Paranoid and security-conscious Steam users, this announcement is for you. Today, Valve has announced that they are adding a new security measure to Steam and Steamworks. Dubbed “Steam Guard”, this new feature gives users new security options to protect their gaming accounts.
The main feature of Steam Guard is that it will offer users the option to lock down their Steam accounts and tie it to specific PCs that they authorize. This will block any attempts to access or modify accounts from PCs that do not have the user’s approval—as well as notify the user when these attempts occur. These features will also be available to third party developers to incorporate into their own applications via Valve’s free development and publishing suite, Steamworks.
Steam Guard also takes advantage of Intel’s upcoming Identity Protection Technology, or Intel IPT. IPT is a hardware-based encryption feature that is coming with the 2nd-generation Intel CoreT and Intel CoreT vProT processors. These processors with IPT generate a new numerical password every 30 seconds, a feature that usually would require a separate card or key fob to utilize.
While one of Steam’s most popular features is the ability to install it and access from any PC with a stable internet connection, it may seem odd for it to now offer the ability to lock it to only authorized computers. However, after investing enough time and money into these accounts, it makes sense to protect them from account hijacking and phishing attempts.
“Account phishing and hijacking are our #1 support issues,” said Gabe Newell, President of Valve. “With Intel’s IPT and Steam Guard, we’ve taken a big step towards giving customers the account security they need as they purchase more and more digital goods.”
“We expect to see widespread adoption of hardware-based security like Intel IPT by other service providers,” said Doug Lombardi, Valve’s Vice President of Marketing. “If as a customer you are buying movies, music, games, or digital goods, you want to know that they are more secure than your physical goods.”
“With over 30 million accounts worldwide, Steam is an ideal platform for Intel IPT,” said George Thangadurai, General Manager of PC Client Services at Intel. “Those running Steam are investing in a robust digital collection of PC games. By adding hardware-based protection to these investments, we hope to bolster the amazing success of platforms such as Steam.”
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