Latest news with #Recall
Tom's Guide
01-08-2025
- Business
- Tom's Guide
Microsoft's Windows Recall is reportedly still capturing passwords and Social Security numbers even after its relaunch
The controversial Microsoft Windows Recall AI app may still be in need of security work according to testing from the UK technology site, The Register. The app, which takes screenshots of everything you do on your PC so you can find it later, supposedly has preventions to stop it from grabbing sensitive information like credit card numbers and passwords. However, the Register's team recently tested Recall and discovered that the filter actually fails "in many cases." Recall has had a bumpy launch since it was announced as a new app for Copilot+ PCs in the summer of 2024. It was almost immediately pulled back due to security concerns, like capturing sensitive information. The app stuttered into release and recall repeatedly, and was even caught capturing credit card numbers in December of 2024. It only recently returned to Windows Insiders in April of this year. With Recall still in preview mode, Microsoft claims it's safe and private with a filter called "Filter sensitive information" which is enabled by default and is supposed to prevent sensitive data from being captured. The Register's Avram Piltch used a Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x Copilot Plus PC with Recall enabled and entered in several types of personal information. He does credit the filter with excluding financial data, "some" passwords, and "most instances" of Social Security numbers. However, he found that Recall snapped screenshots of his bank's home page and a number of screens showing his balance and deposits. Though it did exclude his account and routing numbers. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. From there, Piltch performed a number of tests excluding certain language from forms or pages or storing information in different spots on his computer and much to his surprise, Recall captured that information. In one example, he wrote in a Word Doc "My SS#" and it was filtered out but when he changed it to Soc. # it did get captured. And in one case, a document with passwords was totally captured, especially dangerous since many people might still keep their passwords in unsecure documents on their PCs (something we highly discourage given that several of the best password managers are completely free) even if they're not explicitly labeled "My passwords." To be fair to Microsoft, the app is still in preview mode and has been since October of 2024. A blog post from November did state that Microsoft teams are working to improve the functionality of the security filter. Though, the app is being pushed during the Windows onboarding process, so perhaps that preview mode shouldn't be given as much slack. You do have the option to block specific apps or websites from being captured. You have to go to Settings - Privacy & Security - Recall & snapshots. From there you can blacklist things. You could block your browser, though that might make Recall less useful especially if you work outside of Microsoft's office ecosystem. If you're worried about Windows Recall potentially capturing your sensitive personal and financial data, there's an easy way to avoid this feature entirely: don't get a Copilot+ PC. Windows Recall is designed to work specifically with laptops that use Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors, so by going with one of the best laptops powered by an Intel or AMD chip for your next upgrade, you won't have to worry about the potential security implications of this controversial feature at all. Then again, Microsoft may decide to shelve Windows Recall for good at some point, especially given its lukewarm initial reception and the security and privacy issues it has faced already. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
The Diplomat
28-07-2025
- Politics
- The Diplomat
The Last 96 Hours of Taiwan's Great Recall: In Images
It was a mad dash to the finish, with Taiwanese on both sides seeing the vote as a battle for the future of their country. Pro-recall campaign volunteers speak to a crowd of supporters, telling them to continue their efforts for the next set of recall races, on July 26, 2025. Anti-recall voters cheer and shout 'Down with [President] Lai in front of Taipei's Liberty Square and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial on April 26, 2025. A man with a poster board advocating for voters to remove Fu Kun-chi, a controversial KMT legislator, outside a music festival in Kaohsiung on March 29, 2025. A person in a crowd waves an ROC flag in front of a video board calling on citizens to vote 'no' in the recall in Taipei on July 25, 2025 24 Taiwanese lawmakers and one mayor accused of corruption faced an organized, motivated, nationwide removal campaign, with voting on July 26. The result was a landslide: not a single one lost. And so ends the main phase of Taiwan's 2025 Grand Recall (大罷免). There are still seven more legislators facing recalls, but the momentum seems to have dissipated. July 23 In the final days, neither side appeared confident – whether judging by the news or sentiment from supporters at rallies. 'Do you think you're going to win?' I asked one young man at a rally Wednesday night. 'We hope.' 'What are your chances?' '50/50.' It was a hot, sticky Wednesday night in Taipei – three days to go until the 7/26 vote. People waved banners, politicians made stump speeches, supporters chanted 'Grand recall, grand success!' Rosalia Wu, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), led the crowd in Taiwanese and Mandarin. 'This is our homegrown Taiwanese power!' she shouts to cheers. 