#Privacy and Security

[intothestacks]

Whether you like Apple or not, their stand on refusing to hack into their cellphones is extremely important for setting a precedent on privacy.

Here’s John Oliver to explain to you just why this matters so much.

[silurisanguine]

This really feels like a GDPR breach....

Recall is designed to use local AI models to screenshot everything you see or do on your computer and then give you the ability to search and retrieve anything in seconds. There’s even an explorable timeline you can scroll through. Everything in Recall is designed to remain local and private on-device, so no data is used to train Microsoft’s AI models. Despite Microsoft’s promises of a secure and encrypted Recall experience, cybersecurity expert Kevin Beaumont has found that the AI-powered feature has some potential security flaws. Beaumont, who briefly worked at Microsoft in 2020, has been testing out Recall over the past week and discovered that the feature stores data in a database in plain text.

Holy cats, this is way worse than we were told.

Microsoft said that Recall stored its zillions of screenshots in an encrypted database hidden in a system folder. Turns out, they're using SQLite, a free (public domain) database to store unencrypted plain text in the user's home folder. Which is definitely NOT secure.

Further, Microsoft refers to Recall as an optional experience. But it's turned on by default, and turning it off is a chore. They buried it in a control panel setting.

They say certain URLs and websites can be blacklisted from Recall, but only if you're using Microsoft's Edge browser! But don't worry: DRM protected films & music will never get recorded. Ho ho ho.

This whole debacle feels like an Onion article but it's not.

Luckily(?) Recall is currently only available on Windows 11, but I fully expect Microsoft to try and shove this terrible thing onto unsuspecting Win10 users via Update.

Stay tuned...

[nixcraft]

Literal definition of spyware:

Also From Microsoft’s own FAQ: "Note that Recall does not perform content moderation. It will not hide information such as passwords or financial account numbers. 🤡

[political-us]

[abbiistabbii]

I think every computer user needs to read this because holy fucking shit this is fucking horrible.

So Windows has a new feature incoming called Recall where your computer will first, monitor everything you do with screenshots every couple of seconds and "process that" with an AI.

Hey, errrr, fuck no? This isn't merely because AI is really energy intensive to the point that it causes environmental damage. This is because it's basically surveilling what you are doing on your fucking desktop.

This AI is not going to be on your desktop, like all AI, it's going to be done on another server, "in the cloud" to be precise, so all those data and screenshot? They're going to go off to Microsoft. Microsoft are going to be monitoring what you do on your own computer.

Now of course Microsoft are going to be all "oooh, it's okay, we'll keep your data safe". They won't. Let me just remind you that evidence given over from Facebook has been used to prosecute a mother and daughter for an "illegal abortion", Microsoft will likely do the same.

And before someone goes "durrr, nuthin' to fear, nuthin to hide", let me remind you that you can be doing completely legal and righteous acts and still have the police on your arse. Are you an activist? Don't even need to be a hackivist, you can just be very vocal about something concerning and have the fucking police on your arse. They did this with environmental protesters in the UK. The culture war against transgender people looks likely to be heading in a direction wherein people looking for information on transgender people or help transitioning will be tracked down too. You have plenty to hide from the government, including your opinions and ideas.

Again, look into backing up your shit and switching to Linux Mint or Ubuntu to get away from Microsoft doing this shit.

[theenterprisemac]

Confidential Computing

This is an interesting look at what 1Password is doing with confidential computing–the age old quest to provide the same security assurances in the cloud as you'd get if you ran the code locally on your own machine.

I haven't fully looked through this yet, but I wanted to post it for reference and for anyone who is curious.

This is a trend I am happy to see getting traction with many companies trying to do it: AMD, ARM, IBM, Intel, and NVIDIA. Various cloud provides such as AWS, Google and IBM etc have offerings in this range.

I would also put Apple's Private Cloud Compute in this range as spiritually similar just not directly identifiable as confidential compute.

I will post more detailed thoughts in the future. As you'd expect these efforts are all likely to be fraught with issues and challenges.

[digitaledemocratie]

Privacy and Security in Digital Democracy: Challenges and Solutions

The rise of digital technologies has drastically changed the way democratic processes unfold. From online voting and e-petitions to digital platforms for citizen participation, digital democracy tools offer a range of possibilities to engage citizens in decision-making processes. However, these opportunities also come with significant challenges in terms of privacy and security. In this blog, we…

[linusjf]

Margaret Cho: Privacy and security

“Privacy and security are those things you give up when you show the world what makes you extraordinary. ” —Margaret Cho.

