McAfee Install Base Untouched by COVID-19
In A Bold Move, McAfee CEO Peter Leav, announced to customers that they should not be concerned about their networks and connected devices’ potential exposure to the COVID-19 virus. “ We have not seen a single case of a McAfee protected device showing any indication of infiltration by the COVID-19 virus. We know that the public is very concerned about this global pandemic and how it will impact their daily lives. We want to make sure that they understand McAfee has 100% confidence that none of our current install-base has shown any indication of COVID-19 infiltration,” said Leav.
There was an immediate positive response by both industry and consumers. After hearing the news, 86 year-old Ethal Meyer of Sarasota, Florida, posted on Facebook “My grandkids said that this virus only affects humans but I know that came from bats or a pangolin, whatever that is. Who says it can’t infect my computer, refrigerator or my garbage disposal. Hearing from a computer guy like Mr. Leav makes me feel better.”
Taking an enterprise view of the announcement, Ted Colbert, CIO of Boeing Corporation, stated, “ We are having so many problems with the 737 MAX and the grounding of most of our nation’s air traffic. The last thing we need is a virus in a network.”
Symantec, Trend Micro, and Kysperski have yet to follow with an equivalent announcement leaving some to question what McAfee has that the other anti-virus providers don’t. Some worried consumers have been taking drastic and untested measures to protect their computers from this virus, sometimes resulting in serious consequences. It was reported that Cyrus Whittle, of Shawnee Oklahoma, dipped his laptop in a bathtub filled with water and a 10% bleach solution killing him instantly, having forgotten to unplug it first. When asked about the Whittle incident, Leav responded “We are doing everything we can to get people to know how easy it is to download and install our product. Until the word gets out, accidents are going to happen. Our hopes and prayers go out to the Whittle family.”