Valve Unveils Steam Guard

Modred189 said:
I don't know if the actions of some companies justifies a distrust of ALL companies. Especially Valve which has been one of the few companies to "do no evil." I mean they are the company that not only made a drm scheme palatable, but enabling for the end user. They put out good, quality games that are, largely, worth the price they charge, and are released bug-free.
And if only for the ridiculous amounts of free stuff to TF2 customers, they should have garners SOME amount of respect and faith from the community. I, for one, enjoy their service and products, and don's see this as an issue AT ALL.
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Personally I see questioning everything as a sign of being a good consumer. Valve has earned my trust, so far, but that can change at any moment. I trusted Epic for a while too and Crytek. Companies can and do change. Its worth asking "where can this lead" and "are they going to be allowing publishers access to this". Its also worth saying "keep an eye on this and see where it goes".
 
HydroBudz said:
I stopped buying games from Steam when some douchebag CS:S server owner accused me of cheating and Valve locked out my account.
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Gonna call bullshit on your claim. VAC doesn't work that way. Admins aren't trusted and there is no report system in place for VAC. It happens automatically on Valve's end.
 
Derangel said:
As long as this "security feature" remains optional it isn't anything to get too worried about. If/when Valve starts talking about making it mandatory is when we really have to be concerned. If they don't allow publishers access to it to be usable as a DRM device it should never become a real problem.
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Obviously, it is optional--because 99.9% of all of Steam's current customers don't have IPT hardware and have no plans to buy it--so unless Valve wants to lose 99.9% of its Steam customer base--*of course* it is entirely voluntary. The only people who are going to be remotely interested in this are people who have deliberately purchased IPT hardware under the delusion that it is a "security feature" when indeed it is more of an identity tracker. Still, passwords are also identity trackers, just nowhere near as robust as IPT. This feature will attract very few people--about as many people as were attracted to Intel's idea of making cpu serial numbers mandatory in the bios--the cry over that one was loud and immediate, and Intel quickly retrenched and made the cpu serial number an *optional* setting in the bios. I'm under the impression that IPT is hardware that must be specified optionally otherwise stock hardware builds will not include the IPT hardware.
 
phide said:
Reads like "opt in" to me.
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The smart money makers know that 'opt in' is the clever way to begin new changes to get the ball rolling as a general principle. If this applies to Steam, I can't say, but it does make me wonder if publishers have been pressuring Steam to go in this direction. Or maybe Steam feels like they have a competitive advantage over other digital distributors when bargaining with publishers.
 
Heh, I love all the Steam hate in here. I am a huge Steam hater. The only time I ever used Steam was when it first came out as I was really into CS/CS:S - and I hated it then. After I stopped playing CS I stopped using Steam. When I heard they were selling games I didn't care as I prefer to have a hard copy of my games. That way I can install them on whatever computer I want, when I want. If my internet goes down, I can still play my games (SP at least): FUCK Steam, forever and always.
 
Parmenides said:
The smart money makers know that 'opt in' is the clever way to begin new changes to get the ball rolling as a general principle. If this applies to Steam, I can't say, but it does make me wonder if publishers have been pressuring Steam to go in this direction. Or maybe Steam feels like they have a competitive advantage over other digital distributors when bargaining with publishers.
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The whole argument is just ridiculous. Why wouldn't they just tie this new Evil DRM to a particular install of Steam? Click the Wonder Powers Activate button on that machine and you're done.

No, the whole point of this is to make users feel more secure by linking their account administration to their own local hardware.

Keep your tinfoil on if you must, but make sure it covers enough of your body to protect against all of Steam's DRM.
 
srangara said:
The whole argument is just ridiculous. Why wouldn't they just tie this new Evil DRM to a particular install of Steam? Click the Wonder Powers Activate button on that machine and you're done.

No, the whole point of this is to make users feel more secure by linking their account administration to their own local hardware.

Keep your tinfoil on if you must, but make sure it covers enough of your body to protect against all of Steam's DRM.
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So you know for a fact that this has no bearing on the relationship Steam has with publishers?
 
HydroBudz said:
I stopped buying games from Steam when some douchebag CS:S server owner accused me of cheating and Valve locked out my account"
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lol @ you getting caught cheating by VAC and blaming it on a "server owner". A server owner cant make VAC\ Valve ban you. Only VAC detecting a hack will cause you to get banned.
 
CHAoS_NiNJA said:
bender_laugh_moar.jpg


Aaaahahahaha, oh [H]ard|Forums, I love how you become Fox News to things like this.

Its a security feature and has nothing to do with your games. It is completely opt-in, you are not forced to do it if you don't want the extra security.

Steam Accounts are *huge* target for hackers, with a lot of people having hundred and hundreds of dollars worth of games locked into their account, they are constantly being attacked. My account was compromised once before (while using a respectable password), and I have had numerous friends who have had their accounts targeted and broken into. A feature like this has been asked for by the community for ages. Steam accounts are important, but if you want to opt-out and use "password" as your password to protect all your games, by all means.
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So why don't they use a security method that every Steam user can use?
 
