LAS VEGAS (AP) — Intel Corp., the world's largest maker of computer processors, says its processors are now free of minerals from mines held by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 
 
 Intel CEO Brian Krzanich talks about materials used to make Intel microprocessors during a keynote address at the International Consumer Electronics Show, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julie... (Associated Press) 
 
 It's the first major U.S. technology company to make such a claim about its products. It's the fruit of four years of work by the company to determine the sources of four crucial metals widely used in electronics manufacturing: tantalum, tungsten, tin and gold. 
 
 Eastern Congo is rich in minerals, and economic activity other than mining has been disrupted by nearly two decades of fighting between the government, rogue soldiers and different ethnic groups. There's been widespread concern that foreign purchases of minerals from mines held by armed groups are fueling the conflict, though many experts say the minerals are not the root cause of the fighting. 
 
 Intel CEO Brian Krzanich made the announcement Monday in a keynote speech ahead of the opening of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. 
 
 A U.S. law passed in 2010 requires U.S. public companies to report whether their products contain minerals from rebel-held mines in Congo. Compliance is difficult for many electronics manufacturers, since a single product like a cellphone can contain components from hundreds or thousands of suppliers. Intel relies on relatively few suppliers for its chips. 
 
 There's been concern that the law has amounted to a de facto embargo on minerals exports from an area with millions of people living at a subsistence level. Carolyn Duran, manager of Intel's "conflict minerals" program said that Intel still buys minerals from the region, as long as it's comfortable the mines are in good hands. 
 
 "We are not intending to leave the region behind," Duran said. ||||| When you think of McAfee, you might think of the Intel-owned antivirus software company, or you might think of the former druggie and part-time fugitive who founded that company over 20 years ago. Or perhaps both. Either way, Intel is attempting to sever that inconvenient association. At CES 2014 in Las Vegas, the company has announced that it will be phasing out the McAfee brand name for its security software in favor of the simpler "Intel Security." According to an Intel representative, the company named McAfee will still stick around as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intel, but the software rebranding will begin immediately. The company estimates it may take a year to complete. 
 
 Out of all the things that John McAfee has done that may or may not create negative associations with the McAfee brand name, this might have been the most direct: a viral video John McAfee released in June of last year, entitled "How To Uninstall McAfee Antivirus" and filled with drugs, guns, and profanity. You have been warned. 
 
 Update: John McAfee tells the BBC that he's pleased by the decision. "I am now everlastingly grateful to Intel for freeing me from this terrible association with the worst software on the planet. These are not my words, but the words of millions of irate users. My elation at Intel's decision is beyond words."
– It seems Intel has decided to put a little distance between itself and John McAfee, founder of the Intel-owned McAfee antivirus software. After a troubled year for the millionaire, Intel took to this year's Consumer Electronics Show to announce it will be immediately swapping the McAfee brand name with "Intel Security," the Verge reports; the McAfee company itself will keep its original name. But that was just one announcement from Intel yesterday: It also declared its processors are now made without minerals from mines held by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That makes Intel the first big US tech company to tout that claim, the AP notes, amid concerns that the purchase of such minerals would only increase the conflict in the DRC. Intel spent four years figuring out where its metals used in electronics manufacturing—including tantalum, tungsten, tin, and gold—came from, but that doesn't mean all DRC minerals are out of the equation. "We are not intending to leave the region behind," Intel's "conflict minerals" program manager said, adding that minerals from mines in good hands are fair game.