playing with Microsoft's Recall: TotalRecall

[madires]

TotalRecall: https://github.com/xaitax/TotalRecall

This very simple tool extracts and displays data from the Recall feature in Windows 11, providing an easy way to access information about your PC's activity snapshots.

[SiliconWizard]

Very nice idea.

[3roomlab]

this just blew my mind

Every few seconds, screenshots are taken. These are automatically OCR’d by Azure AI, running on your device, and written into an SQLite database in the user’s folder.

[magic]

Another day in Big Tech

Q. Are Microsoft a big, evil company?

A. No, [...]

[SiliconWizard]

Every few seconds, screenshots are taken. These are automatically OCR’d by Azure AI, running on your device, and written into an SQLite database in the user’s folder.

I don't understand the above statement. Isn't Azure a cloud service, and so is Azure AI? How can it be "running on your device"?

[Nominal Animal]

Every few seconds, screenshots are taken. These are automatically OCR’d by Azure AI, running on your device, and written into an SQLite database in the user’s folder.

I don't understand the above statement. Isn't Azure a cloud service, and so is Azure AI? How can it be "running on your device"?

Shh!  The Train is leaving the Station, and you're gonna be left behind if you ask questions.  Better just hop on board!

[SiliconWizard]

Every few seconds, screenshots are taken. These are automatically OCR’d by Azure AI, running on your device, and written into an SQLite database in the user’s folder.

I don't understand the above statement. Isn't Azure a cloud service, and so is Azure AI? How can it be "running on your device"?

Shh!  The Train is leaving the Station, and you're gonna be left behind if you ask questions.  Better just hop on board!

No problem, I prefer flying anyway.

[Marco]

Google is working on something similar, not because of the imagined nefarious reasons, but because it's a great idea.

Once the dust has settled, Apple will do it too. They will have some extra sham encryption on disk with keys hidden from the owner, for PR reasons after learning from Microsoft, because in a world where it's necessary to bash Microsoft keeping the data on the computer you own slightly hidden from you the owner is supposedly good. Of course data will be unencrypted in memory (they aren't complete DRM machines yet either, so there is no alternative) but no one will bother extracting it.

Yes admins can get all your shit, like they can do any way. Yes if you get hacked and the hacker has admin rights that includes them. Yes, it's still a great idea. Recall is local and has got little to do with Azure.

[Nominal Animal]

the imagined nefarious reasons

Pretty small-minded response from you on this, I have to admit.

Some of us consider their business model, making their users' information and behaviour the product they sell, the nefarious bit.  As that is clearly expressed in their business statements, it is not "imagined" at all.

Fortunately, Microsoft, Apple, and Google/Alphabet, are not the only sources of operating systems one can choose from nowadays.

I for one am very happy that there is the GNU project, the FreeBSD and OpenBSD projects, and a few other smaller OS projects of all sorts.  It is all about end user options and freedom of choice, to implement whatever workflow suits their needs best.

[DiTBho]

Microsoft - that's what I got from their talks - is investing in A.I. as the want to integrate "chatgpt" into Windows.

[madires]

After "listening to their customers" Microsoft will change Recall from opt-out to opt-in: Update on the Recall preview feature for Copilot+ PCs (https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2024/06/07/update-on-the-recall-preview-feature-for-copilot-pcs/).

I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft will try other means to push Recall or revert it back to opt-out after the dust has settled.

BTW, Adobe are also facing a shitstorm after changing their terms and conditions to scan their customer's content stored in their cloud platform. Customers fear that Adobe will use that content to train their AI. The scanning could be just for illegal content, but the wording seems to leave a backdoor for more.

Edit:
Microsoft improves AI feature Recall and adds "security measures" – is that enough? (https://borncity.com/win/2024/06/08/microsoft-improves-ai-function-recall-and-adds-security-measures-is-that-enough/, adblocker recommended)

[magic]

How many years till Clippy pops up and shows you affiliate links to order things you looked at?
 

There has to be some purpose to it, right?

[coppercone2]

 lmfao trench coat clippy and warez. that little hustler has cheap viagra. he wants to sell some to that neighbor you let write a letter on your computer.

give me 500 bucks and ill go away you degenerate prick
-Clippy Spilotro

[Marco]

Microsoft improves AI feature Recall and adds "security measures" – is that enough?

To be clear, the security being complained about was people being able to see the data as admin ... cause that's somehow outrageous, you'd almost think the admin can't trivially screenscrape users to begin with ...

[magic]

Normally admin access isn't enough to see your past.

With Recall you will need to constanty act as if somebody is looking at your screen, because at any point in any distant future you may leave the machine unattended and unlocked or get hacked and then somebody actually will. No "unhiding" passwords, no watching things you wouldn't want your wife to know you watched (think eBay offers ), and so on. This thing has absolutely no concept of what should or shouldn't be remembered, it just saves everything indiscriminately and stores it forever.

[Marco]

Except for your non deleted browser history and email, together with stored passwords and form autofill. Afterwards they can leave surveillance behind, you're screwed regardless.

[golden_labels]

Fortunately, Microsoft, Apple, and Google/Alphabet, are not the only sources of operating systems one can choose from nowadays.

I for one am very happy that there is the GNU project, the FreeBSD and OpenBSD projects, and a few other smaller OS projects of all sorts.  It is all about end user options and freedom of choice, to implement whatever workflow suits their needs best.

Let me remind you, that lawmakers and authorities are completely oblivious to this concept of freedom.

[Nominal Animal]

Fortunately, Microsoft, Apple, and Google/Alphabet, are not the only sources of operating systems one can choose from nowadays.

I for one am very happy that there is the GNU project, the FreeBSD and OpenBSD projects, and a few other smaller OS projects of all sorts.  It is all about end user options and freedom of choice, to implement whatever workflow suits their needs best.

Let me remind you, that lawmakers and authorities are completely oblivious to this concept of freedom.

Not exactly so.  We do still have parts in the government that pushes for open standards, transparency in governance, and so on –– even though they are losing, and the "everyone (except me) must be tracked 24/7" crowd is winning.

I wonder if the Recall feature includes a mouse tracker and a keylogger?

[magic]

Anything of value exist regardless of or despite "lawmakers and government", not because of them, so who cares what they think