI knows this, Apple knows this."[...] "In either case, if they (the FBI) don't know, that is tragic; if they do know it, then they are deceiving the American public and Apple and everyone else by asking for a universal key."
Video
Do you see any flaws in McAffee's explanation?
Previous: Apple Wants Court To Rule If It Can Be Forced To Unlock iPhones
Seems Like Everyone has an Opinion About Apple vs. the FBI
Update: TPP-Exposing Journalist Ed Schultz Lands on His Feet at RT
John McAfee Announces He Will Run For President of the United States
I just heard some sad news on talk radio - Horror Software creator John McAfee was found dead in his Spanish jail cell Wednesday evening. There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the SoylentNews community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon.
Netcraft confirms it, as does NYPost - an "apparent suicide".
John McAfee was found dead in his cell in a prison near Barcelona on Wednesday. McAfee was awaiting extradition in a Spanish prison after being charged with tax evasion in the United States last year. McAfee was arrested in Spain in October after being indicted in the United States for tax evasion months earlier. He allegedly failed to file taxes for four years despite earning millions in income between 2014 and 2018 from promoting cryptocurrencies.
Also at the Associated Press, The Register, CNN, and CNBC.
See also: How To Uninstall McAfee Antivirus
Previously: John McAfee Announces He Will Run For President of the United States
On TV, John McAfee Says Cracking an iPhone is Trivial
Johnny Depp to Star in Movie About John McAfee
John McAfee's "Unhackable" Cryptocurrency Wallet Has Been Hacked (Again)
John McAfee Indicted for Tax Evasion
Original Submission #1 Original Submission #2 Original Submission #3 Original Submission #4
(Score: 1) by WalksOnDirt on Thursday September 10 2015, @04:39AM
Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton have good chances of becoming president. Bernie Sanders and Ben Carson are long shots, but they have some chances. John McAfee has no chance, but if he wants to waste his money and run he's welcome to.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @05:06AM
Bwahahahaha, I don't know if I should laugh or cry at that one.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by VortexCortex on Thursday September 10 2015, @05:27AM
John McAfee has no chance, but if he wants to waste his money and run he's welcome to.
So, when you run for office, you can take campaign donations. A certain percent can go to you for managing the campaign. One can't just take ALL the money and run. However, after having collected your war chest, if you realize you won't make it to the election, you can bow out and GIFT your campaign funds to another candidate. IMO, McAfee is running for the same reason Hillary is, not that they think they can actually win, but leverage their name recognition to collect some money and give the rest to the candidate they actually want to win. It's like using your popularity to vote by proxy, or a form of indirection such that when you dereference the pointer to the candidate you support it turns out to be a different one.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @06:05AM
"spend his money and run" != "take money and run".
I believe the implication was about spending his own money and run (the campaign) rather than receive donations and run (away).
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Thursday September 10 2015, @01:25PM
I'm quite certain Hillary Clinton really believes she can win. She definitely believed she could win when she started to run back in 2013 (she didn't officially say that's what she was doing, but that's what she was doing), and until a few weeks ago she thought she had the Democratic nomination and general election both within easy reach.
For folks who really don't stand a chance like Carly Fiorina, it's either an exercise in ego, effectively an interview for a job at a media outlet, and at least temporarily a job of repeating all the correct shibboleths for the next few months. And since Fiorina hasn't been able to work in any real jobs since wrecking Hewlett Packard, she's looking for something she can BS her way through doing. That she or most of the 17 candidates vying for the Republican nomination have no chance of winning is besides the point.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @11:54PM
Fiorina ran for gov of calinfornia too. I think she believes she has a chance and that the notoriety is just a nice consolation prize.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday September 10 2015, @05:50PM
you can bow out and GIFT your campaign funds to another candidate.
Good lord, how hilarious would it be if Donald Trump was making this play then ends up giving his warchest to the Democrats? He's a convicted Dem donator afterall....
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @11:51PM
the same reason Hillary is, not that they think they can actually win, but leverage their name recognition to collect some money and give the rest to the candidate they actually want to win.
Dude, Clinton is the front-runner. She announced before any one else in her party and it is her second run at the office. Her margin has narrowed because she's bungled the email stuff, but man if that's your analysis of Clinton I have to doubt anything you might say about politics.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 10 2015, @02:19PM
"Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton have good chances of becoming president."
I'm hearing that they are both bleeding in the polls. Which pleases me to hell and back - we don't need to continue any failed dynasties, either republican, or democrat.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by dyingtolive on Thursday September 10 2015, @02:26PM
I'd still vote for him before a Bush or Clinton.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 5, Funny) by captain normal on Thursday September 10 2015, @04:48AM
Trump, Huckabee, Perry, Cruz, Walker, Paul, Fiorina, Gilmore, Graham, Webb, O'Malley...what a list of characters. Maybe Ethanol Fueled should toss his hat in the ring.
"It is easier to fool someone than it is to convince them that they have been fooled" Mark Twain
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @04:53AM
I would count Clinton as well.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @04:56AM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @05:57AM
Who is that clit-on you are talking about?
That would be EthanolFueled, who is heavily into telling us about sexual exploits that we would rather not even be aware of.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @03:15PM
We need to know... EthanolFueled?
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday September 10 2015, @05:12AM
I expect in 2016.
My objectives are to promote growth in the kinds of jobs whose workers won't need to commute to Portland.
Clark County's biggest industry right now is real estate. Housing subdivisions are going in everywhere but there are no jobs for the people who live in those houses so they commute to Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Lake Oswego, Wilsonville and the like. This results in huge, long, all-day traffic jams.
I sit in the bus and laugh at the sheeple but really I should do something about it.
