Elon Musk urges millions to switch-off controversial Windows 11 feature that takes screenshots on your PC

gbnews.com ^ | May 25, 2024 | Aaron Brown

[ransomnote]

Tesla CEO compared incoming Recall feature to an episode of Black Mirror

• New Recall feature will be coming to Copilot+ PCs from June
• It takes screenshots of everything you do on-screen
• Snapshots are analysed by AI on-device so they can be searched
• Elon Musk has announced plans to disable the feature on his PC
• Privacy campaigners have also flagged concerns
• UK privacy watchdog has launched an investigation into Recall

Elon Musk has criticised a controversial new AI feature coming to Windows 11 devices this summer. Known as Recall, it takes screenshots of everything on-screen so you can scroll back in time and resume work on anything from within the last month. The functionality will be exclusive to a range of new Copilot+ PCs.

Artificial Intelligence, powered by Microsoft's $10 billion partnership with OpenAI to licence its latest 'flirty' ChatGPT model, will analyse text and pictures in the screenshots — so you can search for phrases, people, animals, and landmarks to find what you're looking for, without knowing the name of a document or webpage.

SNIP

On X.com

[Alas Babylon!]

No!

I know they track me, and I do not care! FU deep state! I worked for the DIA and the NSA. I know their technologies. But it is those now in those agencies have betrayed US, not me. They’re the sniveling cowards taking it in the rear, not us. I defy them every day, and will vote for Trump, pray for Trump election, and fight foul Leftists every day. Yet knowing the truth is not giving up.

We all do our share no matter how small.

I never will tell anyone to not defend themselves. Defiance to the Deep State is our duty.

Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God
—Benjamin Franklin

[advance_copy]

BKMK

[Alas Babylon!]

It’s called a Trusted Platform Module (TPM). It’s a chip that holds an encrypted security key that only allows the system to boot up if it’s in place on the motherboard. You can use it to further encrypt drives and create virtual machines that only run a kernel that can access your actual Operating Systems (OS) kernel. It prevents root kits from running, or code injection directly into the OS.

You can put it on a thumb drive in order to separate the encrypted key/code offline from the pc. Just don’t lose the thumb drive or the system is also lost.

The problem isn’t with the OS or PC itself. The PC has to talk to other systems with a language in common. That’s what a protocol does. It’s what TCP/IP is. Every packet is like an envelope with instructions on how to process it, but the code, that data is called the payload, and that is things like requesting a web page, pushing up content like the words I’m typing in to be posted on the Free Republic site, or the codes and picture locations, video and audio that will play on your computer. Different TCP/IP protocols (it is suite of protocols) do different things. http is web content. smtp is email. DNS is name resolution (find an IP address based on the url of a web site). All kinds of functions. You CAN encrypt your packets with https or SAML, etc. No one can read them unless they have the private key, which should only be on your—or the distant end computer. That is why the various agencies and governments hate encryption. Witness the Telegraph guy who was arrested to providing encrypted messaging.

But the problem is that there is no single person at Microsoft, or RedHat, or Apple—or any vendor, who knows what the totality of their own OS is actually made up of. I used to work for Microsoft as a contractor. No one knows what all the OS code does, because no one works on every part of it—just their own components they are specialized to create and improve. They’re extremely smart guys, but they don’t know everything because it too complex.

The simplest way to treat a computer or device connected to the Internet is to assume it is already compromised. Either don’t use it for what you don’t want to get caught doing—or know it is compromised and be a patriot and say what you want and these wankers listening can just get F’d.

I’ve actually started to use my real name when supporting Trump, arguing with Leftists or defying illegal government overreach because I have free speech and they are NOT going to get me to hide and say nothing.

Rebellion against tyrants is obedience to God
—Ben Franklin

[dayglored]

Windows 11 Spyware Update... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

Thanks to CedarDave for the ping!

[GOPJ]

Elon needs to release the information on how to turn it off... fight the machine.

[MayflowerMadam]

“Does anyone really believe that switching it off actually switches it off?”

Yes. The same people who believe that your cell phone can’t listen to you or track you if they turn off the phone.

[MayflowerMadam]

” tracking unless you saw the email they sent out and responded within 3 days.”

I don’t recall receiving an email like this. Would it have come from your provider? About how long ago would that have been? Thanks!

[MayflowerMadam]

“So folks understand... This is not about your camera.”

Yes. I’m not a techie (any more), and understand the camera has nothing to do with these screen shots. It’s Big Brother’s “camera” doing the deed.

[MayflowerMadam]

I think it’s funny when my Win 7 computer gives me popups saying that there are updates waiting to be installed.