[yellowmagicalgirl]

An issue with using Face ID is that you can be forced to open your phone. While some judges have ruled that this would violate the 4th and 5th Amendments, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it's lawful for a cop to force you to open your phone with either Face ID or a fingerprint.

If you must track your menstrual cycle digitally, then you need to memorize a numerical passcode. Even then, however, you're relying on Apple and the creators of the app not handing over your data to the government.

This is a serious question regarding the new laws that will be put into place.

I (a uterus-having individual) use the default-installed Apple Heath app on my iPhone to track things that are going on in case of an emergency. This includes my period data, for which there thankfully isn't much logged due to the fact that I just got this phone last month. I can't get a purely offline app because my mom won't let me, and the parental controls prevent me from de-syncing my app data from iCloud, so is my best bet to just require Face ID to access the info on my phone?

I can't keep up with physically tracking my data due to memory issues and executive dysfunction, so this is my only option. Would it be more worth it for me to just memorize everything or do I absolutely have to track physically? With great concern, - a minor with no other choice

I think it’s good that you want to take steps to keep your data (and yourself) safe. I’ll open this question up for my American readers - they may be able to give you a more accurate assessment of the situation than I can.

Who can help out anon with some information?

[ralfmaximus]

Reminder that twitter is now an informal, unregulated (i.e. warrantless) information source for Trump administration use.

[nixcraft]

Microsoft's latest update for Windows 11 (with Copilot+) includes a feature called "Recall" that you might want to disable. The Recall records everything on screen you do. This means it stores information like your passwords, browsing history, images, videos, messages, and emails. To disable it, type the following command as admin user:

Dism /Online /Disable-Feature /Featurename:Recall

[gingersnapwolves]

For any wondering what just happened, here's the simplified version:

Step one: Trump says we should ban TikTok "because it's owned by China"

Step two: a bipartisan bill passes to ban it unless it sells out majority shares to an American company

Step three: Supreme Court upholds ban citing national security

Step four: Tiktok goes dark for JUST long enough for people to be upset about it

Step five: Trump vows he'll save Tiktok once he takes office

Step six: Tiktok posts an ad for beloved Trump fixing the issue and comes back online

Step seven: Everyone loves Trump for bringing back TikTok despite him being the one to originally introduce the concept of a ban

Step eight, presumptive: Meta takes a majority stake of ByteDance, bypassing the issue, and will own Tiktok

Step nine, definite: fucking profit

On the one hand, as a nation we are deeply unserious people, but on the other hand, ALL DEMOCRATS HAD TO DO TO AVOID THIS WAS NOT FUCKING BAN TIKTOK IN THE FIRST PLACE

I swear to God as a lifelong Democrat this party is just that gif of Sideshow Bob stepping on a rake and taking it in the face on a loop

[opensuse-official]

I think it is very cool how tech companies, schools, employers, and universities make it actively difficult to distance yourself from Google, Microsoft, and Apple.

Yes most Linux distros are very stable, way more secure, privacy friendly, and way more customizable. But every institution is built to make technological independence as difficult as possible.

Yelling on the internet that everyone should switch to Linux and FOSS really ignores how much of the technological world is designed to not let that happen.

[superbat-lmao]

That one WFA panel where all the batkids are sleeping in the living room and Bruce is like, “A house full of bedrooms…” (implied: and this is where they choose to sleep?)

It’s similar to this new generation of parents who were bedroom kids raising living room kids. Like, we have a ton of people who have spent their lives avoiding their parents/family members and common spaces in the house only to raise children that feel so safe in those spaces that their parents are honestly confused. They don’t realize how safe of a person they are for their kids and how that is the point of being in common spaces. Or that their kids could honestly want to be around them and not hiding in their rooms.

Bruce is literally a bedroom kid raising living room kids. He spent time in his room as a kid because the manor felt too big, too empty. It reminded him he was alone. But his kids seek out the common areas because it’s the only place that’s big enough for all of them. Could you imagine trying to fit all the batkids into a single bedroom, even if they’re enormous? People will still end up on the floor. But the sitting room has enough couches, chairs, and floor pillows for everyone.

Bruce thinks there’s something wrong with his kids rooms, that when they come to stay at the manor they barely use them. It takes a while for him to realize that if his kids wanted to be alone or needed space, they wouldn’t drop by the manor. He doesn’t need to keep offering to redecorate their rooms or remodel the family wing of the manor. He just needs to sit on the couch with them and enjoy it.