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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

#231

Post by INGSOCIALITE »

GordonS wrote: post #110
herf wrote: post #58

It's interesting to compare this to the Chrome/Safari/Edge browsing history, which is stored in an unencrypted SQLite database, and tracks what you do for the last 90 days. It's just a bit less visual, Incognito/Private modes work, and some users clear it more often. But a whole lot of the surveillance attacks people imagine about Recall apply just the same to the browser. I think it's the "little brother" casual att…

Your browsing history is unlikely to contain personal information, secrets, porn images etc. And if you use Chrome, they get your full browsing history by default. I get your point, but Microsoft's Recall can capture anything onscreen - emails, personal info, porn, passwords and the like. And it feels, bizarrely for 2024, that little thought has gone into privacy or security.

on the contrary, i think a LOT of thought went into privacy and security. specifically, how to ignore and bypass it.

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

#232

Post by sseagull »

A4ET8a8uTh0 wrote: post #207
sseagull wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ab…

I think you have a point there. Would you accept reverse engineering[1] as a more accurate term instead of cracking? We are in the same boat. I saw the thing pop in my feeds in the past weeks. I skimmed it, thought it was a bad idea, but since I don't have a PC that would be affected, mostly ignored it. I think I only pay more attention today, because it is the weekend and somehow my testing is not ready for me.. [1]…

Ah I see. I guess that came across as criticizing your terminology, but it was more aimed at the general hype around those reverse-engineering articles, which seemed a bit over the top to me :)

Either way, I'm holding off on buying one of these PCs until some real-world info comes out (no one really has this capability yet, so it's all largely speculative).

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

#233

Post by wishfish »

foxandmouse wrote: post #124

Do we know anything about Linux support for Snapdragon X.. Personally, I don't trust Qualcomm with Linux support. Their WiFi adapters don't work properly with Linux. Their mobile SoC that supposedly have mainline support only have the CPU part working, but GPU, modem, Bluetooth, etc. won't. Also, wasn't their history of closed source drivers and their short support timeline was the reason Android devices only ever go…

Here's what Qualcomm is saying: https://www.qualcomm.com/developer/blog/2024/05/upstreaming-...

They claim they're all in on making Linux work seamlessly on the Snapdragon X. I'll leave it up to you on whether or not to believe them.

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

#234

Post by k8svet »

They should've left it disabled, and then "accidentally" enabled it, or nagged people into enabling it. I think it would've boiled the frog slower and been more successful.

Alternative cynical take: they needed to have a compelling story for press/launching the laptops they've been working with software/hardware partners on for years. They got to announce "Copilot+ PCs with Total^H^H^H^H^H Recall"! And now they get to walk it back enough controversy will die down and they can still do the first bit I mentioned. Hm.

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

#235

Post by nottorp »

rchaud wrote: post #137
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…

I've heard Microsoft wants to do away with on-device Windows entirely for consumer devices, and go with a "dumb client" form factor that is always connected to a remote Windows server. I'm not sure who at the org is pushing for this as it would essentially hand the PC games market to SteamOS. I suppose they saw how well it's worked for enterprise customers that essentially already use a Windows VM through Citrix or s…

> as it would essentially hand the PC games market to SteamOS

... or they will just stop developing windows games and do only xbox/playstation games ...

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

#236

Post by Workaccount2 »

ragnese wrote: post #192
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.

I've been running linux (ubuntu) for last 2 years, for the 3rd time in my life.

All I can say is:

Linux does just about everything more efficiently than Windows, but Windows does just about everything better than Linux. What makes Linux so great is also what keeps it perpetually at ~5% adoption.

I'm probably going to go back to Windows again soon. I'm just not interested in needing to learn a bespoke computer language to get the most of of my PC.

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

#237

Post by INGSOCIALITE »

surfingdino wrote: post #209

Only to be enabled by default by the IT department of your mistrusting employer. Microsoft better remove Recall altogether if they want to avoid costly lawsuits.

where they can then verify, minute-by-minute that their remote employees are grinding away for every minute they are paid for. i'm convinced MS has two profit models here: 1) NSA/CIA/FBI/ETC 2) employer monitoring of remote workers.

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

#238

Post by chuckadams »

rvense wrote: post #201
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…

For tech savvy people, it's a bewildering feature. Why would I want some weird unpredictable AI thing when I've already got filesystem search, browser bookmarks, the neatly categorized PDF collection, and my Zettelkästen/2GB Org.mode doc/Joplin notes? But for non-technical people, of course, computers are already unpredictable. They routinely (appear to) misplace files and overwrite them with previous versions, and i…

I’m plenty savvy and I’d like that AI thing. I’d just like it to be more discerning about what it records, and managed in a way that’s not a pinkie-swear promise to protect my privacy. MS has a track record both long and recent that shows they’re not the appropriate stewards of this data. I don’t even see MS as mustache-twirling villains in general, just incompetent at an organizational level to stand up to whatever scheme any individual mustache-twirling marketing middle manager comes up with.

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

#239

Post by k8sToGo »

Foobar8568 wrote: post #203

I am done with Windows, I really love .net, SQL Server, WSL, but I have been burnt on so many of their tools, features etc, Windows 11 was the last straw (task bar unmovable? Are you kidding me? ), and Recall will be the never look back for my personal computing.

Are you switching to Mac?

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

#240

Post by thaumasiotes »

GordonS wrote: post #110
herf wrote: post #58

It's interesting to compare this to the Chrome/Safari/Edge browsing history, which is stored in an unencrypted SQLite database, and tracks what you do for the last 90 days. It's just a bit less visual, Incognito/Private modes work, and some users clear it more often. But a whole lot of the surveillance attacks people imagine about Recall apply just the same to the browser. I think it's the "little brother" casual att…

Your browsing history is unlikely to contain personal information, secrets, porn images etc. And if you use Chrome, they get your full browsing history by default. I get your point, but Microsoft's Recall can capture anything onscreen - emails, personal info, porn, passwords and the like. And it feels, bizarrely for 2024, that little thought has gone into privacy or security.

> Your browsing history is unlikely to contain [...] porn images

Of all the places on your computer that might contain porn images, that would be one of the very top candidates.

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