Is STEAM app safe?

[Randel1980]

So i'm pretty new to STEAM game launcher. I want to play a lot of game but I dont want to spend a lot of money, so I rent a shared steam account that costs 10$ a month with hundred of games that I can play as much as I want, except for online mode. When I logged in I had to enter security code that he gave it to me.

When I logged into his account I see some remote desktop stuff and a lot of computer names, family view, asking for pin to unlock family view mode and a lot of weird stuff. 

 

I just wasn't sure how this app worked, for some reason i thought there might be a way for people to gain access to my computer, but I might be too paranoid.

[starry]

I would get out of that as fast as possible, that sounds big sketch.

[mopman94]

So what you're doing is against TOS and the account might get banned.

You are able to connect and play steam games remotely, this works the same as any remote desktop so in theory yes, they could view and control your desktop. 

I think the idea is meant to be that you download the games that are able to be played offline then never access the account again, but again this is akin to piracy so probably also isn't allowed to be discussed on this forum.

[starry]

You said you were new, so you might not know, but that is not the intended use for steam.

[boggy77]

there are plenty of free games on steam / epic games/ origins / uplay and they all do regular free game giveaways. 

the best way to build a library is to have all the launchers installed with your own account and keep an eye out for free game giveaways or 80-90% sales.

i would stay away from sketchy third party subscription schemes you just described.

[GTXstore]

yeah, i would not trust that account. Steam is free! people should not pay for some jackass's steam libary, because, you wil eventuly pay more than he paid for the games and then he wil make money on that!

[Kilrah]

Steam is perfectly fine, but that way of using it isn't.

[Praesi]

 

 

Just get a normal Steam account. There are tons of F2P Games, there are sales all the time. You can buy Keys in other Stores ectect. No need to buy any weird app from who knows who.

[jaslion]

That is not how you are supposed to use steam. This is abuse of certain services they have an basically piracy at this point. It also sounds very sketchy to me. A legit service that does allow you to get a bunch a games for 5 dollar a month is xbox game pass. Which is for one legal and leant to be used that way and also has online play.

[sub68]

steam is normally safe but you made it unsafe by doing a "shared " account it seem very bad and untrustworthy

but a normal steam account is good

[recon_zero_]

do you trust that guy?

[Sahl]

6 hours ago, Randel1980 said:

So i'm pretty new to STEAM game launcher. I want to play a lot of game but I dont want to spend a lot of money, so I rent a shared steam account that costs 10$ a month with hundred of games that I can play as much as I want, except for online mode. When I logged in I had to enter security code that he gave it to me.

When I logged into his account I see some remote desktop stuff and a lot of computer names, family view, asking for pin to unlock family view mode and a lot of weird stuff. 

 

I just wasn't sure how this app worked, for some reason i thought there might be a way for people to gain access to my computer, but I might be too paranoid.

That is not just illigal, but could also be dangerous to you, if you paid then using your cc information. I also think this sounds pretty problematic with the extra stuff, never heard about that and I have used steam since 2003.

 

My advice.

Uninstall steam and remove his account etc. Do a malware search and change the passwords of your social media stuff.

Then download steam from its original page and install it. Make yourself a user on it and then download one of the many free games (Steam is filled with free to play games) Under the storepage you can click free to play

 

Xbox pass for PC as some suggest is also fine, you basically pay to rent games. I am not really into it, but if you like to play games, complete them and never touch them again, then it is actually a good enough service to be recommended.

 

 

Steam in itself is safe to use and you should not worry about it at all. But renting accounts etc is against the law.

 

[LOST TALE]

12 hours ago, GTXstore said:

yeah, i would not trust that account. Steam is free! people should not pay for some jackass's steam libary, because, you wil eventuly pay more than he paid for the games and then he wil make money on that!

make sure to not buy food from your grocer, for the same reason XD

[LOST TALE]

13 hours ago, Randel1980 said:

When I logged into his account I see some remote desktop stuff and a lot of computer names, family view, asking for pin to unlock family view mode and a lot of weird stuff. 

 

I just wasn't sure how this app worked, for some reason i thought there might be a way for people to gain access to my computer, but I might be too paranoid.

you logged in to his what account? his steam account? I doubt that's steam.

[Randel1980]

4 minutes ago, LOST TALE said:

you logged in to his what account? his steam account? I doubt that's steam.

Yes it's a steam account.

[LOST TALE]

1 minute ago, Randel1980 said:

Yes it's a steam account.

where do you see remote desktop stuff and a lot of computer names

[Randel1980]

10 minutes ago, LOST TALE said:

where do you see remote desktop stuff and a lot of computer names

In steam launcher. When launching a game I can choose which computer to remote to or just run on " This Computer"

[LOST TALE]

24 minutes ago, Randel1980 said:

In steam launcher. When launching a game I can choose which computer to remote to or just run on " This Computer"

Did you download the steam app from steampowered.com ? hmm weird why would he offer computers to remote into.

