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Why John McAfee Is Paranoid About Mobile
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Marilyn Cohodas
Marilyn Cohodas,
 User Rank: Strategist
9/3/2014 | 8:10:45 AM
Re: Mobile Risk is the purpose in this article
Agree @jspivey282. If using a controversial public figure like John McAfee can shed light on an an important, growing concern, the press can be forgiven for a little sensationalism. Peter's article raises very good ponts about a threat that everyone in the security should legitimately be paranoid about! Thx for commenting. 
jspivey282
jspivey282,
 User Rank: Apprentice
9/2/2014 | 5:21:56 PM
Mobile Risk is the purpose in this article
I see the value Peter brought to light is about the threats and vulnerabilities of mobile technology and how it is both growing in number of mobile devices and in the diversity of types of threats.  Whether through malware or asking "permission", the risk associated with mobile is misunderstood by most- so this article or others similar in content help to shed light on the issues and bring awareness to the issues.  Using a contoversial name, such as John McAfee as a story back drop helps to bring attention...to this issue-  

I applaud Peter's efforts !
InfoSec14
InfoSec14,
 User Rank: Apprentice
8/21/2014 | 11:04:30 AM
Re: He is not that crazy
How crazy John McAfee is or is not is irrelevant. What is relevant is that he has stated that Hezbollah, Los Zetas, Sinaloa Cartel, The Belize Government and the Portland Police Department are trying to kill him.

His latest claim on Bloomberg this past week is that The Belize Government is trying to murder him. bloom.bg/1l0mRJB

So either CIOsynergy has already decided he is a liar or they don't give a rats butt about the security and safety of the people who attend their events. Either way it makes them ignorant and wreckless bottom feeders.

It's not as if McAfee's whereabouts are really all that secret especially when CIOsynergy has it plastered all over their website.

 

 

 
Marilyn Cohodas
Marilyn Cohodas,
 User Rank: Strategist
8/21/2014 | 10:19:45 AM
Re: He is not that crazy
There is a legitimate debate about how crazy or not crazy John McAfee is. But it's hard to argue against the fact that mobile is a substantial security risk. 
drchaos
drchaos,
 User Rank: Apprentice
8/21/2014 | 9:00:08 AM
He is not that crazy
This is a great article by Peter! John, apprently isn't as crazy as people thought he was. His points make quite a bit of sense and it is hard not to see validity in them. Mobile is the single most enabler these for most orgnazations. It is also the single biggest risk. It's true it is getting harder to attack mobile devices in some ways because the code footprint is smaller (techically making it tighter) as well more people are concentrating their efforts on the PC. I do think we will see a radical shift as more attacker focus on mobile platforms just based on their popularity.
NipsUtopia
NipsUtopia,
 User Rank: Apprentice
8/20/2014 | 11:06:12 AM
Re: Interesting
His lawsuits have nothing to do with the value i talk of. No doubt he made some wrong turns - so did Bill Clinton. The US lawsuit by the way was for negligence after Greg died sporting on John's propelled hang glider - a simple wiaver form would have avoided that mess.

Mens Warhouse fired George Zimmer, Apple fired Steve Jobs -- so what it happens! But no one ever can deny that it was their vision, passion and insight that birthed the organizatiions to where they are now.

You're mixing your arguments up here. This article is not about his personal life and decisions. its about his insight, knowledge and experience within the realm of security.

You have to make that separation. Half of your favorite musicians and actors you adore likley have similar lives - stoned out and on the wrong side of the law. Does that make you appreciate their talent any less. 

My only context to McAfee and I believe the authors direction here is security education - NOT social ethics.

 
InfoSec14
InfoSec14,
 User Rank: Apprentice
8/20/2014 | 10:47:51 AM
Re: Interesting
NipsUtopia,

There is zero value in what McAfee and his gaggle of retards has to say. McAfee just lost a lawsuit for 2.5 million a month ago for the death of 2 men. Deaths that he was clearly responsible for. The very same suit he ran to Belize to avoid.

He is on the run from a second suit for the murder of Greg Faull - a lawsuit he refuses to be served a summons for (Even after saying he would face it). He is running from the suit because he knows he will lose and will be promptly extradited back to Belize. He was having sex with children, was making his own dope and did kill Greg Faull. None of this is a joke nor will it be forgotten.

All the uninformed mindless drones keep repeating that John McAfee made the McAfee brand what it is and it's an uneducated lie. McAfee was forced out of his own company in 1992 by Bill Larson because John Was always stoned off his butt and could not function. Bill Larson made McAfee what it is- he secured the product lines and did all the work and John McAfee was nothing more than a bad joke.

John has been stuck on stupid for many, many years.

John has made mention many times that he has 17,000 hours of recordings and data recorded that was stolen from Belize officials after he gave them all malware infused laptops.

On August 11, 2014 he gave interviews to both Fox News and Bloomberg West and clearly stated he would disclose "The whole ball of wax" on Monday August 18, 2014. He said he would be posting it all on his website brownlist. He lied AGAIN.

NipsUtopia
NipsUtopia,
 User Rank: Apprentice
8/20/2014 | 10:18:17 AM
Re: Interesting
There is huge value in what McAfee is doing, just because he does not conform to what we believe are societies 'standard' or 'code of ethics' you can't dis-credit his achievments. McAfee Associates paved the path for modern anti-virus detection that put it in the hands of every computer user.

We rely on people like McAfee to distrust the process and create solutions to open our eyes to the next threat. His message is beware of the unknown!, understand the reach of your smart phones and the infancy of its use. We access more private info on our smart phones than we do on our computers yet how many have anti-virus applications installed - we all have it on our computers but why not on our smart phones. Its simply because we are blind to its dangers.

McAfee is just taking a stand and saying 'open your eyes'. We access email, banks, paypal, and much more from these small devices with little thought to their security.

Bravo to the author and thanks John - keep the message strong - education is the key to threat mitigation.
InfoSec14
InfoSec14,
 User Rank: Apprentice
8/19/2014 | 7:40:20 PM
Re: Interesting
@RiskIQBlogger,McAfee rehearses a few lines of BS and repeats it ad infinitum. Look at his recent interviews on Fox and Bloomberg West, exact same blah blah blah followed by completely irrelevant. He is no more than an advertisement for Smart Phone apps he is offering while in the same breath he tells you to quit using smart phones. He has become so confused by his own contradictions that he is contradicting himself. You mention he was a Genius for building McAfee Antivirus and cashing out in 1994 for 100 million bucks. On the flip side a foole and his money soon be at debate. He lost every dime he had in less than 20 years - That's not genius, smart or wise. That's plain stupidity. You using his name to promote your article doesn't make you look any smarter.

 

@Thomas Claburn, Emptor Cavete
soozyg
soozyg,
 User Rank: Apprentice
8/19/2014 | 6:55:06 PM
email has flags
Phishing and malware emails have flags if you know how to look for them. Sometimes there is a word in another color for no reason. Sometimes a word is capped unnecessarily. Sometimes the address says Dear [Name]; (colon is inappropriate).
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