microsoft doubles down on recording your screen

Summary

Microsoft's Recall program, which takes screenshots every 5 seconds on co-pilot plus ARM CPUs running Windows, has received updates addressing security concerns. Originally an opt-out feature, it's now opt-in, and database access requires Windows Hello authentication. Despite improvements, privacy issues persist as the program collects metadata that could potentially be exploited. The video discusses these updates and expresses skepticism about the program's intentions, questioning the ethics of AI-driven data collection for personalized ad experiences.

Takeaways

• 😀 Microsoft introduced Recall, a program that takes screenshots every 5 seconds and collects metadata on Windows devices with Snapdragon CPUs.
• 🔒 Recall initially faced backlash due to privacy concerns, as the collected data was stored in an allegedly encrypted database that could be accessed.
• 🛡️ Microsoft updated Recall with new security features, making it an opt-in program instead of opt-out, enhancing user control over data collection.
• 👁️‍🗨️ The Recall database now requires Windows Hello authentication to decrypt, adding a layer of biometric security to access the data.
• 🔒 Despite improvements, concerns remain about the potential for unauthorized access to the data if malware is present on the system.
• 🚫 Recall does not save snapshots in private browsing or for content protected by digital rights management (DRM), addressing some privacy issues.
• 🏢 Enterprise users and IT administrators are given the choice to manage Recall through group policies, likely leading to widespread deactivation.
• 🤔 The video creator expresses skepticism about AI, fearing it may be used to collect metadata for targeted advertising without user consent.
• 👀 The creator suggests that Recall and similar programs could be exploited to gather personal data, similar to how social media platforms have been criticized.
• 🔄 The video concludes with a call for viewer engagement, inviting comments on the updated Recall program and its implications for privacy and security.

Q & A

What is Microsoft's Recall program?

Microsoft's Recall program is a software feature that was designed to run on co-pilot plus ARM CPUs with Windows, taking screenshots of the user's computer every 5 seconds and collecting metadata about those screenshots, such as characters and images on the screen, using the local AI processor in the Snapdragon CPU.

Why did the Recall program receive negative feedback from the security community?

The Recall program received negative feedback because it was seen as an invasion of privacy, as it collected a lot of personal data without explicit user consent. Additionally, security researchers found that the supposedly encrypted database could be accessed directly, raising concerns about data security.

What changes has Microsoft made to the Recall program in response to the feedback?

In response to the feedback, Microsoft has made the Recall program an opt-in feature instead of opt-out, meaning users now have to actively choose to enable it. They have also improved the authentication process for accessing the database, requiring Windows Hello authentication to decrypt it.

How does the opt-in change affect the Recall program's default behavior?

By making Recall an opt-in program, the default behavior is now that it is not enabled unless the user specifically chooses to enable it. This change is aimed at giving users more control over their data and privacy.

What is the Windows Hello program and how does it relate to the Recall program?

The Windows Hello program is a biometric authentication system that uses facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, or other personal identifiers to verify the user's identity. In the context of the Recall program, it is used to authenticate the user before decrypting the database of collected metadata.

What concerns does the video presenter have about the decrypted state of the Recall database?

The presenter is concerned that if the database is decrypted once the user has authenticated with Windows Hello, it might stay decrypted for an extended period, potentially allowing malware to access the data once the user has authenticated.

What is the presenter's view on the potential misuse of metadata collected by the Recall program?

The presenter is worried that the metadata, even if not shared directly, could potentially be anonymized and used for personalized advertising, which he sees as an unethical use of personal data.

How does the Recall program handle snapshots in private browsing or with DRM-protected content?

The Recall program does not save snapshots when the content is DRM-protected or when the user is in private browsing mode, as recognized by the Windows system.

What is the presenter's opinion on the future of AI in relation to data collection and privacy?

The presenter expresses a concern that AI could become a tool for companies to collect metadata and use it for targeted advertising, similar to how Facebook was criticized in the past for its data collection practices.

What steps is Microsoft taking to ensure that Recall is used responsibly in enterprise environments?

Microsoft is providing group policy controls that allow IT administrators to manage and potentially disable the Recall feature across their networks, giving enterprises the choice to opt out if they have concerns about its use.

Outlines

00:00

😟 Microsoft's Recall Program Raises Privacy Concerns

Microsoft's Recall program, initially an opt-out feature, has been updated to an opt-in feature after facing backlash due to its data collection practices. The program takes screenshots every 5 seconds on devices with co-pilot plus ARM CPUs running Windows, using local AI to collect metadata about on-screen content. This metadata is stored in a database that can be queried later. Despite improvements in database authentication, the core issue of continuous data collection remains a privacy concern. The video discusses the updates to Recall, including the requirement of Windows Hello authentication to decrypt the database, and raises questions about the potential misuse of collected data for targeted advertising.