[Randel1980]

1 minute ago, LOST TALE said:

Did you download the steam app from steampowered.com ? hmm weird why would he offer computers to remote into.

Yes, it was downloaded from original website.

[LogicalDrm]

Most of the platforms have subscription service for this reason. Use those. Like said, sharing accounts is against service providers ToS (unless they are set up just for that, like gaming cafés). If Valve decides to crack it down, your CC might be blocked as collateral.

[Ertman]

10 hours ago, LOST TALE said:

make sure to not buy food from your grocer, for the same reason XD

That’s a pretty false equivalency 

[LOST TALE]

12 minutes ago, Ertman said:

That’s a pretty false equivalency 

Go ahead, make your case.

[Ertman]

24 minutes ago, LOST TALE said:

Go ahead, make your case.

I get you might be just comparing the specifics of someone reselling access for profit, but there’s more to it then that as the poster you replied to also talked about trust referring to the whole scenario the OP is in which automatically opens up the comparison to the same scrutiny. I can’t think of too much, but to start with:

1) Food is a necessity, video games are a luxury.

 

2) A grocer is a regulated business with a physical presence that can and is periodically monitored by government and private organizations. The scenario brought forth by the OP, is a black market (or at best grey market) and there is no oversight or regulation.

 

3) Trust and timeliness, Physical store where you walk in and take a good and can choose to pay for these goods with a payment method of you choice including cash. This gaming service is delivered online after payment is made. There is also further trust issues in regards to the service and how it is delivered.

 

4) Nature of the transaction. Exchange of physical goods vs service being provided.

5) We still don’t understand the full scenario the OP is involved in so it can be difficult to compare with certainty.

 

I guess a more apt example if you want to stick with grocery model would be (still a deeply flawed comparison):

Go on to a forum and arrange with a guy who promises to deliver grocery items from their own fridge and cabinets, but only after you pay him upfront.

 

A particular problem with this one to is that it doesn’t address the issues with the service being shut down by authorities and or other security risks that none of us may be aware of regarding the OPs setup.

[Kilrah]

18 hours ago, Randel1980 said:

In steam launcher. When launching a game I can choose which computer to remote to or just run on " This Computer"

 

18 hours ago, LOST TALE said:

Did you download the steam app from steampowered.com ? hmm weird why would he offer computers to remote into.

It's not remoting into, he's just seeing the Steam Link / remote play / whatever it's called now streaming feature. 

 

Since that account must be shared by dozens of people many will have a given game installed, so steam will offer to stream the game from any of those. If you do that you'll be launching the game on the other person's computer in the middle of whatever they're doing, and they can do the same to you. 

 

Of course in the intended way any computers connected to your account are supposed to be yours and the streaming would be from your PC you're not using to another you're on. 

[LOST TALE]

On 8/18/2020 at 11:16 AM, Ertman said:

I get you might be just comparing the specifics of someone reselling access for profit, but there’s more to it then that as the poster you replied to also talked about trust referring to the whole scenario the OP is in which automatically opens up the comparison to the same scrutiny. I can’t think of too much, but to start with:

1) Food is a necessity, video games are a luxury.

 

2) A grocer is a regulated business with a physical presence that can and is periodically monitored by government and private organizations. The scenario brought forth by the OP, is a black market (or at best grey market) and there is no oversight or regulation.

 

3) Trust and timeliness, Physical store where you walk in and take a good and can choose to pay for these goods with a payment method of you choice including cash. This gaming service is delivered online after payment is made. There is also further trust issues in regards to the service and how it is delivered.

 

4) Nature of the transaction. Exchange of physical goods vs service being provided.

5) We still don’t understand the full scenario the OP is involved in so it can be difficult to compare with certainty.

 

I guess a more apt example if you want to stick with grocery model would be (still a deeply flawed comparison):

Go on to a forum and arrange with a guy who promises to deliver grocery items from their own fridge and cabinets, but only after you pay him upfront.

 

A particular problem with this one to is that it doesn’t address the issues with the service being shut down by authorities and or other security risks that none of us may be aware of regarding the OPs setup.

So I did not mean to reply to the trust part of your post. Rather, it was the last part I took issue with: "people should not pay for some jackass's steam libary, because, you wil eventuly pay more than he paid for the games and then he wil make money on that!"

 

not paying because doing so would mean paying more in the long run is a non-sequitir, it's cheaper in the short run, and that allows opportunity gain. And who knows OP might play new games at a rate that would make it more expensive to buy them.

 

All in all, I'm mocking the implied principle that because you eventually pay more, then you shouldn't pay for it that way. You would have to compare rates of return, evaluate short term liquidity and availability of savings to borrow.

 

None of the arguments I find relevant, except for trust.

 

In regards to the grocer, the grocer charges a premium for the service of convenience over you purchasing it elsewhere, you're paying for that. The grocer doesn't make any food. Some prepare meals on the spot, and you can count that. And regardless, whether it is a service or good does not matter.