Recall remains a phenomenally bad idea. I don't understand why anyone would green light it.
this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2024
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And if that doesn't convince you: $$$$$.
It sounds like a great idea if you don't think too long about it and none else has it yet. People like that don't care about security or privacy concerns, as long as there is no law against it. Gotta earn money and the competition is fierce.
And with "people" I mean executives just as much as engineers. Gotta earn money fast > being ethically aware of the implications of your work
I guess. I mean I immediately thought "I don't want it capturing the porn I look at", but maybe people really don't think about privacy at all.
I don't really see how it makes money, since it's bundled into windows (right?).
It makes money the same way anything like this makes money: selling your data. Maybe it improves ad revenue by giving more relevant ads, or maybe they'll just outright sell your info.
That said, porn is the least of your worries here, I'm thinking it might scrape sensitive info like social security numbers, bank logins, etc, and an attacker then scrapes Recall to get all of it and now you're screwed.
I feel like it should be illegal to sell user information like that, but clearly I don't make the laws.
But yes that's a good point that stealing bank info is worse than porn preferences. Though the way things are going, looking at gay stuff might be a hazard in some parts of the US.
Man, what a stupid dystopia this is.
I wish the 4A protections also applied to private businesses. We absolutely need a law to that effect.
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Lol it’s like the old screen-cap malware/viruses from the XP days, except M$ is doing it for “legit” reasons.
well of course it does. There is no way for it to know what it is capturing. Best it can do is capture it, and maybe discard it if it manages to detect any sensitive info. Which won't work every time
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Doesn't surprise me one iota. This is why I will be abandoning Windows next year and moving to Linux and doing the same for my parents.
Why wait? Hell, you can test out a live distro in a virtual machine to start learning about it right now before taking the big leap. Unless you're already familiar with Linux anyways. 🐧
Indeed I am. I already have a dual-boot setup on my laptop (not yet on my desktop) but need to finish testing Linux alternatives and/or running under WINE for some of my Windows-only software. I've been slowly chipping away at that over the past few months and expect to continue to do so over the next few as well, after which I hope to be ready to completely switch over.
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I hope the transition goes smoothly for you!
Same boat! I've switched over two of my lesser used devices to Mint already (an old surface tablet and my work laptop), only hesitation is with my gaming machine. Everything has been set up just how I like it so I'm not eager to start from scratch there but once I'm confident and comfortable on my work laptop I'll make the switch there too
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The only way it could possibly censor sensitive information is if it captured it in the first place and then determined that it was in a sensitive category and then censored it. Recall still has to capture it first to make that determination.
I don't understand why this isn't everyone's immediate thought after hearing Microsoft say their system would censor sensitive information. How could it possibly know what to censor without reading it first? Of course it's going to invade your privacy, and then maybe they'll selectively delete some of it when you ask them to.
I wouldn't be surprised if it all gets uploaded to cloud storage first, and then the "sensitive" stuff gets deleted from the local storage only.
Im always astounded at how tech companies swing between 'for your convenience' and 'for your security/ privacy', and how often users just take them at their word, then wonder why the noose on the neck of their personal choices and freedoms keep getting tighter and tighter.
PSA - It's probably gonna capture religious and political affiliations and weird pornography fetishes, too. Lol.
As was mentioned, it's just a bad idea.
Edit: Here's a particularly cynical prediction: Joe Consumer angry to learn that Recall backups were used to lower his credit score, and (incorrectly) deny his insurance claim.
Benefits:
- a little better local search?
Downsides:
- identity theft
- more intrusive ads
- loss of insurance coverage
- ruined relationships
- scammers draining bank accounts
Seems reasonable.
What is the advantage that this is supposed to provide?
Just make a history tab that shows all the programs I've opened and when. I opened them.
The new version of Recall is now opt-in rather than opt-out – I got prompted to enable Recall immediately after installing the Insider Build.
This seems to be the important bit, hopefully it stays opt in.
Narrator: "It didn't"
Oh look! Microsoft is doing the thing they assured us they wouldn't do! What a fucking shocker! What is it, the tenth time this year?
The Windows 11 migration is mandatory, and there is no lube. They’ll gradually lower the tech requirements as it approaches to minimize people looking for alternatives.
But make no mistake, Microsoft is asserting the leverage of its market share for full enshittification. Linux or Mac or eat the shit they’re giving you.
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How does the filter know which information is sensitive...
Surprised pikachu
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