John McAfee dishes on his escape from Belize, past drug use, in new Q&A

Five months after fleeing authorities in Central America who wanted to question him about an unsolved murder, antivirus pioneer John McAfee is revealing what he says are new details about that episode, and his seemingly outrageous life overall. From his current whereabouts in Portland, Oregon, McAfee responded to questions submitted by the readers of tech news aggregator Slashdot, describing in vivid detail a wide range of personal subjects: from his past as a self-described “indiscriminate” drug user and dealer; to his aversion to writing software code; to the forthcoming biography and the movie based on his life.

Importantly, he also attempts to clear up the controversy surrounding a photograph posted by photographers from Vice who were profiling him in Central America. The photo contained metadata that allegedly led authorities to his whereabouts, but McAfee says it was all an accident and that he claimed he manipulated the data himself “to calm things down and to get everyone focused on our need to hastily scram.” Asked by one Slashdot user if he would have done anything differently, McAfee turns philosophical: “You may view my life as chaotic, tragic, comical, whatever,” he writes. “From where I sit it’s a great adventure and an unending mystery. I have no complaints.”