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For awhile now, many Steam users have fallen victim to a rash outbreak of malware. Simply put, the malware's function is to steal your inventory of targeted items by exploiting the Steam Trading system. All a victim has to do is execute a file, one disguised as a .scr, and blammo - goodbye CS:GO or Dota 2 items. Inside sources say that these phishers create "thousands of bots" a day to help seed the malware.
Steam Trading did not have much of an authentication safeguard in place, so it was pretty easy for phishers to steal items. Well, today, Valve has implemented a new safeguard.
Trade offers now require that both users pass a CAPTCHA test before committing to a trade deal.
"We’re updating trading to include a captcha as part of confirmation process," John C. from Valve said today. "This is to prevent malware on users’ machines making trades on their behalf. We know it’s a bit of a hassle, and we don’t like making trading harder for users, but we do expect it to significantly help customers who are tricked into downloading and running malware from losing their items."
Is this a good idea? It should help to curb some of the cases of victims of this malware, easing the load on Valve's already strained Customer Support. But is this just making the trade experience more of a nuisance? Also, Google says that there are bots out there that can solve nearly 100% of all CAPTCHA tests. Google has developed their own system, called reCAPTCHA, which claims no bot can crack and is a more streamlined process for users. Should Valve implement reCAPTCHA instead?
Image: SteamDB's Twitter
Steam Trading did not have much of an authentication safeguard in place, so it was pretty easy for phishers to steal items. Well, today, Valve has implemented a new safeguard.
Trade offers now require that both users pass a CAPTCHA test before committing to a trade deal.
"We’re updating trading to include a captcha as part of confirmation process," John C. from Valve said today. "This is to prevent malware on users’ machines making trades on their behalf. We know it’s a bit of a hassle, and we don’t like making trading harder for users, but we do expect it to significantly help customers who are tricked into downloading and running malware from losing their items."
Is this a good idea? It should help to curb some of the cases of victims of this malware, easing the load on Valve's already strained Customer Support. But is this just making the trade experience more of a nuisance? Also, Google says that there are bots out there that can solve nearly 100% of all CAPTCHA tests. Google has developed their own system, called reCAPTCHA, which claims no bot can crack and is a more streamlined process for users. Should Valve implement reCAPTCHA instead?
Image: SteamDB's Twitter
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