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TotalRecall: Extracts and displays data from the Windows 11 Recall feature

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Re: TotalRecall: Extracts and displays data from the Windows 11 Recall feature

#91
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weren't were told it was encrypted and that this sort of access wouldn't be possible?

Can you quote anything? I don't remember microsoft saying you couldn't access your own data. The fact that a different user can get to it so easily is bad though. And the FAQ claims that remote access is possible but does not elaborate, so that's confusing.

> The fact that a different user can get to it so easily is bad though.

This is what I was referring to. The data this collects is of high sensitivity and value. It will, without question, be targeted aggressively. It needs to be handled accordingly.

While I think that this service is dangerous and misguided and shouldn't be used by most people, I would hope that Microsoft would at least be a whole lot more careful about protecting those who do.

About being encrypted, here are quotes from Microsoft docs (https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/windows/privacy-and-cont...):

> Recall processes your content locally on the Copilot+ PC and securely stores it on your device

While it doesn't use the word "encrypted" here, "stores securely" certainly implies that.

> Snapshots are encrypted by Device Encryption or BitLocker, which are enabled by default on Windows 11.

Here is where they say encrypted. They also say it's just from BitLocker, which means it's not really encrypted in the sense that security-minded people would assume (encrypted separately from the whole-disk encryption). I also think most laypeople won't really understand what this means.

Re: TotalRecall: Extracts and displays data from the Windows 11 Recall feature

#92

Security aside, I'm genuinely unsure what problem Recall is even meant to solve. Like most AI products and features announced over the past 18 months, it feels like a bunch of product people got into a meeting where they looked at the capabilities of the latest OpenAI model and then started spitballing feature ideas based not on user needs but on what GPTs can do. "Oh, these models can do OCR... why don't we screensh…

> Security aside, I'm genuinely unsure what problem Recall is even meant to solve.

The same problem as https://atuin.sh/ but for everything rather than just shell command history.

Re: TotalRecall: Extracts and displays data from the Windows 11 Recall feature

#93

Security aside, I'm genuinely unsure what problem Recall is even meant to solve. Like most AI products and features announced over the past 18 months, it feels like a bunch of product people got into a meeting where they looked at the capabilities of the latest OpenAI model and then started spitballing feature ideas based not on user needs but on what GPTs can do. "Oh, these models can do OCR... why don't we screensh…

I think this is the feature everybody wants. Not in Windows, not from Microsoft, probably not yet, but it is so obvious and useful that I'm sure this will be a default thing for a future human. Imagine never forgetting anything. That tune, what your spouse told you to get, a meeting summary, recall or replay a dear memory. People _without_ this ability would be outliers and strangely left behind. I know there was a B…

> Imagine never forgetting anything

You mean imagine forgetting everything because you don't need to remember anything since that is done by your personal agent - until the battery is dead, the model crashes, your neurocannula gets clogged, an EMP takes out your memory module or an update accidentally wipes your life.

Dear Mr. Poisonborz,

During a routine update of your MegaMind Ti666GX module a mishap occurred which wiped the module and its cloud backup clean. Since you did not purchase the optional MindCare insurance and there does not seem to be a recent off-line backup we are sad to inform you that your life's experiences have been lost for good. To make up for this inconvenience we can offer you a 1 year free MyStorey subscription which will help you fill in the blanks using our state of the art Experiencer technology - just tell it what you want to remember and it will create the memory for you.

Re: TotalRecall: Extracts and displays data from the Windows 11 Recall feature

#94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is the feature everybody wants. Not in Windows, not from Microsoft, probably not yet, but it is so obvious and useful that I'm sure this will be a default thing for a future human. Imagine never forgetting anything. That tune, what your spouse told you to get, a meeting summary, recall or replay a dear memory. People _without_ this ability would be outliers and strangely left behind. I know there was a B…

> Imagine never forgetting anything You mean imagine forgetting everything because you don't need to remember anything since that is done by your personal agent - until the battery is dead, the model crashes, your neurocannula gets clogged, an EMP takes out your memory module or an update accidentally wipes your life. Dear Mr. Poisonborz, During a routine update of your MegaMind Ti666GX module a mishap occurred which…

You assume this has to be some convoluted black box, a proprietary service on some corporate servers, but people are not stupid, not after what happened in the last decade - look how even leading LLMs become local-first and offline already. The stored data should also remain simple - images, text files, video.

Re: TotalRecall: Extracts and displays data from the Windows 11 Recall feature

#96

Security aside, I'm genuinely unsure what problem Recall is even meant to solve. Like most AI products and features announced over the past 18 months, it feels like a bunch of product people got into a meeting where they looked at the capabilities of the latest OpenAI model and then started spitballing feature ideas based not on user needs but on what GPTs can do. "Oh, these models can do OCR... why don't we screensh…

I think this is the feature everybody wants. Not in Windows, not from Microsoft, probably not yet, but it is so obvious and useful that I'm sure this will be a default thing for a future human. Imagine never forgetting anything. That tune, what your spouse told you to get, a meeting summary, recall or replay a dear memory. People _without_ this ability would be outliers and strangely left behind. I know there was a B…

Have you ever heard about notes...

Re: TotalRecall: Extracts and displays data from the Windows 11 Recall feature

#97
post #49
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's more than just browser history. What if the screenshot that is safed is taken while you have a password in plain sight? Companies will use it to check on their employees. Hackers will get material to extort you. "Interesting porn you watched three weeks ago". No need to caught you in the act. It's enough to get access some time later. Abusers can control their partners.

When do you have a password in plain sight? On the other hand, a key logger that extracts the passphrase for my password manager and steals the database file of it would be a disaster. I’d rather have an attacker browse through years of screenshots.

Oh, why care about key loggers. They are rare. On the other hand, a serially killer in my house would kill me literally!

Re: TotalRecall: Extracts and displays data from the Windows 11 Recall feature

#98
post #56

Security aside, I'm genuinely unsure what problem Recall is even meant to solve. Like most AI products and features announced over the past 18 months, it feels like a bunch of product people got into a meeting where they looked at the capabilities of the latest OpenAI model and then started spitballing feature ideas based not on user needs but on what GPTs can do. "Oh, these models can do OCR... why don't we screensh…

I agree completely. The AI rush feels exactly identical to the cryptocurrency rush where people saw a novel technology and started trying to find a problem to solve with it. It feels like it's going nowhere fast, at least to me. The overlap between tasks that are important, time-consuming, amenable to AI and also non-critical enough that I can tolerate serious errors in the output seems very small.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/24/greywing-seagpt/

This helps container ships operate. Errors matter here. They solved them. Please show me where the scam is here?

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