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Microsoft will switch off Recall by default after security backlash

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Re: Microsoft will switch off Recall by default after security backlash

#191

Post by roywiggins »

delecti wrote: post #170
SavageBeast wrote: post #126

In all the MS Recall drama, I've yet to hear or read one single person utter something to the effect of "Wow - great!!! - I've been waiting for something like this for years! This will solve at least one of the major issues I face regularly!". In fact, it seems to me the only people that really want this feature are the ones trying to push it down everyones collective throat. Why is MS pushing something so hard when…

Security nightmare aside, it seems like it would be handy all the time. Surely everyone has had trouble finding a website or document or email again, days or weeks later?

Most or indeed all of that doesn't need screen-scraping though.

Re: Microsoft will switch off Recall by default after security backlash

#192

Post by ragnese »

workfromspace wrote: post #138

It's sad that Microsoft (or any big company) wouldn't take a step back from such privacy intrusive or anti-user behavior unless there's a public backlash. Can't we just have a peaceful life without wasting time on constantly following and analyzing every single move from these companies?

> Can't we just have a peaceful life without wasting time on constantly following and analyzing every single move from these companies?

Not if you're using Microsoft products, no.

People continue to get irritated when "we" do this, but here I go: you should be running Linux exclusively on your personal computers. You should also stop buying "smart" shit.

Re: Microsoft will switch off Recall by default after security backlash

#193

Post by kylehotchkiss »

Recall certainly validates China's government decision to try to get rid of Windows on government computers (https://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-reportedly-seeks-to-...). Of course recall wouldn't have been enabled on those, but the company providing the OS has made it clear they're willing to make such a sloppy attempt to AI all the things

Re: Microsoft will switch off Recall by default after security backlash

#194

Post by chx »

This is nothing.

An abusive spouse will easily switch it to on. It's very likely Windows will downright push you to do so anyways.

How does Microsoft intend to mitigate that harm?

Because AirTags worked out just fine:

> AirTags have been a tool for stalkers and domestic abusers since Apple launched them in 2021. Police records show that this is a problem, and the legal system has failed women who were targeted by stalkers using AirTags. There have been several instances where AirTag stalking has turned violent, and in at least two cases, resulted in the tracker murdering their target.

https://www.404media.co/email/ce4cec4d-51c3-4101-b2b4-2c9a64...

How many women will beaten and murdered because of Recall? Why is it that Microsoft reacts to software security concerns but not to the concerns of women?

Re: Microsoft will switch off Recall by default after security backlash

#195

Post by chucke1992 »

SavageBeast wrote: post #126

In all the MS Recall drama, I've yet to hear or read one single person utter something to the effect of "Wow - great!!! - I've been waiting for something like this for years! This will solve at least one of the major issues I face regularly!". In fact, it seems to me the only people that really want this feature are the ones trying to push it down everyones collective throat. Why is MS pushing something so hard when…

Has the new Copilot devices even launched? Because I don't think that aside journos anybody else has even tried to play with the Recall yet.

Re: Microsoft will switch off Recall by default after security backlash

#196

Post by sseagull »

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #174
sseagull wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> clearly not very well designed and implemented if it took days for it to be cracked on the internet for everyone to see I really don't understand this line of thinking. What was cracked? That the database is readable, unencrypted? How could it be encrypted and usable at the same time? > If I could trust that it STAYS local This I agree with. While it's local now, not trusting MS is a valid belief, given their past…

I am admittedly mildly confused by this response. Do online portals typically use unencrypted passwords? Do they let data flow unecrypted? Are those portals somehow unusable? Could you elaborate a little bit? It is possible I am misunderstanding your point.

I have only been somewhat paying attention, but there were lots of stories about someone "cracking" the implementation of Recall and getting access to the locally-stored database. The criticism is that it is easily accessible, but it's hard for me to imagine it any other way and have it still be useful. It's still encrypted at rest, but must be unencrypted for data to be written to it.

There is plenty to criticize about Microsoft, but that one seems manufactured.

As far as I know, the database is local, and Recall does not use the cloud at all. That also means that you can't view the history from one computer on another. But I agree that trust that it will stay that way is not particularly wise.

Re: Microsoft will switch off Recall by default after security backlash

#197

Post by xattt »

haswell wrote: post #143
nomel wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> that little thought has gone into privacy or security. I think the thought is proportional to the amount of thought a non-tech customer will put into it. Nobody seems to care about or understands privacy these days. Everyone knows they're being tracked everywhere they go physically and on the web. People use their real names, address, etc for every junk service they sign up for, without seeing any reason not to. If…

> I think the thought is proportional to the amount of thought a non-tech customer will put into it. Part of me wonders if this is the consequence of how accessible tech has become, and the prevalence of increasingly non-technical product managers. I'm a former PM, and I'm not here to denigrate the PM role, but the fact that a product like Recall got shipped says a lot about the makeup of the product org that shipped…

> The fact that this got shipped means that multiple levels of leadership either didn't think about the consequences or didn't care about the consequences. I hope it's the former, because that means they can learn from the backlash and hopefully recalibrate.

There was probably from lower decks, where they are closer to reality. However, people are scared for their jobs in this economy and likely didn’t take it farther.

Re: Microsoft will switch off Recall by default after security backlash

#198

Post by haswell »

SavageBeast wrote: post #126

In all the MS Recall drama, I've yet to hear or read one single person utter something to the effect of "Wow - great!!! - I've been waiting for something like this for years! This will solve at least one of the major issues I face regularly!". In fact, it seems to me the only people that really want this feature are the ones trying to push it down everyones collective throat. Why is MS pushing something so hard when…

If I knew that the data could be absolutely kept safe and private to me, I’d love a feature like this. Keeping track of my work over time would be so much easier.

The natural next step is to have a local model trained on everything I’ve ever done, and for all of my computing tasks to be contextual to that history.

I could see this transforming how we use computers.

But I wouldn’t go anywhere near Recall.

I suspect Microsoft is pushing this so hard because they want to do what I just described, and they want to start collecting the data necessary to enable it ASAP.

I can easily see a future capability that people might love that they wouldn’t have even known to ask for. But the way they’re rolling out Recall is certainly not a good foundation.

Re: Microsoft will switch off Recall by default after security backlash

#199

Post by st3ve445678 »

mprime1 wrote: post #160
st3ve445678 wrote: post #141

It could still just be switched on and used to spy on an unknowing spouse for example... its just so creepy. Who asked for this feature?? No one did.

The AI training team asked for this feature (I’m being a bit provocative and assume today it stores locally only but a future TOS change will secretly and “anonymously” upload your data ‘for training purposes’ —- that’s what everyone else is doing these days)

The same thought did cross my mind... would not surprise me.

Re: Microsoft will switch off Recall by default after security backlash

#200

Post by jrepinc »

sharpshadow wrote: post #3

As Opt-In Opt-Out ever mattered on Windows. One tiny update later and your settings are messed up again.

Exactly, even if it shows being turned off you can't be sure it really is. And yeah they have a tendency to secretly turn malicious features on with little updates. One would really be naive to believe them after their past bad behaviour. It is just another step in slowly boiling the frog to death. Maybe it will be off by default only for as long as people get used to it and normalise it and then, next step turn it on again, more quietly of course.
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