'Taiwan is Taiwan, China is China!' 'Mass recall, mass success!' people chant. That rally's target was Wang Hong-wei, one of the Kuomintang (KMT)'s most vilified politicians, a magnet for endless criticism from the DPP and its supporters. Three days later, Wang declared victory with 90 percent of the votes counted and an insurmountable 10,000-vote lead. July 24 Wednesday was just a local warm up for Thursday's pro-recall main event. It was pouring rain on Taipei's Ketagalan Boulevard, a central site in Taiwan's democratic history and social movements. While identity politics are influential in determining one's stance, it was not what people reached for. 'I've lived in my district for 30 years and my legislator has never done anything good,' one woman said about her lawmaker in Taipei's Wenshan district, Lai Shyh-bao. 'Wenshan has been blue for so long that the KMT refuses to govern with any other parties. Lai Shyh-bao had to say he won village chief of the year back in the '90s, what has he done for us lately?' She cited his record on issues ranging from gay rights referenda to his handling of a furnace fire. 'Doing the right thing is not about political opinions, it is the essence of political participation,' she said. 'Recently, people have been making their voice heard not because of party affiliation but because of their ideals,' she added. 'More and more people identify as 'natural independents.' Even when I was abroad, volunteers without any direction from a higher authority were gathering signatures and spreading support for the movement.' She did not claim loyalty to the DPP, saying only that she was in opposition to the KMT's moves. Last year, a youth-led protest movement – the Bluebird Movement – took hold of Taipei in protest of several amendments proposed by the KMT-led Legislative Yuan. The bills gave the legislature more oversight and authority, which protesters felt infringed on constitutional rights and were a clear maneuver to undermine the new DPP presidential administration. A new protest movement kicked off in December, at the same location, to protest four controversial amendments passed by the KMT-led Legislative Yuan. This new set of amendments changed the threshold for recalling politicians, made it possible for the Constitutional Court to remain deadlocked indefinitely, and slashed the central government budget by an unprecedented amount. While Taiwan has had three consecutive DPP presidential terms, the Legislative Yuan, and local governments more so, have increasingly leaned pro-KMT. The KMT tends to favor engagement with China and identify with Chinese heritage. As the legislative proposals wound their way through the system, civil society forged their own resistance. Professional groups, including lawyers and professors, organized local petition movements to recall prominent members of the KMT, such as the aforementioned Wang, and Hualien's Fu Kun-chi. 'I cannot tolerate them,' one man in his 60s said. He flew back from California to volunteer for the movement. '[The KMT legislators] represent China, and China is our enemy. But China is their friend, it seems like China is their boss. They listen to them. They've done a lot of strange behavior, which can destroy Taiwan,' he said in English. 'If this does not succeed, they will feel that people support their behavior,' he added. July 25 Friday's anti-recall rally was less fully-fledged than the prior night's. There were fewer people overall, fewer screens to ensure everyone can see, fewer uniformed members of organizations present, and a smaller stage. In April, a major anti-recall rally had also taken place here, in the midst of the initial wave of 'ghost signature' cases. Prosecutors nationwide are investigating allegations that KMT members or affiliated networks forged recall petition signatures in their own campaigns to recall DPP lawmakers. All of the KMT's recall attempts failed, but the high-profile criminal cases all coming down on one side of the aisle did allow for a narrative to build up that the DPP utilized the court system to engage in totalitarian 'lawfare' against the majority party. Shortly after that came the first comparisons from KMT members and officials between Lai and Adolf Hitler, and calling the DPP a party of 'green communism.' Although the crowd skews middle-aged and older, it isn't dramatically different than before. Families are present, and an energized youth wing plays a visible role, parading banners calling for former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-Je's release amid a corruption probe. Just like the night before, much of the rhetoric centered around 'patriotism,' 'democracy,' and 'anti-communism.' A Ko Wen-je supporter paraded a poster of Lai as Hitler and the DPP logo with a green swastika. I asked a woman around 60 if her attendance reflected her prior political participation. She said that she took every election differently and holds no party loyalty. Many posters at the anti-recall rally proudly illustrated that their holders were Taiwanese who opposed the DPP, making it tricky to reconcile the yearly identity survey with actual voting behavior. One man blamed a DPP-funded 'online troll army' aimed at undermining the other parties. He claimed that Ko Wen-je's detention was part of a political calculation by the DPP. 'What if Trump was imprisoned by the Democrats in 2023? Wouldn't that start a civil war? There is no proof of Ko's guilt – he cooperated with the investigation. But why is he still behind bars? This is political coercion.' 