Intel will be distancing itself from the name of its top security product, McAfee. Intel purchased McAfee in 2010 and has seen the name dragged through the mud thanks to the misadventures of the company's original founder, John McAfee.
Intel will be keeping the McAfee logo, the red shield icon, but will be known instead as Intel Security. The announcement was made on Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
John McAfee started the antivirus firm in 1987 as McAfee Associates and left in 1994 with about $100 million to show for his efforts. He stated in the headlines for years following his departure from the company with his wild millionaire antics such as flying in small open-cockpit kite-planes, escaping a wrongful death lawsuit by fleeing to Belize and even starting a bacteria-research lag in the jungles of Central America.
According to CNNMoney, McAfee said back in 2012 that it had no plans to change the McAfee name because "customers understand the separation that takes place." However, given Monday's announcement the logic behind that decision has clearly been rethought. The turnaround was expected since last month when McAfee Chief Marketing Officer Penny Baldwin mentioned in an interview that the company would see a "massive change" in "packaging and names."
In 2012, John McAfee's neighbor in Belize was found dead from a bullet wound to the back of the head. McAfee went on the run, blogging and giving secret press interviews the whole way. He was eventually jailed in Guatemala where he faked a heart attack and was deported to Miami. Soon after he posted a video of himself in Portland Ore., in which he trashed his namesake company. He was surrounded by guns, drugs and scantily clad women in the video, which you can see below (WARNING, it contains graphic images and language and is not safe for children or in the workplace).
The company had been keeping an eye on McAfee's antics and its impact on how customers perceive the product.
"I really am elated beyond description," he said of the change to the company's brand name. "Everyone things I've written the worst software in the world. But I've had nothing to do with the company for 20 years."
