{"id":611415,"date":"2026-04-16T20:11:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T20:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/611415\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T20:11:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T20:11:10","slug":"is-it-time-to-recall-windows-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/611415\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it time to recall Windows 11?"},"content":{"rendered":"

TL;DR: Microsoft released Recall to the public last April\u2014an AI feature that captures your computer screen every few seconds. The release came with a promised security fix after months in previews, but a researcher just proved it\u2019s still exploitable<\/a>. It\u2019s the latest entry in a long list of user grievances around AI and Windows 11, an OS that\u2019s recently gained market share probably due more to Microsoft killing Windows 10 support than because anyone actually wanted it.<\/p>\n

What happened: A cybersecurity researcher has shown that malware can silently extract hoards of data collected by Windows Recall\u2014a supposedly convenient feature that periodically captures what you\u2019re doing on your PC and uses AI to make it all searchable. (This can include anything you\u2019re looking at on your screen, from bank account details to your most regrettable Google searches.) Backlash around its security initially delayed the feature\u2019s launch, and it was released to the public last April with encrypted storage and biometric authentication. Apparently, that wasn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n

The problem: Recall\u2019s data usually sits locked in a secure vault, but malware can trigger Recall to unlock by prompting a real Windows security pop-up where users verify their identity. Once the vault opens, Recall hands your data off to a separate, unprotected process to display it on screen\u2014and that\u2019s when the malware intercepts it.<\/p>\n

No fix appears to be coming; Microsoft doesn\u2019t consider this an actual vulnerability, since the OS intentionally allows processes to interact with one another\u2014the same way antivirus software does<\/a> in order to protect your PC. But such handoffs are typically a momentary exchange with one credential or file, rather than a running record of everything you do on your PC. Some experts argue Recall\u2019s central feature is the real problem and another example of a recurring tension with AI features offering convenience at the cost of security.<\/p>\n

Tech news that makes sense of your fast-moving world.<\/p>\n

Tech Brew breaks down the biggest tech news, emerging innovations, workplace tools, and cultural trends so you can understand what’s new and why it matters.<\/p>\n

Microslop: It\u2019s not just Recall\u2014since its 2021 launch, Windows 11 has faced very public backlash over annoyances like forced Copilot integrations<\/a> and Start menu ads<\/a>. The AI features users haven\u2019t asked for\u2014and can’t easily get rid of\u2014even earned the company a new nickname<\/a>: \u201cMicroslop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bottom line: Microsoft\u2019s deployment of yet another unsecured AI feature helps feed the perception many users have of Windows 11\u2014as an OS engineered for Microsoft\u2019s data collection and revenue aims rather than a positive user experience. Some people are eagerly hoping Windows 12 will be better<\/a>, banking on the folk wisdom that every alternating major Windows release is good. But the Copilot genie is already out of the bottle, and it\u2019ll be very hard to put it back in. \u2014WK<\/p>\n

Also at Microsoft\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TL;DR: Microsoft released Recall to the public last April\u2014an AI feature that captures your computer screen every few…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,63,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-611415","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}