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Giving Windows total recall is a privacy minefield (www.theregister.com)

submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/technology

84 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Microsoft's Windows Recall feature is attracting controversy before even venturing out of preview.

Microsoft said in its FAQs that its snapshotting feature will vacuum up sensitive information: "Recall does not perform content moderation. It will not hide information such as passwords or financial account numbers. That data may be in snapshots stored on your device, especially when sites do not follow standard internet protocols like cloaking password entry."

Mozilla's Chief Product Officer Steve Teixeira told The Register: "Mozilla is concerned about Windows Recall. From a browser perspective, some data should be saved, and some shouldn't.

Jake Moore, Global Cybersecurity Advisor at ESET, noted that while the feature is not on by default, its use "opens up another avenue for criminals to attack."

Moore warned that "users should be mindful of allowing any content to be analysed by AI algorithms for a better experience."

Cybersecurity expert Kevin Beaumont was scathing in his assessment of the technology, writing: "In essence, a keylogger is being baked into Windows as a feature."

AI expert Gary Marcus was blunter: "F^ck that. I don't want my computer to spy on everything I ever do."

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (4 children)

What's the point of this feature ? If it were not evil, what problem would it solve ? How often do you go to your PC and think "what was that thing I saw but never thought to create a bookmark or save the link/image".

Even if people use it, it would be for something they missed because they thought it was unimportant or didn't interest them, which is a very rare use case.

And still it is a highlight feature !

I wonder if it is lack of ideas or lack of commitment to create a good idea , given a technology, when these kinds of useless features are launched.

[–] NutWrench 25 points 6 months ago

I can't think of a single reason why I would need detailed snapshots of everything I did with my own computer.

But I can think of plenty of reasons why corporations, advertisers and governments would want that.

[–] JeffreyOrange 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I can't remember the last time Microsoft Imolemented a good idea into windows other than small UI changes.

[–] br3d 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Windows 11 has better window shadows than Windows 10. That is literally the only improvement I've found

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago

Use case: I remember doing something yesterday about this, but I can't find the email/document/etc.

But I honestly don't think the value outweighs the cost, so if I still used Windows, this would absolutely be something that drives me away.

[–] Lost_My_Mind 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Just do what video game companies do. They have an old game. It runs on old hardware. Some parts of the game feel very outdated in modern day. So they update the graphics, retool some outdated game mechanics, update it's availability to run modern hardware.

They take 20 year old games, update them, and then sell it back to you at full price as a remaster.

I guess what I'm saying is........forget trying NEW ideas. Just give us Windows XP 2.0 that works on modern hardware with ongoing security updates.

That's all anyone wants.

[–] JustARegularNerd 4 points 6 months ago

The thought of Microsoft remastering XP scares me, you and I both know they'd still be throwing Copilot into it.