Is Steam a botnet or a malware? Is there any risks using it?

>>61916516
it's a proprietary platform to distribute drm content.
don't use it if you're against that.

>>61916516
>risks
yes you can get scammed by 12-year-old ruski on csgo

hi its me ur brother

It's proprietary so you have to assume so.

>>61916990
subscribe to my youtube channel

>>61916516
Buy your games DRM-free on GOG or directly from developers.

It is a software based games console for people that think they're better than console users.

>>61917017
>It is a software based games console for people that think they're better than console users.
which then got invaded by a metric ton of very low quality indie games.

>>61916516
Steam is a platform of digital rights management. DRM is a form of "copy protection."

It's proprietary, it sends logs and hardware information back to Valve by default. Some games don't really act like they have any DRM, and some either require to be launched via Steam or even provide additional DRM.

I guess it depends on where you draw the line, and you can call it a "botnet."

>>61916516
It's botnet since it can and does read your hardware and software specs and other data on your hard disk.
>>61917079
Steamworks is the DRM, Steam is a platform.

Overall, just slap on a random picture from google as your avatar and make your profile private. Install it away from your system partition and don't give it admin rights.

>>61916516
Just do whatever the fuck you want, you shouldn't bother with non-existant problems.
You won't risk anything aside buying shitty games and regretting it.

>>61917117
>It's botnet since it can and does read your hardware and software specs and other data on your hard disk.
Like your dns cache (now fixed ^tm)
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/valve-software-anti-cheat-vac-reddit,26059.html

Everything is botnet according to /g/

>>61917167
that's a meme, botnet simply mean that someone here doesn't like that software.

>>61917034
Crap quality games were released on every platform. There's no console/platform on the market with at least 30% good quality games in it's library.

>>61917162
>VAC
Rabbit hole is endless. How do they get away with it?

>>61917167
>>61917186
t. newfag
Botnet means it's closed source, especially when it shouldn't be.

>>61916516
Real talk: it has a poor security and privacy record.
Remember when they collected a list of websites you visited?
Or when there was an exploit that basically let you login with a different account?
Or when malware got spread through CSGO or some other game?
Or the fact that SSL is just used for logins and all other web interfaces are unencrypted?

Valve doesn't give a shit. And why should they, most of their userbase are literal kids who don't give a shit and don't know shit about security.
I visit the CSGO sub sometimes, and many people are literally begging for more aggressive anti-cheats that scan your entire PC. It's fucked up.

>>61917208
>exploit to log in with a different account
What? That's a feature, not an exploit.
But yes, their hack detection in games is literal shit. No amount of botnet would improve it.

>>61917188
well, I agree, but on steam we are all on another level, there are literally games made only to somehow profit from collectible cards (https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/05/valve-takes-aim-at-fake-games-that-exploit-steam-trading-cards/)

And don't even get me started on early access that never get released or get p2w updates before release.


>>61917205
It used to mean that (still a meme anyway), but now a some open source software get called botnet as well.

>>61917208
and yet millions of people use it everyday.
https://steamdb.info/graph/
Stay mad non-gamer cuck

>>61917012
BEST POST IN THIS THREAD

>>61916516
It's DRM-service through which you can pay money to play games. Note that you're not actually paying money for games directly; you do not own the games you paid for on Steam.

>>61917277
>everyone use it so it must be good
that's the only answer you could give to perfectly valid criticism?

>>61917277
You're the one who sound mad.

>>61917313
>you paid for
I paid G2A for my games. Steam is a free way to hog their servers with full download speeds.

>>61917274
What open source software gets called botnet? Other than firefox for having safebrowsing enabled.

>>61917325
It's about time you realize that no one gives a fuck about privacy and security.

>>61917274
Chromium is a botnet because it pings Google. Firefox is """botnet""" because it provides opt-out telemetry to Firefox.

Free software can still be spyware (Ubuntu proved that to be true).

>>61917242
I meant when you logged in and saw the details of another account. But this one was even worse, actually, I forgot about it:
http://www.securityweek.com/vulnerability-allowed-hackers-hijack-steam-accounts

>>61917277
I'm sure you're b8ing, but yeah, people most really don't care. Sad.

>>61917346
You still merely paid G2A for the chance to play games through Steam. You don't own them and G2A is probably giving a nice chunk of money to Steam when buying those keys.

>>61917401
No, G2A is giving me the chance to skip VAT and other taxes and buy keys that were stolen or bought on discounts I missed.
>"don't own" argument
That's the price I pay along with the 80% discounts.

>>61917428
Okay, viral marketing guy from G2A.

>>61917438
Damn, remind me to post my referral ID next time.

>>61917359
So what?

>>61917353
ubuntu (maybe justified because of >>61917368, but the lens extension is open source), fedora (simply for being backed by red hat), systemd.

>>61917346
>>61917428
Most of the games on G2A are legit purchases.
And Valve gets the money for EVERY game you activate on Steam, don't be a retard.

>>61917162
>^tm
This is it, go back to plebbit

>>61917474
Yeah some fraction.

>>61917474
Buying keys directly from the developer gives them a better profit than from a direct Steam purchace. If their game was sold through Steam nearly 50% of that goes to Valve, through direct its closer to 30%. I play pubg with the dev of a mid-popular game, he told me this.

>>61917478
maybe you go back there since you so informed on what's trending there.

>>61917455
SystemD isn't considered a botnet but an insecure software, and a future monopole.

Ubuntu isn't a botnet. It had an Amazon services addon which could be disabled, but it was enabled by default. After a year Canonical disabled it by default, back in early 2016.

Fedora isn't botnet though. It's hated because it's a bleeding edge version of RHEL, so it's users are considered to be beta testers.

>>61917526
You mean buying a Steam code from the developer directly?

>>61916729
Not all of it. With KSP, you can copy the game folder and play anywhere.

>>61917208
fake news.

>Remember when they collected a list of websites you visited?
they used the existence of cheatservice domains in the dns cache as an indicator for VAC.
>there was an exploit that basically let you login with a different account?
It was a caching issue and you saw basic account info the cache server returned as HTML, you couldn't act as that user.
>when malware got spread through CSGO or some other game?
[citation needed]
>the fact that SSL is just used for logins and all other web interfaces are unencrypted?
oh no my screenshots arent encrypted nooo

>>61917369
>I meant when you logged in and saw the details of another account. But this one was even worse, actually, I forgot about it:
>http://www.securityweek.com/vulnerability-allowed-hackers-hijack-steam-accounts

>"the accounts of gamers who had Steam Guard enabled could not be hacked using this technique, Valve said"
wow its fucking nothing

Every service you use is botnet unless it's opensource. Only those who got something to hide, will always follow their own plans.
Also Steam is good.

>>61917660
>opportunistic advertisement of steam guard
you needed an email

>>61917559
yup

>>61917663
Except some botnets can hurt you more than others. Steam has complete access to your system, that's how it installing games so easily. God forbid your average /v/edditor would have to install a game manually.

If you care about security and privacy you don't install Steam on your PC. Or dual boot and install it on a separate drive.

>>61917197
>>implying vac works

>>61917969
It works just fine. People who evade bans are either very lucky or change the md5 sum of their hacks.