Anti-virus Pioneer John McAfee: Your Phone May Be Snooping On You

Computer security pioneer John McAfee pulls out his cell phone to stare at a notification on the screen.

“It says something changed in my account, please press next,” McAfee says. “I have the best (security) habits in the world and I cannot keep my phone secure.”

McAfee, whose name became synonymous with antivirus protection, says he’s no longer as worried about computer security. Now, he says, the danger comes from the camera and microphones we carry everywhere in our pockets, attached to our smartphones. It’s a “trivial” matter, he says, for a hacker to remotely and secretly turn on a phone’s sensors.

Think about that the next time you’re having a supposedly private conversation in your office, your phone sitting on the desk, he says. McAfee says he’s accustomed to the idea that potentially hundreds of people are listening to every conversation he has, and that his emails are widely snooped upon.

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