It’s decision time.<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
Update: Republished on May 17 with new warnings over the enterprise risks from this new AI upgrade and a game-changing big brother threat to Windows users. <\/p>\n
Microsoft has now released its latest update for Windows 11 users, which is mandatory given the raft of new security fixes accompanied by the near obligatory attack warnings. I covered the headline security fixes earlier<\/a>, but perhaps just as critically this update comes with a very different warning and a key decision all users must now take.<\/p>\n Because \u201cKB5058411 is a mandatory security update,\u201d Windows Latest<\/a> explains, \u201cit\u2019s supposed to download and install automatically whether you like it or not.\u201d The catch with this one is that \u201cwe noticed that it finally turns on Recall, which is an AI-based feature that captures snapshots of your screen every few seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n There can\u2019t be any Windows 11 users who are still unaware of Microsoft\u2019s controversial photographic memory upgrade \u2014 the headline AI feature now available on new Copilot+ PCs. \u201cIf you allow Recall to save snapshots,\u201d Microsoft says, \u201can image of your screen will be saved every few seconds. This will create a photographic memory for you of the apps, websites, documents, and images you\u2019ve seen on your PC.\u201d<\/p>\n ForbesGoogle Chrome Deadline\u201421 Days To Update Or Stop Using BrowserBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n Per Windows Latest: \u201cAfter installing the May 2025 Windows 11 24H2 update, during the reboot and installation process, you\u2019ll be asked if you want to try Recall, and there\u2019ll be an option to opt in\u2026 Windows Recall is one of the most anticipated and hated features of Windows 11 AI update, but it\u2019s finally here, whether you like it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n Given all the publicity and the extent to which this has been heralded, it\u2019s certain that a vast number of users will opt in to see how it works. Be warned though, once you opt in the first time, the security bar for re-enabling Recall is much lower after you have turned it off. So just be careful. You can find details on how to remove Recall here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The more serious caution is for those you communicate with, not for your own security and privacy. As I\u2019ve warned before, once enabled, Microsoft\u2019s AI will read and save all your WhatsApp, Signal and other secure messages and emails<\/a>. While you might be fine with that \u2014 albeit it\u2019s far from ideal, you should really let those messaging with you know that everything is being saved outside the messaging app with a much lower security hurdle to compromise their content.<\/p>\n Recall is finally here.<\/p>\n Windows Latest<\/p>\n Of all Recall\u2019s risks, the capture of secure comms and documents outside of their usual enclave is top of the list. It\u2019s a security nightmare in the making. Just look at the furor in the U.S. over an extension to Signal\u2019s usual security architecture<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cTo test this,\u201d Kevin Beaumont posted<\/a>, \u201cI tasked my partner with using my device while I was away from desk to use Recall to find out who\u2019d I\u2019d been talking to the previous day in Signal and what I\u2019d been saying.\u201d She guessed the PIN. \u201cIn 5 minutes, a non-technical person had access to everything I\u2019d ever done on the PC, including disappearing Signal conversations (as Recall retains anything deleted). That isn\u2019t great.\u201d<\/p>\n In an otherwise positive review of Recall, PC Mag<\/a> echoes this warning. \u201cOne case where privacy could be a concern has less to do with you than those you interact with. If you have a private conversation with someone else on Signal and they are running the app on their Copilot+ PC with Recall active, it will record your conversation, or at least a snapshot every few seconds. But someone could just as easily save screenshots to any device, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n I suspect a further update will address this. Recall has been steeped in controversy for a reason \u2014 make sure you consider all the pros and cons before you decide to opt in.<\/p>\n ForbesSamsung\u2019s Android Problem\u2014This Completely Changes Your PhoneBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n And it isn\u2019t just individual users who need to make this AI upgrade decision. As reported by Accounting Today<\/a>, \u201cdespite security enhancements from Microsoft, CPA firms are likely to disable the controversial Recall feature in Windows 11, which uses AI to create a precise record of user activity, but leaders concede there is little they can do about potential indirect tracking via third parties that still have it enabled.\u201d<\/p>\n Again, the focus is not just on the user enabling Recall, it\u2019s on all those that user communicates with. Recall is new and exciting, and so much of the media furor both now and when it really hit the skids last year has been seen from the individual user perspective. But the risk of thousands of devices capturing everything and then the security and privacy implications for an organization will take time to assess.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the individual privacy dimension. I\u2019m sure almost all employees will not want a constant photographic memory of their workday stored anywhere, certainly not on a work PC \u2014 but that\u2019s likely where we\u2019re heading. Imagine a Recall that can\u2019t be disabled by the user sitting at the keyboard in front of the screen. And that\u2019s before we look at the counterparty risk from all the screen capturing.<\/p>\n ForbesGoogle Warns Android Phone Thieves\u2014We Will Shut You DownBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhile firms can take action for themselves,\u201d Accounting Today says, \u201cthe indirect third party risk remains. While one user might disable Recall, anything shared with someone who has enabled it will be saved to their device, which could still result in data leakage and cyber incidents. Imagine someone from a firm with Recall disabled talking about sensitive matters with a vendor who does have it enabled; now imagine that vendor getting hacked and the attackers getting that sensitive data despite the firm itself protecting on their end.\u201d It\u2019s hard to imagine the implications of such a leak.<\/p>\n \u201cHow secure is the encrypted database?\u201d Beaumont asks. \u201cThere\u2019s much attack surface that needs exploring. Recall runs various processes as the end user, e.g. aihost.exe \u2014 the end user can terminate it and watch it respawn \u2014 which write to the database. Microsoft have taken measures to secure those processes from things like memory dumping, but there\u2019s still processes running as the end user which don\u2019t have this protection, that you can memory dump (e.g. the Recall UI, which contains the text seen in snapshots in memory \u2014 and can be programmatically extracted). Currently there\u2019s 0 research online around Recall\u2019s security stack\u2026 I suspect info stealer developers will be all over this, and will frankly be a better resource than dumb infosec people like me.\u201d<\/p>\n Per PC Mag, \u201cmany old-school Windows users will, out of fear and loathing, never try Recall. Ditto for those who shun anything with a whiff of AI\u2026 There are indeed reasons that some people shouldn\u2019t use it: Those who engage in super-secret conversations should probably steer clear and avoid communicating with people who use Recall, for instance. That said, Microsoft has locked it down. And unlike Apple Intelligence, which sends data to the company\u2019s servers, everything in Recall stays local.\u201d<\/p>\n ForbesHacking Disaster Warning\u2014Delete All These Emails On Your PCBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n