'The DPP has turned Taiwan into an island full of scams and provides protection to them,' he said. He then drew a lengthy equivalence between Hitler and Lai, involving a convoluted tale of stolen Jewish wealth and Trump's status as a 'chosen one,' which prompted me to go find another interview subject. Interested in a younger perspective, I manage to corner a young man handing out stickers that said 'I am Taiwanese and I oppose the greens [DPP].' When I asked him about his motivation for being there, he said it was about the honor of the country, in English specifying 'Republic of China.' He spoke about governance, how the DPP has blocked KMT attempts to increase transparency, how it 'refuses to admit it is the minority,' undermining the legislature's ability to function. But the stickers and his initial response to me seemed too at odds to ignore, so I asked him about the dichotomy. He said, 'My hometown is Taiwanese, but my country is the Republic of China.' 'In my circles, support for the DPP is definitely dropping,' he told me. July 26: Voting Day The quiet efficiency of voting day was a sharp contrast to the preceding spectacle. Hundreds of temples, schools, and community centers became temporary voting stations. Outside each, posters displayed the recall campaign's complaints, submitted to the Central Election Committee, and responses by the targeted officials. From midnight to the final count, all campaigning and vote-swaying efforts were banned, along with noise within 30 meters of polling sites. In Taipei's maze of alleys, only a slight uptick in foot traffic gave anything away; an unaware tourist might not notice voting was underway. Photographing voters or signage, though legal, would draw stern warnings or polite shooing from middle-aged men. By 4 p.m., the voting was closed and it was time to begin the count. Both sides had organized events around watching the vote count with supporters, as if to will their collective spirit into success. The count was quick. Within the first hour, not a single embattled KMT politician had more votes in favor of recall than against, a pattern that would hold for the rest of the night. By hour two, Threads, Taiwan's social media of choice for public discourse, was full of disappointed young voters in bitter disbelief at the anti-recall movement's success. At a pro-recall event in Taipei, billionaire and active recall campaigner Robert Tsao took the stage. KMT officials in safer constituencies began to declare victory. KMT Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an held an event with the city's five KMT lawmakers to thank voters for their support. At their own press conference, the DPP's Rosalia Wu conceded and asked voters to maintain their support for future recall campaigns in August. I chose to attend what felt like the funeral of the pro-recall movement – held at the same site as the May 2024 Bluebird protests that had once snowballed into the Great Recall, but this year's crowd was thinner, subdued, and visibly dejected. 'It's tiring to love your country, but you still love it, no?' one woman on stage shouted through near-tears. Several in the crowd began to cry as it became clear that no KMT politicians would be removed. Fourteen months after the Bluebird Movement began at this same site, young people were noticeably absent. Many were registered in their hometowns and had to travel to vote, but even those who did return weren't enough to sway a single campaign. Only seven recalls even cleared the turnout threshold. Plenty of voters who hadn't backed these legislators in the last election simply weren't motivated to remove them now – perhaps a reflection of demographic limits, or the DPP's failure to mobilize support as effectively as the KMT and the Taiwan People's Party I thought of the student the night before, who had estimated that 40 percent of his peers shared his viewpoint about the recall and DPP. His stance might not reflect the majority, but it does highlight the limits of outside assumptions regarding identity and voting patterns. 'They're not going to show up, these politicians are cowards,' a young woman said, looking at the empty rows of chairs below the stage. What Next? The DPP was not the primary mover pushing the recall movement forward, but its failure will reflect poorly on the party's efforts to enact its agenda. However, a focus on international headlines belies reality. Over the past year, it wasn't Taiwan's identity politics that shifted sharply. Instead, the Great Recall was a society-wide blowback triggered by the KMT's actions. Whether the KMT would actually sell out to China is almost beside the point: many believe its legislative agenda is designed to do exactly that. While the recall movement was split along mostly partisan lines, it did not originate inside DPP's headquarters and was not spearheaded by DPP officials. I spoke to participants on both sides, motivated by more than just partisanship. The KMT will likely take this as a mandate to continue its legislative moves, now shielded from the fact that those who survived this current recall cannot be recalled again this term. Major legislative points in President Lai's platform, like the defense budget increase, the fate of the Constitutional Court, or the response to U.S. tariffs, will remain elusive. Perhaps Lai, who won a plurality of votes last year, will find it untenable to run for re-election in 2028 and will step aside to let a more dynamic candidate lead the party. However, the KMT's unpopularity is evident. Regardless of the result, their actions fueled an unprecedented movement to remove them from office. The most unpopular KMT politicians saw highly motivated turnout that met the threshold for removal. The party once again demonstrated it can survive in the 21st century, despite many writing premature obituaries, but there are no guarantees of follow-up victories.