I have yet to hear tell of any Vancouver or Clark County government official working to create software jobs. There are other occupations that would avoid the need to cross the Columbia - marketing for example.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by isostatic on Thursday September 10 2015, @08:57AM
More likely that people who work in Portland are buying houses in your county because it's cheap enough to afford and is commutable enough to make it work.
As jobs centralise in urban areas, the solutions are things like Singapore and the HDB, or longer and longer commutes.
The alternative of working from home isn't realistic for many people. I do it 4 days a week but still need to make a 40 minutes flight or 200 mile train journey one day a week just for contact.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 10 2015, @02:18PM
"I sit in the bus and laugh at the sheeple"
I wasn't aware that you had a sense of irony. Learn something new every day, hey?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday September 13 2015, @09:29PM
I get work done while riding the bus.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @05:38AM
I and every voice in my head shall vote for the McAfee. I concur, and so do I, and I as well.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @10:17AM
Inanimate carbon rod for the win, in recognition of his long overlooked "tireless efforts" which the country could not function without. Doh.
(Score: 2) by mendax on Thursday September 10 2015, @05:24AM
He'll murder [wikipedia.org] the opposition.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @06:13AM
And kill our dog, or was it the guy he killed that killed his dog? Or was there never any dogs at all? Bath Salts: the psychotropics of losers. This will not end well, no matter what happens.
(Score: 5, Informative) by q.kontinuum on Thursday September 10 2015, @05:33AM
Besides the democrat and republican candidates, he might be the only one with a realistic chance to win! Does anyone know
how the voting machines [xkcd.com] are secured nowadays?
Registered IRC nick on chat.soylentnews.org: qkontinuum
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @06:46AM
Wow. Even the brand-name matches.
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Thursday September 10 2015, @05:52AM
Too bad we can't uninstall him from candidacy right away, like we do with his shitty virus scanner.
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0x663EB663D1E7F223
(Score: 5, Informative) by TheGratefulNet on Thursday September 10 2015, @06:03AM
oblig:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd6dKjVp9l0 [youtube.com]
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday September 10 2015, @05:52AM
Get a load of what The Economist has had to say about Donald Trump [economist.com].
I expect McAfee is quite a good coder but he doesn't make a whole lot of sense when he speaks.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 4, Informative) by bradley13 on Thursday September 10 2015, @06:11AM
I'd love to read TFA, but their little graphic that apparently contains the key quotes never loads. Why? Well, Ghostery reports no less than 18 external sites blocked - presumably one of those is essential to reading the site. News sites don't even host their own content anymore? WTF?
The last time I turned off ghostery, I was presented with one of those "Your computer has been locked, you will need to pay...". Which was nonsense, but it did lock up my browser nicely. Mainly, it shows just how little control sites have over what advertisers inject. Some scammer makes the bid, they can put whatever they want onto your screen.
So I'll leave Ghostery on. If the economist wants people to read its material, they'll have to either serve the ads off of their own server (thus taking responsibility for them), or else find some other way to fund themselves.
Hey, Yahoo does it. Embedded in their recommended articles is one of those "work at home and make millions" scams. It looks just like an article, except for the faint marking (light gray text) that it is "sponsored". Maria Shutova must get around a lot, because she lives in my town! Wow! And in everyone else's town as well!
/rant
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday September 10 2015, @08:10AM
There is a regionally-significant news site around here that doesn't even have a robots.txt. If I do a "site:" search for its domain, the #1 says "Attack Detected" because it thinks that Googlebot is a script kiddie trying to penetrate its RSS feed.
Its homepage contains hundreds and hundreds of URIs, mostly javascripts that timeout with the result that the site doesn't work at all over dialup, which lots of people around here still use.
I'm going to send them a proper business letter, on letterhead, with my business card clipped to it, as well as trifold brochure. My cover letter will read more or less "No one subscribes to your website because it is a multitude of sins".
There is no damn good reason to link more than two javascript sources per page: a sitewide one, and a second for a subset of the site. Page-specific script can be embedded in the page itself. Similarly with CSS.
And they're using dozens of web bugs per page, I expect because they are blissfully unaware that there even is such a thing as log file analysis.
That's why the traditional print media bent over and took it like a punk when facebook, uh... "offered" to publish the print media's stories, uh... "for" them: even though the JS and CSS at facebook is just as bad, everyone has it cached, so the news stories load quickly.
My message is that I'm going to free them from facebook. No doubt zuckerberg will take out a contract on my life.
One Can Only Hope.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Thursday September 10 2015, @02:32PM
The details are slightly different here, but yeah - if I've got to enable a bunch of crazy-ass cross-site scripting, THEN enable cookies, THEN watch a damned advertisement - I've forgotten what the hell I wanted to read by then. I seldom play that game anymore - I just close the page and move on.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 5, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 10 2015, @11:10AM
WARNING: Your country is vulnerable to attack by dangerous outside forces!
Install McAfee for President now!
(Score: 4, Funny) by tempest on Thursday September 10 2015, @02:07PM
They could have a big progress indicator over the Whitehouse showing citizens successfully scanned.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Thursday September 10 2015, @02:05PM
A car in every garage and a gram up every backside.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday September 10 2015, @03:49PM
The irony is delicious.
To be fair, from the summary it actually sounds like a good platform, although I expect nobody outside the Greater Slashdot Readership really gives a crap about the issue, or understands why they might.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday September 10 2015, @07:51PM
Man, finally looking up all that legal trouble that happened to him a couple years back was a fascinating read.
http://interviews.slashdot.org/story/14/04/06/2344201/interview-john-mcafee-answers-your-questions [slashdot.org]
And to elaborate, he hasn't been involved with the antivirus product in like 20 years, apparently.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"