The author of hundreds of articles about spam, internet security, and online consumer protection, McWilliams gained international attention in 2002 when he wrote about the contents of Saddam Hussein's email in-box for Wired News. He has appeared on NBC Nightly News, Fox News, BBC Radio, and NPR's Here and Now and PRI's Marketplace programs, and has been quoted by the International Herald Tribune, the Boston Globe, and the New York Times.