What Is Recall? 

The Recall feature for Windows (currently in preview status) is a new feature that’s exclusive to Microsoft’s forthcoming Copilot+ PCs. Recall takes snapshots of whatever is on your screen every five seconds (e.g. emails, and photos), while content on the screen is different from the previous snapshot. These snapshots are then stored (encrypted) and analysed using optical character recognition (OCR), which uses AI, locally on the user’s PC. The collection of snapshots is designed to give users not only a timeline of everything they’ve done and seen, but they can use voice commands to search through it for what they need, e.g. for any content (text and images) they may have been working on or seen. Microsoft says the functionality will be improved “over time” to enable users to open the actual source document, website, or email in a screenshot. 

When Recall opens the snapshot a user has requested, it enables ‘screenray’.  This runs at the top of the snapshot and allows the user to interact with any of the elements in the snapshot, so for instance, the user can copy text from the snapshot or send pictures from the snapshot (to an app that supports jpeg files). 

Won’t It Just Fill Up The PC’s Storage Space With Snapshots? 

With different screen snapshots (captured every-five-seconds having to be stored locally on the PC) you may be wondering what this will do to the storage space. Microsoft says the minimum hard drive space needed to run Recall is 256 GB (whereby 50 GB of space must be available) and that the default allocation for Recall on a device with 256 GB will be 25 GB, which can store approximately 3 months of snapshots. Users can increase the storage allocation for Recall in the PC Settings and old snapshots are deleted when the allocated storage is used, allowing new ones to be stored. 

Why Use Recall? 

According to Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer, with Recall, Microsoft “set out to solve one of the most frustrating problems we encounter daily — finding something we know we have seen before on our PC”. 

Broadly speaking therefore, Recall is essentially a productivity and user experience-enhancing feature. Microsoft hopes that Recall will transform how users interact with their digital content by providing powerful, AI-driven tools for retrieving and managing past activities while maintaining a high level of control and (hopefully) privacy too.

Privacy Concerns 

While on the face of it, it’s possible to see how useful this feature could be, Recall has set privacy alarm bells ringing for some users. For example, it’s been reported that the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is contacting Microsoft for more information on the safety of the product and that Recall has been described as a “privacy nightmare” by some privacy watchdogs. Examples of some of the key concerns about the potential privacy issues of Recall include: 

– Since the feature doesn’t moderate what it records, very sensitive information including snapshots of passwords, financial account numbers, medical or legal information (and more) could be accessed and taken, presenting an obvious risk. Microsoft says: “Recall does not perform content moderation. It will not hide information such as passwords or financial account numbers. That data may be in snapshots that are stored on your device, especially when sites do not follow standard internet protocols like cloaking password entry.” 

– With gaining initial access to a device being one of the easier elements of an attack, this is all that would be needed to potentially access the screenshots and steal sensitive information or business trade secrets. 

– Anyone who knows a user’s password could access that user’s history in more detail. 

– Recall is currently at the preview stage, but unless Microsoft assesses the data protection, and peoples’ rights and freedoms before the feature is released to the wider market, there may be some serious legal issues and consequences. 

Elon Musk also posted about the feature on his X platform saying: “This is a Black Mirror episode. Definitely turning this ‘feature‘ off.” 

What Does Microsoft Say? 

In defence of Recall and to allay the privacy concerns expressed, Microsoft points out that: 

– Recall is not enabled by default – it is an opt-in feature. Users must manually activate it to use it and can configure its settings to control what data it captures and stores. 

– Microsoft says it built privacy into Recall’s design “from the ground up”. 

– By clicking on the Recall taskbar icon after user’s first activate their Copilot+ device, they can choose what snapshots Recall collects and stores on their device. For example, users can select specific apps or websites visited in a supported browser to filter out of snapshots, snapshots on demand from the Recall icon in the system tray, clear some or all snapshots that have been stored, or delete all the snapshots from the device. 

– Microsoft says: “For enterprise customers, IT administrators can disable automatically saving snapshots using group policy or mobile device management policy. If a policy is used to disable saving snapshots, all saved snapshots from users’ devices will be deleted, and device users can’t enable saving snapshots.” 

– The snapshots captured by Microsoft’s Recall feature are stored locally on the PC but are encrypted and protected using BitLocker encryption. 

– Recall data is only stored locally and isn’t accessed by Microsoft or anyone who does not have device access. 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

It’s possible to see the value of the Recall feature (in the forthcoming Copilot+ PCs) in terms of offering UK businesses a potential boost in productivity and efficiency. Being able to search by voice and quickly find (and eventually click through to) anything you’ve been looking at could make it much faster and easier to retrieve and manage digital content. This could, of course, save valuable time and reduce frustration, leading to more streamlined workflows and increased operational efficiency. 