05:01

🤔 Concerns Over AI and Data Collection in Recall Program

The video script addresses concerns over the Recall program's AI-driven data collection, which processes snapshots locally without internet or cloud connections. While snapshots are not shared, there are worries about the potential misuse of the collected metadata for personalized ad experiences. The script also mentions that Recall will now notify users when a snapshot is being taken, and it will not save snapshots during DRM-protected or private browsing sessions. The discussion highlights the need for enterprise and customer choice, suggesting that IT administrators may disable the feature due to security concerns. The video concludes with a critique of AI technology being used as a tool for metadata collection to enhance ad targeting, raising ethical questions about privacy and corporate responsibility.

Keywords

💡Recall Program

The Recall Program is a software feature developed by Microsoft that initially raised privacy concerns due to its function of taking screenshots every 5 seconds on devices with co-pilot plus ARM CPUs running Windows. The program uses the local AI processor to collect metadata from these screenshots, which can then be queried later. The video discusses updates to the Recall Program aimed at addressing security concerns, but the host still expresses reservations about the concept of such data collection.

💡Co-pilot Plus ARM CPUs

Co-pilot Plus ARM CPUs refer to the advanced processors that are capable of running the Recall Program. These CPUs have integrated AI capabilities that allow them to process data locally, such as taking and analyzing screenshots. The video mentions these CPUs as the hardware foundation for the Recall Program's operations.

💡Metadata

Metadata, in the context of the Recall Program, refers to the data collected about the screenshots taken by the program, such as the characters and images displayed on the screen. This information is stored and can be queried, which raises privacy concerns as discussed in the video. The host questions the security of this metadata and its potential misuse.

💡Opt-in Program

An opt-in program is one where users must explicitly choose to participate or enable a feature. In the video, it is mentioned that Microsoft has made the Recall Program an opt-in feature, which is a shift from its initial opt-out approach. This change is seen as a positive step towards respecting user privacy and giving users control over whether their data is collected.

💡Windows Hello

Windows Hello is a security feature in Windows that allows users to log in using biometric authentication, such as facial recognition or fingerprint scanning. The video discusses how the Recall Program now requires Windows Hello authentication to decrypt the database of collected metadata, which is presented as an improvement in security.

💡Digital Rights Management (DRM)

DRM is a technology used to restrict the use of digital content and protect copyrights. In the script, it is mentioned that the Recall Program does not save snapshots of content that is protected by DRM or when the user is in private browsing mode. This indicates an attempt by Microsoft to respect copyright laws and user privacy in certain contexts.

💡AI Processor

An AI processor is a type of CPU designed to efficiently perform the complex calculations required for artificial intelligence tasks, such as image and data analysis. The video references the local AI processor in Snapdragon CPUs, which is used by the Recall Program to process the screenshots and metadata locally on the device.

💡Data at Rest

Data at rest refers to data that is stored on a device, such as a hard drive or database. The video discusses the encryption of the Recall Program's database when at rest, which is a security measure to protect the data from being accessed without authorization. The host questions the effectiveness of this encryption and the potential for data to be accessed once decrypted.

💡Group Policy

Group Policy is a feature in Windows used by administrators to control and manage user and computer settings in an organization. The video suggests that Microsoft may provide options through Group Policy for IT administrators to control the Recall Program, indicating a consideration for enterprise environments and their security needs.

💡Cortana

Cortana is a virtual assistant developed by Microsoft for Windows. The video script mentions Cortana as an example of a feature that the host has previously disabled but has been automatically re-enabled, raising concerns about user control and the potential for similar issues with the Recall Program.

💡Snapshots

In the context of the Recall Program, snapshots refer to the screenshots taken every 5 seconds. The video discusses updates to the program that inform users when a snapshot is being taken, which is intended to increase transparency. However, the host expresses ongoing concerns about the fundamental concept of collecting such data.

Highlights

Microsoft released a preview build of its Recall program, which takes screenshots every 5 seconds and collects metadata using local AI processors.

Recall faced backlash from the security community due to privacy concerns.

Microsoft updated Recall with new security features in response to negative feedback.

Recall is now an opt-in program rather than opt-out, giving users more control.

Concerns raised about features like Cortana being enabled without user consent.

The Recall database will now only be decrypted after Windows Hello authentication.

