--- title: Software Magnate John McAfee Is Running for President description: Anti-virus software maker John McAfee is running for President, he confirmed on Tuesday. canonical: https://time.com/4025991/john-mcafee-running-for-president/ author: Jack Linshi article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-09T01:07:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:48.666Z article:section: Politics og:title: Anti-Virus Software Maker John McAfee Is Running for President og:description: He created his own party called the Cyber Party og:url: https://time.com/4025991/john-mcafee-running-for-president/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta30b2e036004ea31/698862aacd1bbaee906fd128/john-mcafee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: John McAfee og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Anti-Virus Software Maker John McAfee Is Running for President twitter:description: He created his own party called the Cyber Party twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta30b2e036004ea31/698862aacd1bbaee906fd128/john-mcafee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Anti-Virus Software Maker John McAfee Is Running for President > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden [Watch (HLS stream): Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cxBatp7g.m3u8) (2:26)  _Published 2013-12-11. TIME's Michael Scherer explains why NSA leaker Edward Snowden is on the short list for the 2013 TIME Person of the Year._  by [Jack Linshi](https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Sep 9, 2015 1:07 AM UTC  Antivirus pioneer John McAfee poses for a photograph in Montreal on Aug. 24, 2013. Antivirus pioneer John McAfee poses for a photograph in Montreal on Aug. 24, 2013.Graham Hughes—AP  by [Jack Linshi](https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/)  ## Jack Linshi Sep 9, 2015 1:07 AM UTC 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.” McAfee, who teased the [official announcement](https://twitter.com/officialmcafee/status/641389355337162752) on his Twitter, said he decided to run after encouragement from “almost everyone” he knew, [CNNMoney reports](http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/08/news/john-mcafee-for-president/index.html?sr=fbmoney090815mcafee730story). The self-described “eccentric millionaire,” known for [a strange run-in with authorities in Belize](http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/12/3760192/john-mcafee-run-from-the-law) 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. “I have a huge underground following on the web,” he said. “I promise you I will win because I have the votes.” McAfee said he made his presidential bid official by filing the required documents with the Federal Elections Commission, though the agency could not confirm the software developer had filed necessary paperwork. \[[CNN](http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/08/news/john-mcafee-for-president/index.html?sr=fbmoney090815mcafee730story)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4025991/john-mcafee-running-for-president/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4025991/john-mcafee-running-for-president/"},"headline":"Anti-Virus Software Maker John McAfee Is Running for President","datePublished":"2015-09-09T01:07:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:41:48.666Z","description":"His candidacy will focus on privacy rights","url":"https://time.com/4025991/john-mcafee-running-for-president/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta30b2e036004ea31/698862aacd1bbaee906fd128/john-mcafee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jack Linshi","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jack-linshi/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta30b2e036004ea31/698862aacd1bbaee906fd128/john-mcafee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"John McAfee","caption":"John McAfee","creditText":"Graham Hughes—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4025991/john-mcafee-running-for-president/","name":"Anti-Virus Software Maker John McAfee Is Running for President"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden","description":"TIME's Michael Scherer explains why NSA leaker Edward Snowden is on the short list for the 2013 TIME Person of the Year.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/cxBatp7g/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-12-11T12:42:24.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cxBatp7g.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4025991/john-mcafee-running-for-president/","duration":"PT2M26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4025991/john-mcafee-running-for-president/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```