Bonum Certa Men Certa

McAfee Associates Free Software and Anonymity With Crime

Summary: Insecurity firm McAfee, whose record on Free software is appalling (it is Windows-centric for its business), continues years of tradition by slinging mud at Tor

TECHRIGHTS regards and has for many years considered McAfee to be a leading source of FUD against Free software. To give a very recent example, McAfee is connected to the "VENOM" hype (former management), just like Microsoft.



The latest McAfee FUD targets Tor [1-4]. It's FUD which associates Tor with crime. Framing Tor as a crime tool is like framing kitchen knives as weapons for murder, but this kind of characterisation sure fits the current war against Tor (anonymity). The attack on encryption is also on the rise and much of the British media is now spreading propaganda that associates encryption with terrorism. A recent movie that I watched, The Imitation Game, shrewdly associates encryption with the Nazis.

Related/contextual items from the news:


  1. 'Tox' Offers Ransomware As A Service
    The ransomware is free to use but site retains 20 percent of any ransom that is collected, McAfee researcher says.


  2. Almost anyone can make ransomware with this horrifying new program
    We might be entering a whole new era of malware, one where even those who lack any semblance of deep technical expertise will be able to acquire and disseminate viruses and the like on the fly.


  3. Yay for Tor! It's given us RANSOMWARE-as-a-service


  4. Open Source Malware Lets Anyone Hold Computer Users to Ransom
    A free collection of files has been discovered that aids in the creation of ransomware; the process of encrypting the contents of someone's computer until they pay to have it unlocked. Set your price and away you go.


Recent Techrights' Posts

Daniel Pocock as Independent Candidate, Now in The London Standard
"Daniel Pocock is an independent candidate."
Andy Burnham as National Leader Would be Excellent for Techrights
Burnham has envisioned a British "centre of power" (or gravity) that moves northwards, isn't concentrated in the southeast anymore
In Defence of Courts' Privacy Policies
If you want friends, go offline. Meet real people and share real experiences.
Why I Quit Academic Career (or Academia) Nearly 15 Years Ago
I am told by people who stayed that it has only gotten worse
EPO "Cocaine Communication Manager" - Part XV - Nazi-Like Thinking at the European Patent Office (EPO) Not a Thing of the Past
antisemitism inside the EPO
Daniel Pocock Running for Office Again, Clacton-on-Sea By-election
By-election - code name "Pocock-on-Sea"
Links 17/07/2026: Microsoft is Cutting OneDrive Coverage, Larry Ellison Sued by Paramount Investor
Links for the day
 