However, the elephant in the room with this feature which has piqued the attention of many commentators and the ICO is the significant risk to privacy that it could seemingly pose to businesses and individual users. For example, the unmoderated collection of everything (which could include sensitive information such as passwords, financial data, and confidential business details), raises substantial security and privacy risks. For example, if these snapshots were to be accessed and fall into the wrong hands, the consequences could be severe, including data breaches and the exposure of proprietary information. It appears, therefore, that the only thing standing between a potential bad actor and your personal/sensitive/business information is knowledge of the password for the PC. 

Microsoft’s assertion that Recall is an opt-in feature, with snapshots stored locally and protected by BitLocker encryption, may, however, provide some reassurance, as may the fact that users can control what data is captured and stored, plus enterprise customers can disable automatic snapshot saving through group policy or mobile device management. Nevertheless, despite these measures, the potential for misuse remains, especially if a device is compromised or accessed by an unauthorised individual. 

To address these privacy concerns, Microsoft will need to provide comprehensive transparency and robust security assurances to the ICO, businesses, and privacy advocates too. Demonstrating that Recall complies with data protection regulations and adequately safeguards user data will be crucial. Clearly, even though Recall is still just at the preview stage, there are serious concerns, and failure to address these could result in significant backlash, legal challenges, and a loss of trust among users. 

If / when Recall is thought to be suitable for wider release for businesses, the decision to implement it will require a careful evaluation of the trade-offs between increased productivity and potential privacy risks. Companies will need to establish clear policies and provide training to ensure that employees understand how to use the feature securely. IT departments will also need to remain vigilant, continually monitoring and managing the feature’s settings to maintain data protection standards. 

While Recall offers exciting possibilities for enhancing business efficiency, its success will depend on Microsoft’s ability to address privacy concerns and provide robust security measures, so it remains to be seen how Recall progresses though this preview stage and whether risks can be mitigated to an acceptable level.

The post Featured Article : New Windows Screenshot Feature Sparks Privacy Concerns appeared first on Mear Technology.

The Focus 

Microsoft says that the new Windows 11 22H2 update takes account of the move to flexible work, and is focused on the four key areas of: 

1. Making the PC easier and safer to use. 
2. Empowering people to be more productive. 
3. Making Windows the best place to connect, create and play. 
4. Added security, management, and flexibility to the workplace. 

Examples 

Examples of some of better features in the latest Windows 11 22H2 update include: 

– The updated Sound Recorder App. This replacement for Voice Recorder, enables users to record a meeting or make a podcast, for example. A graphical waveform format is displayed while it is in operation (record and play audio) and users can put markers on the waveform at places of interest in the recording. The app is designed to be just a recorder, so it doesn’t have a built-in editing program, although users could use a free one, such as Audacity. The Sound Recorder App also offers Auto, Medium, High, and Best audio settings, allowing the user to choose which one is most appropriate, e.g. a higher quality setting (which takes up more space) for important recordings. 

– The ability to group program icons together in start menu folders. This time-saving feature can help users to be more organised and allows users to organise their apps in the “Pinned” section as folders, rather like the feature in Windows 10 and on mobile devices – Android and iOS. 

– A redesigned Task Manager with a more convenient sidebar menu rather than tabs, and the inclusion of an ‘Efficiency Mode’ button. 

– The ability to drag files pinned to taskbar icons. This gives users a fast, handy way to choose which program to quickly open file with.  

– The ability to drag files from the main area of the File Explorer window into the Quick Access area of the sidebar, thereby making it easier and faster reach important, and current files. 

– Greater versatility and improved touch navigation for Snap Layouts to help improve productivity, and the introduction of Focus sessions and a Do Not Disturb mode to minimise distractions. 

– The addition of Windows Studio Effects, with a new Windows Studio camera which incorporates Voice Focus (to filter out background noise), a background blurring tool, Eye Contact, and Automatic Framing, all of which can improve the quality of video calls. 

– The addition of video-editing app Clipchamp. This enables users to cut videos, add filters and templates, and export them as 1080p files, thereby giving users much more control over their videos. 

Security 

The new Windows 11 update includes a number of improvements to boost security, including: 

– Expanding the number of devices for which security is enabled by default. For example, devices with Intel 8th generation chipsets and higher will have virtualisation-based security (VBS) and hypervisor-protected code integrity (HVCI) enabled by default. Also, devices running Windows 11 Enterprise, will have Windows Defender Credential Guard enabled which uses virtualisation-based security to provide greater protection from operating system vulnerabilities. 