Can't we just have the Blizzard system? Optional authenticator, $6 hardware fob or free mobile phone app? It seems to work well...
 
Khaos Kid said:
Heh, I love all the Steam hate in here. I am a huge Steam hater. The only time I ever used Steam was when it first came out as I was really into CS/CS:S - and I hated it then. After I stopped playing CS I stopped using Steam. When I heard they were selling games I didn't care as I prefer to have a hard copy of my games. That way I can install them on whatever computer I want, when I want. If my internet goes down, I can still play my games (SP at least): FUCK Steam, forever and always.
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You don't understand what Steam is or how it works.
 
You guys sometimes forget that "optional" can sometimes be the first step towards "mandatory".
 
Fail said:
You guys sometimes forget that "optional" can sometimes be the first step towards "mandatory".
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This is the rise of Franco!

I don't see a problem with this as it stands now. I think we are hoping the shit stinks, instead of sniffing it first.
 
ubergeek14 said:
For everyone getting up in arms over this-

So you can still log in from anywhere and play your games just like you've always done, but if you want to make major changes to the account (password reset, credit card info, address, contact info, etc), you'll have to make it from the authorized machine.

And I imagine if for some reason, the authorized machine gets hosed, they have steps to prove that you are who you say you are.
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That's how I understood it too. Its to prevent hackers from changing your password even when they have access to your account.

And yeah, there are already ways for us to claim back our hacked account by proving to them we're the rightful owner.

Seriously I don't think its legally possible for Steam to start tying games to a particular PC, at least not for the games we've purchased. Should they do it someday, then its back to purchasing retail boxes... unless of course its a move directly from the publishing companies like EA deciding all games should be tied to a PC, then we're really screwed :eek:
 
LeninGHOLA said:
[The Hard|Forum is] hoping the shit stinks, instead of sniffing it first.
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Seriously, unless anyone has any kind of proof besides blind, pointless pessimism and strawman arguments I didn't see why this is an issue.

Like I said before, Fox News.
 
It will inevitably be like this for everyone on Steam, despicable. Everytime you upgrade they will want you to pay more to play your games.
 
Well what about people who don't have those fancy new systems with that new technology?

I don't see why they didn't have this type of setup before, but instead of some fancy encryption, just link a users account (if they want, optionally) to their computers MAC Address.... that way it would be a huge random number the "hacker" would have to develop or find out on top of the userid/password of the steam account. Shit, I could even code that "MAC Checker", that sounds cheesy and simple to program and I hate programming for the most part.
 
:facepalm: at most of this thread.

I know most people in most news threads post without reading the article but this is a little ridiculous.

You can still play your games wherever you want on any computer you want, I don't understand why all the rage.
 
AMD T-type said:
:facepalm: at most of this thread.

I know most people in most news threads post without reading the article but this is a little ridiculous.

You can still play your games wherever you want on any computer you want, I don't understand why all the rage.
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People are, rightfully, concerned where this could lead. Yes there is the whole "it only works on IPT capable CPUs" thing which does kill a lot of the argument, but I still stand by my statement of its worth keeping an eye on and seeing where it goes. You should never trust a company completely, nothing deserves blind devotion. I'm not mad though, more curious and cautious.
 
Just sounds similar to what some of the banks are doing now, like a crypto card, in order to confirm who you say you are, punch in the random 25 characters generated on the fob. Don't see anything wrong with this.
 
The majority of comments in this thread are the same uninformed drivel that you find in the comments on any news story at any news site on the net.

For some reason I expected better from this community...

And an extra LOL @ the noob who thinks his account was banned by a server operator. Who let you out of your cage?
 
Parmenides said:
So you know for a fact that this has no bearing on the relationship Steam has with publishers?
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It's a pretty simple deduction from the fact that not everyone has an Intel CPU, and not everyone that does has chosen to enable the ID.

Derangel said:
So why don't they use a security method that every Steam user can use?
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It's a feature of some Intel CPUs that some users can take advantage of. Any other authentication method will necessarily be less uniquely identifiable than the piece of hardware at the center of your computer.

Fail said:
You guys sometimes forget that "optional" can sometimes be the first step towards "mandatory".
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The first step toward mandatory would be the fact that Steam IS DRM and has been since Day 1. It's a little late in the game to start forecasting doom.

In fact, with vendors like EA and Microsoft building their own distribution networks, it's a little late in the game for Valve to make their system less attractive by making their offerings less portable.

The thing we should really be concerned about is the likelihood that only Intel CPU owners who adopt this feature will get the "Intel On Top" hat to wear in TF2. :D
 
Khaos Kid said:
Heh, I love all the Steam hate in here. I am a huge Steam hater. The only time I ever used Steam was when it first came out as I was really into CS/CS:S - and I hated it then. After I stopped playing CS I stopped using Steam. When I heard they were selling games I didn't care as I prefer to have a hard copy of my games. That way I can install them on whatever computer I want, when I want. If my internet goes down, I can still play my games (SP at least): FUCK Steam, forever and always.
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1. Steam allows you to install games on any computer. Without needing to keep track of CD keys and physical media.