Questions remain about how long the decrypted data stays accessible after authentication.

Snapshots are stored locally, and no internet or cloud connections are used for storage and processing.

Snapshots are not shared, but concerns exist about the potential misuse of collected metadata.

Users will be notified when Recall is actively taking snapshots.

Snapshots are not saved during digital rights management or private browsing sessions.

Enterprises will have the option to control Recall through group policy, likely leading to its widespread disablement.

The video creator expresses a broader concern about AI being used for metadata collection to improve ad experiences.

AI technology is seen as potentially harmful due to its use in personal data collection for targeted advertising.

The video concludes with a call for comments on the Recall program's updates and their implications.

Transcripts

a couple months ago Microsoft released

the preview build of its recall program

if you don't remember what that was and

I I hope you do because it's crazy uh

recall was a piece of software that

would sit on co-pilot plus arm CPUs that

ran windows and what it would do is it

would take screenshots of your computer

every 5 seconds and then collect

metadata about those screenshots like

the characters on the screen the images

on the screen using the local AI

processor in the Snapdragon CPU and then

store that metadata in a database that

you could query later to fure figure out

like when was the last time I looked at

purses was was the example that the news

did and obviously this program collected

a lot of negative feedback from the

security Community a lot of security

researchers were able to see that you

could just literally go and open the

database yourself even though it was

said to be encrypted at rest so

obviously it didn't get a lot of love

Microsoft just came back with a new

article a new update to their original

blog post that highlights some of the

new security features of recall there

are some slight improvements but I still

hate the idea as a whole so in this

video I want to talk about what the

updates are kind of give my thoughts on

those changes and kind of get your

opinion too I want to see in the

comments below what you think about the

recall program after these updates they

have made some improvements to how the

database is authenticated but overall

the idea of Microsoft taking screenshots

every 5 Seconds even if stored locally

scares the crap out of me so let's Dive

Right In also if you're new here hi my

name is Ed this is Ol learning Chann

we're talk about software security cyber

security so if you're into that or just

want to hang out hit that sub button

really appreciate it so first of all

Microsoft is making recall an optin

program so originally when it was

announced it was going to be an opt out

program meaning that to disable recall

you had to one no recall was enabled and

then turn it off meaning that you had to

opt out of the program a recall is now

an opt in program which overall is

obviously a good thing but I have had

weird instances on my own personal

computer where features like Cortana for

example that I disable when I turn

windows on when I install Windows on my

computer mag Ally get turned on without

my permission or consent so I don't know

if that's a misconfiguration thing if

that's a marketing thing where windows

or Microsoft are trying to push their

features and turning them on without my

consent um but I have seen that happen

before it's not only me but people

around the community have had like

magical Microsoft Windows features turn

on by themselves um so if that's going

to be the case with the recall not a

huge fan of that but I mean at least

we're going in the correct direction

where you know we're making it so that

it's not on by default the the example

that I give with all of these things is

I I I think of my grandmother who

doesn't know anything about computers

and is what should be thought of as like

the default user of of software if she

is not able to even understand the

technology or understand or consent to

the technology and just have this

repository of information about her

browsing history or or Computing habits

I think that's a bad thing I think the

average user should not be subjected to

that without consenting to it so optin

is a step towards getting consent right

the recall database now says that it

will only be decrypted once you've

authenticated Through the Windows hello

program so the windows hello program is

effectively they use not not biometric

authentication but you have to either

show your face or your fingerprint or

some other like I am actually this

person kind of authentication that's

processed in the CPU to decrypt that

database now the question is does that

mean that if I log into my computer with

Windows hello the database is now

decrypted until I log out is it when the

window is locked is it when the desktop

is locked how long does that data stay

decrypted at rest because if any kind of

malware is on the computer and they want

access to that data all they're going to

do is wait until I'm properly

authenticated to access that data and

then just steal it all I think the core

of my issue with the recall program is

that there is literally just a corpus of

data that is on my computer that I don't

want to be on my computer right it would

be like if I stored all of my personally

identifiable information about me and my

family and my kids like socials tax

returns uh school records I don't know

all that stuff in one folder and just

hoped that it was never accessible at

the wrong time that's why I have

literally in that closet is like a

cabinet full of records that no one can

get to unless you're in my house in the

backmost room of my of my house right

I'm literally in my basement right now

so I think that in and of itself just

having that data anywhere is a threat

now obviously making it authenticated

and making it decrypted at the right

time is a step in the right direction

right I mean originally the data was

