I'll grant that there is some non-zero chance that his involvement will bring the darknet more into the mainstream conversation. But the conversation has been going on for along time before the Snowden releases began. By no means do I intend to communicate any sort of approval of the NSA and its tactics. But I have to wonder if having a person like McAfee involved with darknet tech will only serve to discredit.
I definitely see your point, but I think that targeting college students is a good marketing tactic. Yes, there has been a lot of discussion and talk of using VPNs and Tor and whatever, but to market something to a specific portion of the public that can be used with minimal knowledge of technology might be cause for worry. McAfee is a shit-starter and maybe he's just shit-talking, but who knows? He might actually be out to start some shit this time. All of this is in the realm of the unlikely but if it isn't all shit, then it stands to reason that someone will want to get in on the action and produce a competing product, no?