2. You can play games without being online with Steam.

I know someone already addressed this post, but it failed so hard it deserved more attention. Ignorant and raging...I guess this is the internet after all.
 
TwistedAegis said:
1. Steam allows you to install games on any computer. Without needing to keep track of CD keys and physical media.

2. You can play games without being online with Steam.

I know someone already addressed this post, but it failed so hard it deserved more attention. Ignorant and raging...I guess this is the internet after all.
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Steam did suck hard when it first came out, when migrating from CS1.5 on WON over to 1.6 and Steam, I remember hating it back then too. It was extremely buggy, the friends list never worked, and the Offline mode never worked properly. So I can see where he would get this impression if that's the last time he used Steam. But now'days...

Steam rocks! :D
 
aaronearles said:
Steam did suck hard when it first came out, when migrating from CS1.5 on WON over to 1.6 and Steam, I remember hating it back then too. It was extremely buggy, the friends list never worked, and the Offline mode never worked properly. So I can see where he would get this impression if that's the last time he used Steam. But now'days...

Steam rocks! :D
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I completely agree- the first year or two of Steam was awful, it was almost unusable.

Now it's just plain awesome- the only games I've bought in the 3-4 years that weren't in Steam have been the WoW expansions.

Hell, I even bought Cataclysm direct from Battle.Net.
 
Khaos Kid said:
Heh, I love all the Steam hate in here. I am a huge Steam hater. The only time I ever used Steam was when it first came out as I was really into CS/CS:S - and I hated it then. After I stopped playing CS I stopped using Steam. When I heard they were selling games I didn't care as I prefer to have a hard copy of my games. That way I can install them on whatever computer I want, when I want. If my internet goes down, I can still play my games (SP at least): FUCK Steam, forever and always.
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Protip. You're being irrational.

You DO have a hard copy of the games if you buy them at retail.

You CAN install them on whatever computer you want, when you want. Steam does not limit number of times you install the game or where you install it to. At all.

I can still play single player (nononline or multiplayer versions) on ALL of my steam games even when the net is down. It's called "Offline mode."

For everything you bash on Steam for, you got wrong.
 
Dylan80 said:
Well what about people who don't have those fancy new systems with that new technology?

I don't see why they didn't have this type of setup before, but instead of some fancy encryption, just link a users account (if they want, optionally) to their computers MAC Address.... that way it would be a huge random number the "hacker" would have to develop or find out on top of the userid/password of the steam account. Shit, I could even code that "MAC Checker", that sounds cheesy and simple to program and I hate programming for the most part.
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As has been said multiple times in this topic:
MAC addresses are not huge, random, unique, or hard to spoof. You broadcast your mac address every time you send a packet over the internet. It would be like requiring someone to enter the color of your car before they can turn the key. You couldn't even call it a "security feature".
 
wizdum said:
As has been said multiple times in this topic:
MAC addresses are not huge, random, unique, or hard to spoof. You broadcast your mac address every time you send a packet over the internet. It would be like requiring someone to enter the color of your car before they can turn the key. You couldn't even call it a "security feature".
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:rolleyes: You have some more reading to do before you try explaining networking to other people on the internet... your PC's MAC is not broadcast outside of your own network.
 
"User Rights Management"... The very sound of that makes the feathers on the back of my neck stand on end.
 
Let me get this straight...you slip up and don't enable the feature, then someone hacks your acct and enables it for themselves...you are screwed.

Another scenario...you enable then luightning kills your PC. Now your account is effectively useless.

Sounds pretty stupid. Now...if you can lock it to a fingerprint...that would be better, unless your finger gets cut off.
 
BBA said:
Another scenario...you enable then luightning kills your PC. Now your account is effectively useless.
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You really believe that's how it's going to work? I mean, the press release is pretty sparse on details, but from what little detail there is you were able to discern that this is going to be the case?

I'm impressed.
 
I agree with phide. HardOCP Front Page = Fox News Channel. Y'all use no logic, just jump to conclusions.

I especially like how some of you made the cause and effect pattern 'Steam makes it harder for separate computers to modify account settings, therefore they will soon only allow you to access the content on one machine.' Logic eludes you.
 
Should be interesting to see how this works. Of course won't the bad guys figure out a way to spoof a Steam account's PC identification? I don't think this worked out too well for Sony when they started to ban hacked PSN accounts. I agree that a logon and password should be good enough.
 
Sorry if its been posted, but here's a video of Gabe Newell demonstrating it by giving his id and password to the public for anyone who wish to see what happens when they try to change the password of a protected account.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXkTMhp7QFI

Don't know if its still valid, but anyone wants to try and access and see what he have in his account?:D
 
I think he is asking for trouble. Now to go read some other forums to see what that community is attempting.
 
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