– Enhanced phishing protection (Microsoft Defender SmartScreen) by automatically detecting when a user types a password into any app or website, determining in real-time if that app or site has a secure connection to a trusted site, and immediately warning the user in the moment if they need to change their password. This feature also automatically reports unsafe password usage to IT admins through the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint portal so the incident can be tracked. 

– The AI-powered ‘Smart App Control’ feature, which improves security and can help smaller businesses to manage their devices and apps by preventing employees from running malicious applications by blocking untrusted or unsigned applications. 

– Updated versions of popular deployment, security, and management tools (to support the release of the update), including Windows 11, version 22H2 Security Baseline (as part of the Security Compliance Toolkit), and a free 90-day evaluation of Windows 11 Enterprise for businesses to try. 

More Features Being Added In October 

Microsoft says that it will be updating Windows 11 with even more features in October, including: 

– Enhancements to File Explorer, such as bringing tabs to File Explorer to help the user with organisation and making the new homepage in File Explorer give quick access to favourite and recent files. This will enable the pinning of important files for quick and easy access and an ‘at a glance’ view of colleagues’ actions on a user’s shared files through OneDrive and personalised suggestions based on the user’s Microsoft 365 account. 

– New photo management and aesthetic features, plus making it easier to backup to OneDrive for the Photos app. 

– Suggested Actions on Copy, such as copying phone numbers, future dates, and getting suggested actions like making a call with Teams or Skype or adding an event in the Calendar app. 

– Adding an overflow menu button to the Taskbar so users can keep the screen less cluttered and view all overflowed apps in one space. 

– The ability to share to discover and share more devices including desktops using nearby share. 

– A set of new accessibility features, which include system-wide live captions to automatically generate captions from any form of audio content on Windows 11. 

– Green features, such as scheduling updates at points in the day that could result in lower carbon emissions. 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

More tech commentators are now suggesting in their reviews that the improvements delivered in the Windows 11 22H2 update may enough to persuade so-far hesitant businesses that now is the time upgrade to Windows 11. The update being geared towards the needs of flexible and hybrid working and its focus on providing more tools and improvements to boost security and productivity, and to make it easier and faster for users to get things done are likely to be appealing to many businesses. Some less enthusiastic reviews of the update have suggested that it is too subtle, with some of the improvements hidden, and some expected features left out but as Microsoft has said, more features will be added in October. 

The post First Update for Windows 11 : What Does It Include? appeared first on Mear Technology.

See Which Apps Have Accessed Your Microphone and Camera 

David Weston, Microsoft’s VP for Enterprise and OS Security, highlighted the new privacy feature in a recent tweet, saying: “New Windows 11 Privacy Auditing features allow you to see history of sensitive device access like the Microphone.”

The feature has also been introduced in the Dev Channel of the Windows Insider programme. 

– The Privacy Auditing feature, which can be accessed via Settings – Privacy & security > App permissions, shows users: 

– Which apps have accessed the microphone in the last week, giving dates and times. 

– Which apps have accessed contacts, or phone call, message, location, and screenshot data. 

Phones Already Have A Similar Feature 

Phone operating systems, for example, already have a similar feature. For example, last June, it was announced that Google’s Android 12 (which was in beta) would have a camera and microphone access indicator which shows users if an app tries to access the device’s camera or microphone. Android 12 was released last October, and the access indicator gives users and indicator in the top-right corner of the status bar when the camera or microphone is in use.  Clicking on the microphone or camera indicators shows the users which apps have accessed their data.  

iOS 14 also has a similar feature. An orange dot, an orange square, or a green dot in the status bar at the top of the screen indicate when the microphone or camera is being used by an app. 

Microsoft’s Privacy Record 

Microsoft has been criticised over some aspects of its privacy record in recent years, e.g. with Windows 10 being criticised in 2015 over its default settings and personalised embedded adverts. Adding more privacy controls or features, such as the new Privacy Auditing feature is, therefore, likely to get a positive reception from users. 

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

Users are now more aware than ever of data protection and privacy matters and value any ways that their privacy can be protected. For businesses, these are particularly important issues both for compliance, and to avoid potentially costly breaches or providing any social engineering vectors for hackers and other bad actors. This new feature adds a useful transparency element to Windows 11 which could enable users to make better choices about apps in terms of security and privacy and reduce risk to themselves and their businesses.

The post New Windows Feature Displays Which Apps Have Been Listening-In appeared first on Mear Technology.