just decrypted when bit loock was

decrypted which means that if the system

is on the data was decrypted that was a

huge security oversight on Microsoft

part I'm not really sure how that got

through any kind of Security review

given that if the computer is enabled

the database is encrypted therefore it

is not encrypted at rest like it's

encrypted at rest but in like a weird

scummy marketing way where like it's not

really you can just sell it like that

legally I don't know wasn't a big fan of

that now also in the blog post they did

update with like some major security

points to try to I think ease some of

the the fears about recall first of all

snapshots are stored locally co-pilot

PCS a powerful AI that work on your

devices behalf no internet or Cloud

connections are used to store and

process snapshot so that is one thing

that's like reassuring they're not going

to like take your your screenshot send

it off to the magical you know Microsoft

cloud Center process it there it is

happening locally on your own AI

processor uh snapshots are not shared so

this has gotten people a little nervous

because they say that snapshots are not

shared but like this this is the Crux of

every argument about corporate data

collection

okay so like the snapshots aren't shared

right but is the optical character

recognition data the metadata that is

stored in that database is that now

anonymized and then like sold to Google

as ad data so they can give me

personalized ads I mean there were even

ads that are paid out to Microsoft and

Google in browsers like Edge for example

and if this is just another clever way

of collecting personalization data I

don't think that that's cor I don't

think that's right I don't know if

that's happening or not I'm just saying

there is the potential for that kind of

overreach to happen I mean so like my

wife and I share uh Instagram reals with

each other and I know for a fact that

the minute I install Instagram on my

iPhone I get more personalized ads and I

get ads about things that we are talking

about like they are probably collecting

microphone data and anonymizing it for

personalized ad experience some legal

um but it it is not uncommon

for this to happen so while the

snapshots themselves are not shared is

the metadata about them shared what

what's going on with that you will know

when recall is saving snapshot so like

if you have an iPhone for example you

get a little light that lights up when

the camera is being used when your

location is being used when your

Bluetooth is being used so now they're

going to have a little thing that says

hey watch recall is actively taking

screenshots which again step in the

right direction but it doesn't fully fix

the problem of the fact that they're

taking screenshots in general digital

rights managed or in private browsing

snapshots are not saved so basically if

you are using a piece of content that

overly supports DRM or has in private

browsing in a way that the windows

interel knows about um it will not

capture those snapshots but again this

isn't security by default like I have to

now go into a more secure Mo mode to

avoid the snapshots now again at this

point obviously if you're using this

program you've opted in so I guess you

kind of know about that um I I just I

I'm not super sure how I feel about that

one and then this is a big one

Enterprise and customer choice so this

was a big concern concern for people

that worked as like it administrators at

big companies are they going to have to

now administer and monitor the recall

databases on every co-pilot enabled PC

that exists in their Network there are

some corporate networks that have

literally thousands tens of thousands of

PCS and if they have to worry about a

single compromise removing the security

of the last you know if it's gone on for

a long enough time 5 years of collected

data that's that's a really really

really bad thing so I think they're

going to give at the group policy

probably level the ability for it admins

to control this and by that likely

everyone that I know is going to disable

this feature right no no one in their

right mind at the corporate it level is

going to use this feature we're are on a

journey to build products experiences

that live up to our company Mission to

empower people and organizations to

achieve more and are driven by the

critical importance of maintaining our

customers privacy security and Trust

more corpo I don't know dude

I'm I'm going to make a whole separate

video about this I genuinely believe

that AI is evil and what I mean by that

is like the technology itself llms the

the the math and the science behind AI

is all well and good but we are just

creating another excuse for companies to

shill things at us that we don't need in

exchange for metadata collection to

improve ad experiences I I think that AI

is going to be in 10 years the Facebook

of 2016 right it was a feature that

started out as a good thing and once

companies realized that they could slurp

up a little bit of anonymized metadata

and use that to shill ads I I don't see

why they wouldn't and this just seems

like another way of getting really scary

personal information about people uh and

and knowing their trends that like every

Wednesday you know like can going back

to the news example every Wednesday you

know Danielle searches for purses on

eBay and now they know to send her ads

and like that I don't know man it

just scares me I hope you're not too

scared by this I hope that this goes in

in the correct again it's it's trending

in the right direction they're making it

a little more secure but just the fact

that we even have programs like this

features like this makes me a little uh

a little weird I don't know anyway if

you enjoyed this video if you thought it

was weird if you want to tell me what

you think put it in the comments down

below hit subscribe also I feel like no

one knows this but I stream on Twitch if

you want to hang out with me live I do

stream on twitch.tv/ LL learning I might

be live right now and I'll see you in

the next one thanks guys