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Business Standard
28-07-2025
- Business Standard
Brave and AdGuard join Signal in blocking Microsoft's Recall feature
Microsoft's controversial Recall feature in Windows 11 that takes automatic screenshots on Copilot Plus PCs is facing growing criticism from privacy-focused app developers. According to a report by The Verge, both Brave and AdGuard have now joined messaging app Signal in blocking the Windows AI-powered feature. Following the lead of messaging app Signal, both Brave and AdGuard have now taken steps to block the AI-powered tool from accessing user content, citing serious privacy risks. AdGuard, an ad-blocking and privacy tool, shared its reasoning in a recent blog post, calling Recall a privacy concern. The post stated, 'The very idea of background screen captures is unsettling. At any given moment, the system could snap a screenshot of a private chat window, an online form where you're entering your credit card, or simply something personal you didn't want saved.' Brave web browser also confirmed that it will block Recall by default on Windows 11 and newer systems. 'Starting in version 1.81 for Windows users, Brave browser will block Microsoft Recall from automatically taking screenshots of your browsing activity,' said the company in a blog post. They further stated that it will disable it by default for Windows 11+ users, but they will also provide an option to turn it back on for users who want Recall. Brave also noted that they were partly inspired by Signal's blocking of Recall. Signal Desktop now includes a 'Screen security' setting to block screenshots on Windows, aimed at protecting chats from Microsoft's Recall feature. Messaging app Signal began blocking Recall in May using a Digital Rights Management (DRM) flag that prevents screenshots and accessibility tools from capturing its content. The messaging app also criticised Microsoft for not offering fine-tuned settings to let developers manage how Recall interacts with their apps. 'Microsoft has launched Recall without granular settings for app developers that would enable Signal to easily protect privacy, which is a glaring omission that limits our choices,' Signal noted. However, Brave was able to restrict Recall without blocking all screenshot and accessibility functions. Microsoft allows browsers to selectively disable Recall, and Brave hopes this level of control is extended to all types of applications. 'While it's heartening that Microsoft recognises that Web browsers are especially privacy-sensitive applications, we hope they offer the same granular ability to turn off Recall to all privacy-minded application developers,' Brave said.
