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Steam is a gaming platform by Valve software. One of the most outstanding things about Steam is that it enables users to trade items. Steam users are in a position to buy or sell assets linked to real cash that could bring the user a good amount of money. Users who are dedicated and enthusiastic about the game get good money from playing games on this platform.
This kind of trading has attracted malicious hackers. According to a blog post that was posted yesterday, the company claims that about 77,000 Steam accounts are hacked monthly. The items in the games are rare and selling the collectibles in these games generates good returns.
These are the main reasons why Steam accounts aresusceptible to hacks. Steam accounts hacking issues increase every day. Any Steam account is likely to be hacked, and your items will disappear.
Cases of “I got hacked” are not new. These cases have been so many that the damage such hacking causes have gradually been overlooked. These hacks compromise the security of email accounts and computers for the users and cause violations of the Steam accounts through theft of game items. Some time ago it was easy to make the assumption that as long as you are smart your account will never be hacked. Anyone would tend to think that the hacking is as a result of sharing passwords or clicking on suspicious links, things that amateurs are likely to do. However, nowadays this is not the case.
The presence of professional hackers within the Steam community means that no one’s account is safe. Steams two-factor authentication feature on mobile devices helps reduce the chances that your account may be hacked.
However, for those who cannot turn on this authentication feature, all is not lost. Valve has put some measures to help cut the number of accounts being hacked- hacking has constituted most of the complaints the company has been receiving over the past months.
The measures taken to reduce the hacking cases involve delaying the trades. In a nutshell the trade delays function in the following ways;
- Any user who is the party that is losing an item from a trade has to have the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator feature enabled in their account for a minimum of 7 days. Another feature called ‘trade confirmations’ has to be on.
- If the features mentioned above are not turned on, the trade will be delayed for three days. However, if you have been friends with the user receiving the items, the delay will be a day only.
- Users whose accounts have the Mobile Authenticator feature turned on for a minimum of seven days will not be restricted from trading in the Market when on any other device. The main reason behind this is that the Mobile Authenticator protects the trade.
Valve has been quick to point out the fact that these measures are not 100% guarantee that the accounts will no longer be hacked. These measures make trading between members hard. But, does the company have any alternative?
The rate of the hacks is not something they can ignore; otherwise, they will lose valuable customers. If they lose customers, they will be out of business.
One thing people can learn from these hacks is that there is no guarantee that your account will not be hacked. An account of the most cautious person is also vulnerable to a hack.