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 17, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, July 17, 2026
Gemini Links 18/07/2026: A Manifesto by The Dissident, Shokz Headphones, and Gemini Tinylog Reader (GTL)
Links for the day
IBM Already Tentatively Down for Next Week (Monday) After Its Worst-Ever Week
What a week for IBM!
Links 17/07/2026: Protests Erupt Throughout Ukraine and Anthropic Caught Secretly Spying on Users
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/07/2026: "Silence Doesn't Mean Abandoned", Revisiting PalmOS in 2026
Links for the day
Farage Out, Daniel Pocock in?
Can Pocock beat his previous voting record?
Layoffs at Microsoft Are Massive, Go Under the Radar for the Most Part
Microsoft is in a really bad shape
One Heck of a Week for IBM, the 'Grandpa' of 'High-Tech', International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) Under Investigation by Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC
If IBM gets busted or might be busted, will the CEO jump, get pushed, or be arrested?
“Why Open Source Misses the Point of Free Software”
As Dr. Richard Stallman once put it
GNU/Linux Grows at the Expense of Microsoft Windows in Croatia, Now Close to 8%
Croatia has been mentioned a lot lately in relation to EPO "lobbying" (vote-rigging)
27-Year IBM Veteran on IBM: "Worse than the Titanic and Perhaps Just Like Madoff, Enron, etc."
several comments we saw today envisioned the CEO of IBM in an orange suit (in US prison)
ServiceNow/ServiceLine and Slop at the EPO is Becoming a Health Risk to Staff
PD44 has historically been the oppressor at the EPO
IBM Can Burn Pensioners to Appease Wall Street and Protect the Billionaire CEO With His Humongous Bonuses
Its stock it set to open 2.82% in the red
IBM SHAREHOLDER INVESTIGATION: Potential Securities Claims Involving International Business Machines (IBM)
there's a risk of criminal action against executives
Tux Machines Moving Onwards and Upwards
"...tasks expand to fill the time available"
The Register MS is Publishing Spam for Gartner Group to Spread Hype About "AI", Mentioned 30 Times in the Paid (Fake) Article
One sure thing is, the so-called 'tech media' is profoundly compromised by American corporations
"Market Share" of GNU/Linux Nearly Trebled in Cambodia This Month
GNU/Linux is still measured at 8% by statCounter
GitHub is Dying (Traffic Down Despite Bots and Slop), Microsoft Will Eventually Cull it - Just Like XBox - to Limit the Losses
Do not stay on GitHub (Microsoft) under the false assumption that it is "free hosting" or will always be around
Teaser: Daniel Pocock is About to Go Mainstream Again
Stay tuned, Pocock has something in store
Microsoft Has Just Been Sued Over Layoffs
If the rumours are true, there is yet another wave of layoffs at Microsoft
Richard Stallman Always Cautioned, Upfront, That His Political Views Were Wholly Separate From His Scientific Work or GNU
Notice that he already spoke a lot about politics
Nichirei and Asahi Beer Need to Take Cyberattacks as Hint of Opportunity to Move to Free Software
Windows TCO
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 16, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, July 16, 2026
Gemini Links 17/07/2026: Sunlight in the Clouds, Techno-Therapy, and Sloppifying Original Text
Links for the day
Links 16/07/2026: Slop Recognised as a Waste of Energy, Hong Kong Cracking Down on Dissent/Opposition Some More
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Approaching 5% "Market Share" in Oceania, Almost Trebling in 12 Months
It is difficult to ignore the gains made by GNU/Linux this month
Microsoft Whistleblowers Explain How Brutal the Latest Cull is (Layoffs in Seconds-Long Calls, Mass Elimination of Whole Studios and High-Level Officials)
we see anonymous leakers or whistleblowers in the media today
Gemini Links 16/07/2026: esp32-gemserv, Slop-Contaminated Free Software, and Moving Systems
Links for the day
Last Summer Microsoft Mass Layoffs Came in Two Large Waves, Rumours Say Next Week Another Large Wave is Coming
If many more Microsoft layoffs are formally admitted next week we will not be surprised
Tomorrow is Another Strike Day at Europe's Second-Largest Institution, the Media is Still Deliberately Ignoring It
Fridays are now recommended “anchor days" for EPO strikes
Public Interest News Foundation Shows News Drought or News Deserts in the United Kingdom
Public Interest News Foundation shows that we should be deeply concerned
Illusions of Choice
Choices can be differently bad or equally bad
Windows Down to 10% in India
Windows is a "burning platform"
One Year Has Passed
Our aim is to repair an injured system wherein "abuse of process" can be turned into a weapon, leveraged even by foreigners who are funded by affluent third parties
Techrights is Annoying People Who Work for (and Serve) People Who Annoy (and Abuse) Society
Working against us (instead of with us) has historically been a bad strategy
No Skinnerboxes, No Slop, No False Idols or Corporate Prophets
Torvalds does not understand the everyday struggles of tech workers and tech users because he is a millionaire
IBM's Next Stop: $199 (Market Cap Already Under 2.5 Times IBM's Debt)
Don't rush to call us "sensationalist" over it
Links 16/07/2026: Solar Greenwashing by Energy-Wasting GAFAM and Growing Concerns About Harm by Social Control Media
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/07/2026: Photography, Agility, and "Today I have Truly Become a Linux User."
Links for the day
Rebellion Brewing at Microsoft
As always, we welcome Microsoft whistleblowers
Technology Against Human Nature
Losing a sense of what it means to be alive
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 15, 2026
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 15, 2026