Miami Herald
27-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Microsoft CEO makes bold statement on company's future
In a candid memo released July 24, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addressed what he called the issue "weighing heavily" on him: the company's ongoing layoffs. More than 15,000 Microsoft employees have been let go in 2025 alone, as part of what Nadella described as a necessary but painful restructuring in the age of AI. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter The company also cut nearly 2,000 additional staff deemed "low performers" earlier this year. "I want to speak to what's been weighing heavily on me, and what I know many of you are thinking about: the recent job eliminations," he wrote. Related: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says that ChatGPT is not the way to superintelligence Recall Nadella wrote a similar note in 2023 - shortly after the company paused raises and announced its first significant layoffs of the post-pandemic era. He faced criticism at the time for placing too much focus on the company's outperformance without acknowledging those difficult moves. Despite the cuts, investors have rewarded Microsoft's leaner operating model. The company's stock closed above $500 for the first time on July 9, a symbolic milestone that arguably underscores Wall Street's growing faith in Microsoft's AI strategy. In his July memo, Nadella used stark language to describe the current environment, stating: "This is the enigma of success in an industry that has no franchise value." "Progress isn't linear," he added. "It's dynamic, sometimes dissonant, and always demanding. But it's also a new opportunity for us to shape, lead through, and have greater impact than ever before." For the past decade, Microsoft (MSFT) has operated under a unifying purpose: to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. But Nadella says that vision now needs to evolve. Related: Analysts unveil bold Amazon stock price target before earnings "We must reimagine our mission for a new era," he wrote. "What does empowerment look like in the era of AI? It's not just about building tools for specific roles or tasks. It's about building tools that empower everyone to create their own tools." This shift reflects the company's broader transformation from a software-centric business to what Nadella calls an "intelligence engine empowering every person and organization to build whatever they need to achieve." Microsoft's strategy hinges on positioning itself at the center of the AI value chain. Its Azure cloud platform is rapidly becoming the infrastructure of choice for AI workloads. OpenAI, as well as other major AI labs and enterprises, use Microsoft's GPU-centric cloud services to train and deploy large models. Copilot, Microsoft's generative AI assistant, has also been integrated into Office, GitHub, and enterprise software suites. More Tech Stocks: Amazon tries to make AI great again (or maybe for the first time)Veteran portfolio manager raises eyebrows with latest Meta Platforms moveGoogle plans major AI shift after Meta's surprising $14 billion move By reframing Microsoft as a platform that enables AI-native innovation, Nadella aims to extend the company's dominance beyond cloud and productivity into the AI-native economy. Nadella's statement marks a strategic realignment that mirrors an entire industry in transition. As Microsoft retools its mission, the world is watching to see if it can balance innovation, values, and leadership in one of the most disruptive technological shifts in history. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Gizmodo
25-07-2025
- Gizmodo
Tech Companies Are Blocking Microsoft's Creepy ‘Recall' Feature
Microsoft's much-maligned Recall feature, which automatically screenshots everything you do on your Copilot+ PC to create a 'photographic memory,' is not making many fans across the app developer community. According to a report from The Verge, ad blocker AdGuard and privacy-minded browser Brave have decided to block Recall and its prying eyes. Brave announced its plans to block Recall in a blog post published earlier this year, in which it tipped its cap to Signal, the encrypted messaging app that first revealed it would keep Recall from screencapping user activity back in May. Per Brave, Recall will be blocked by default starting with the release of version 1.81 of the browser. It'll offer a toggle for users who want to turn Recall back on and let it screencap their browsing activity, which definitely doesn't feel super vulnerable and invasive to have someone else see. AdGuard joined the chorus of blocking, announcing Friday in a blog post that it'll add a feature that will allow users to disable Recall. The feature, which will appear in version 7.21 of the app, seems to provide a system-wide block of Recall rather than just blinding its eyes from a single app. AdGuard offers a number of other settings to block other Windows tracking features, including the collection of telemetry data. While AdGuard's block is the most wide-ranging, Brave has managed to iterate on Signal's approach in a way that allows users to take their own screenshots while keeping Recall from taking its own snapshots. Signal took a more blunt-force approach, using a Digital Rights Management (DRM) flag to block screenshots entirely, so even the user cannot capture an image of their chats. These companies almost certainly will not be the last to go out of their way to keep Recall from working as intended. Microsoft has had nothing but trouble and pushback since introducing the feature last year. It was set to launch with the introduction of Microsoft's Copilot+ PCs—Windows machines designed to maximize the company's AI features—but was delayed in June, probably because people were creeped out by it. Since then, the company has slowly tried to integrate the feature back into the fold. It started offering Recall to members of the Windows Insider Program first, and has introduced some features meant to quell concerns over privacy violations, including turning Recall off by default, requiring a PIN to access the contents of the feature, and storing screenshots locally and with encryption. And yet, it still feels pretty damn weird. If nothing else, Recall now serves as a useful marketing tool for privacy-focused app developers who want to signal that they're protecting users by blocking it.