[daniel1212]

https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/software/how-disable-copilot-in-windows-11
https://www.windowscentral.com/software-apps/windows-11/how-to-disable-windows-copilot-in-windows-11

[MayflowerMadam]

If you ditch Windows for LinuxMint, how does that work? Is there a huge learning curve for us who’ve only ever used Windows?

I get that you can use different browsers (Google, Brave, etc.) but to change out a whole operating system ... I don’t get it.

And what is Edge? A browser, or something else? I just bought a refurbished small laptop with Win 10 for traveling and it slaps me in the face with Edge which seems very annoying.

I hate what Technology/Government has done to technology.

[MayflowerMadam]

“Learn how to drive with a map, while there are still road signs.”

... while there are still maps.

[MayflowerMadam]

“Snowden is a patriot hero !”

And a supreme dumbass. He said he he didn’t want Trump to pardon him because he hates Trump so much. That’s an extreme case of TDS, to prefer to remain a criminal than to be freed by PDJT.

[MayflowerMadam]

“We should all reset our lifestyles, quit the “convenient” tech that has tempted us to forfeit our privacy”

I think about that a lot. How they package their spyware to be so wonderful that you can’t live without it, and it’s incremental so you become the frog in the kettle.

Like cell phones, which were so great at the beginning when you could call and text. Then using baby steps they’ve added maps, financial options, cameras, and a hundred other CONVENIENT things. Then they disabled earlier technology so that it’s impossible to use the earlier versions so you’re forced to carry their spyware everywhere you go. (I still have my Motorola V60s flip that I loved so much.)

Ditto for PCs.

[ducttape45]

So glad I don’t use W11

[Openurmind]

“Is there a huge learning curve for us who’ve only ever used Windows?”

Absolutely not! Mint is almost exactly like using Windows 7! The folder file system is the same, all the right click menus are the same, drag and drop all the same, Etc. If you are familiar with windows 7 or Windows classic shell you will immediately be 90% familiar. And the other 10% is only a difference in Labeling. Linux labels for the very same windows features are different is all. Example, the bottom “taskbar” in windows is labelled “panel” in Linux. “Execute” is “launch” Etc.

“I get that you can use different browsers (Google, Brave, etc.) but to change out a whole operating system ... I don’t get it.”

It isn’t that hard but it is not just a casual operation. But a good step by step guide can make it painless. But like other Linux guys I suggest test driving it first before taking the next step to commit and install it into a machine for good to replace windows. And this is easy to do from a Linux USB stick. You can actually run and use Linux from a stick that is easy to create. And it will not affect the default Windows OS in the machine to do so.

Yes, edge is just the supplied default browser MS wants you to use. They will probably keep bothering you about it not being your default browser. And THAT is why I hate MS.

“I hate what Technology/Government has done to technology.”

With a passion! They have ruined it. MS and the three letter agencies now own your machine, not you. Linux gives it back to you and only you own it again. This alone is HUGE!

[Nervous Tick]

Ditto.
Microsoft has made it extremely difficult to turn off their AI crap on Win10 too.
I don’t trust that humanist indian run company...

[dayglored]

> So glad I don’t use W11

I have to use Win11 at work, but at home I use Win10 if I have to go on the internet with it. I also have Win7 for some older applications, but that machine never goes on the internet.

Win11 is not on my personal "WANT" list. When Win10 support drops next year it'll get interesting.

[Semper Vigilantis]

You can check with your PC manufacturer to see if your model has TPM 1.2 (installed as firmware starting around 2015/Windows 7) or TPM 2.0 hardware (around 2020 or Windows 10).
Many manufacturers encourage updating 1.2 to 2.0. The candy the 2.0 man in the van offers is the ability to update your OS to the newer versions.
From what I have read 1.2 firmware TPM protects the chip and ‘root’. Version 2.0 is required for the screen scraping software to work.
For DELL users, there is a chart where you can lookup your model to see if has TPM.
https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000132583/dell-systems-that-can-upgrade-from-tpm-version-1-2-to-2-0

I only buy refurnished computers that are NOT windows 10 ready/compatible, wipe the HDD and install a Linux OS. I NEVER install hardware updates/fixes.

[Alas Babylon!]

The TPM chips became available in 2009 for 2.1, and TPM 2.0 in 2014. They’re hardware, not part of the operating system.

You really can’t upgrade them unless you replace the Main board. The software Microsoft uses depends on having the TPM installed, or being able to boot to USB and install it on a usb stick—which, for ever more, must be available on every reboot. All of this is necessary to run Windows 11.

I used to write official courseware for Microsoft. The last course I wrote was for Win 11 & Server 2019, so I had to have equipment with a TPM. I have since retired. I do have several older machines, including a Dell PowerEdge 610, that do not have TPMs.