Developing an AI-powered threat to security, privacy, and identity is certainly a choice, but it’s one that Microsoft was willing to make this week at its “Build” developer conference. On Monday, the computing giant unveiled a new line of PCs that integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to promise faster speeds, enhanced productivity, and a powerful data collection and search tool that screenshots a device’s activity—including password entry—every few seconds. This is “Recall,” a much-advertised feature within what Microsoft is calling its “Copilot+ PCs,” a reference to the AI assistant and companion which the company released in late 2023. With Recall on the new Copilot+ PCs, users no longer need to manage and remember their own browsing and chat activity. Instead, by regularly taking and storing screenshots of a user’s activity, the Copilot+ PCs can comb through that visual data to deliver answers to natural language questions, such as “Find the site with the white sneakers,” and “blue pantsuit with a sequin lace from abuelita.” As any regularly updated repository of device activity poses an enormous security threat—imagine hackers getting access to a Recall database and looking for, say, Social Security Numbers, bank account info, and addresses—Microsoft has said that all Recall screenshots are encrypted and stored locally on a device. But, in terms of security, that’s about all users will get, as Recall will not detect and obscure passwords, shy away from recording pornographic material, or turn a blind eye to sensitive information. According to Microsoft: > “Note that Recall does not perform content moderation. It will not hide information such as passwords or financial account numbers. That data may be in snapshots that are stored on your device, especially when sites do not follow standard internet protocols like cloaking password entry.” The consequences of such a system could be enormous. With Recall, a CEO’s personal laptop could become an even more enticing target for hackers equipped with infostealers, a journalist’s protected sources could be within closer grasp of an oppressive government that isn’t afraid to target dissidents with malware, and entire identities could be abused and impersonated by a separate device user. In fact, Recall seems to only work best in a one-device-per-person world. Though Microsoft explained that its Copilot+ PCs will only record Recall snapshots to specific device _accounts_ , plenty of people share devices _and_ accounts. For the domestic abuse survivor who is forced to share an account with their abuser, for the victim of theft who—like many people—used a weak device passcode that can easily be cracked, and for the teenager who questions their identity on the family computer, Recall could be more of a burden than a benefit. For Malwarebytes General Manager of Consumer Business Unit Mark Beare, Recall raises yet another issue: > “I worry that we are heading to a social media 2.0 like world.” When users first raced to upload massive quantities of sensitive, personal data onto social media platforms more than 10 years ago, they couldn’t predict how that data would be scrutinized in the future, or how it would be scoured and weaponized by cybercriminals, Beare said. “With AI there will be a strong pull to put your full self into a model (so it knows you),” Beare said. “I don’t think it’s easy to understand all the negative aspects of what can happen from doing that and how bad actors can benefit.” * * * **We don’t just report on threats—we help safeguard your entire digital identity** Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Protect your, and your family’s, personal information by using identity protection.

What if creators could be supported without relying only on ads or subscriptions? 🌱 Web Monetization enables real-time, frictionless support, expanding revenue options while preserving privacy and openness. Read more: https://interledger.org/news/web-isnt-free #Interledger #OpenWeb

The internet isn’t truly free: we “pay” with our time, attention, and data, which fuel platforms designed to capture and manipulate us. Alternatives like Web Monetization aim to restore privacy, fairness, and control by letting users directly support creators.

small businesses collectively fund, own, and control the software they depend on. no more saas rent.

Have you ever wondered why news articles around the web have buttons to share to some of those other social sites, but not on Mastodon? There used to be a legitimate reason for this: unlike legacy social, Mastodon isn’t a single monolithic website you can link to; there are over 8,000 places where a person could have a Mastodon account! Their account could be on `mastodon.social`, the large, official server run by us. Or `hachyderm.io`, a sizeable server for tech enthusiasts operated by Nivenly. Or `social.coop`, a Mastodon server operated like a co-operative, where all members pay towards the costs and vote on decisions together. Some people run their own Mastodon servers, on their hardware at home. The distributed nature of the network is the greatest strength of Mastodon, but it also means that having a share button that takes you to the “correct” Mastodon server for your account, is a lot more involved than a simple hyperlink. Third party solutions have existed before now, but none of them have become ubiquitous, or easy to discover for website owners. This changes today, with our new official Share tool. If you are a website owner, you can go to share.joinmastodon.org to find instructions describing how to integrate this on your website. Of course, we’ve also made the code available and open source, the same as the rest of Mastodon’s code. That means you can check how it works, and even host a share page of your own (you don’t need to host anything, but you can, if you don’t want to use the version that we’re hosting - it’s your choice). To try out what sharing something looks like right now, click “Share on Mastodon” on this very blog post (there’s a button to do it, at the top right of the page). The tool itself works entirely in your browser: there is no tracking data, and it does not store any information on the server. If you have multiple Mastodon accounts, you can add more than one, and choose which one to share to when you post. One more thing to mention here: back when we released Mastodon version 4.4, tucked away in the release notes, we mentioned that server administrators have the option to send a referrer header when a link is clicked. If the owner of your server has enabled that setting, then websites whose links get shared will see traffic coming from Mastodon - yet another way to share how the community is growing. We’re looking forward to seeing the Mastodon logo on more websites - possibly, alongside other social media platforms; and maybe even as the “main” sharing link, like here on our blog.

Start time, end time, animation, and detailed viewing information for the upcoming eclipse in Denver, Colorado, USA

Minidocumentary of a Finnish Wild Garden (2025). Cinematography by: Magdalena Hai The Dog: Bardi (A Very Good Boy) Music by: Enchantment - Dan Barracuda Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/dan...

just kidding ........ unless ?? 👀 💰 💻 🧑‍🎨. A run-down of the 15 ways we could think of to get funding for your project: from the capitalist (venture capital) to the grassroots (direct donations). We cover the various types of community, arts, research and business funding, and even mention DAOs.

Advocating for Android as a free, open platform for everyone to build apps on.

Extreme cold didn't stop the shutdown on Friday as some 100 faith leaders were arrested, residents stayed home from work, and an estimated 50,000 or more marched through downtown Minneapolis.

Can’t reform this. ICE agents leaving mockups of the Vietnam-era card decks that special forces used to leave after capturing or killing targets. https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/colorado-advocacy-group-ice-agents-left-death-cards/73-4a285026-ed8b-4929-b896-adc83436df71

Colorado leads the nation in adopting a backstop for stream and wetland safeguards.