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[woose1]

Ah god I hate steam so much.

My first account was hacked and stolen within two weeks, while I had already purchased 3 games on said account. Then contacting steam support, telling them that my account had been stolen, my secret answer/password/asking them to check the history they claim keep under safe guard to see if it had been changed recently, and what do they do? They demand that I send them a 'photo of my installed game' along with a photo of 'the bar code that runs alongside the top part'.

What?

First off, I don't have a digital camera, second off, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU SMACKTARD!?! I did not ask for anything related to licensing a game, I ASKED YOU ABOUT MY FUCKING ACCOUNT!

I calmly typed an eloquent letter requesting and clarifying my situation, after which I never heard from support again.
Ever.

So, you might have guessed that I stayed away from Steam for a while.

Then, purchasing a coolio game known as 'Empire Earth', it immediately installs the Steam launcher from the disk without asking my consent and logs me under the name of 'soulstorm155'. Puzzled, I log out and launch my game, problem  is that it won't play the fucking game because I'M NOT LOGGED INNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!

*Takes a breather*

And how stupid is it that they have a motherfucking 'Game Account' and a 'Community Account'? Or more precisely, two user names that I have to remember when logging in to play my fucking game!?!

What do you suggest I do? When I requested an e-mail to be sent to my e-mail account, it came, but now it's asking me what city I was born in. I smugly type in 'Toronto', only to get a big fat XNaNX from the launcher. I quickly type in every city along the east coast that comes to mind only to get rejected repeatedly.

Is this some sort of sick joke?

[Puck]

I like how you have to go an extra length to actually protect your account name when you want to create groups/be added as a friend.

And then the bastards that "thought" up this lacking solution flip you the bird when your account gets stolen 

And the best parts is... idiots people that dont understand that steam is just another piece of intrusive DRM-software.

[woose1]

I'm liking how you're sharing my point of view.

[Drakale]

For me, steam is one DRM I can live with. The auto-updates of the games, friend list management and other widgets are very useful, and the possibility to reload any owned game from scratch is invaluable. Usually steam games dont have the really annoying crap like limited reinstalls( seriously wtf).

I can understand the hate though, especially if you got your account hacked.

Sorry if you did check, but are you certain you do not have a trojan or a keylogger on your computer? Most folk that get their account hacked have something nasty and just get rehacked at the first opportunity.

[Soulwynd]

And the best parts is... idiots people that dont understand that steam is just another piece of intrusive DRM-software.

Oh yeah, we have a few here.

I use steam, but I'm afraid like hell about anyone stealing my damn account. Every story I hear about that is quite nightmarish. Even people who managed to get their account back end up with their vac status fucked up and steam support wont fix it.

[woose1]

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Anywho I re-imaged my computer, de-fragged it, twice, and installed a crap-load of anti-virus and anti-spyware technology. Hopefully I'm safe, but you never know. And this is before I got hacked. I'm reluctant to contact Steam Support again, however.

[Konork]

They demand that I send them a 'photo of my installed game' along with a photo of 'the bar code that runs alongside the top part'.

They ask that because it's hard proof that you own the games on the account. Having a "digital" version of the cd key doesn't mean much, but the original copy is unique and can't be stolen in the same way an account is stolen.

First off, I don't have a digital camera...

Valve couldn't of known whether you have a digital camera or not, no offense

Then, purchasing a coolio game known as 'Empire Earth', it immediately installs the Steam launcher from the disk without asking my consent and logs me under the name of 'soulstorm155'. Puzzled, I log out and launch my game, problem  is that it won't play the fucking game because I'M NOT LOGGED INNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!

Where did you get the game? Empire Earth isn't on Steam. Are you sure you don't mean a different game?

And how stupid is it that they have a motherfucking 'Game Account' and a 'Community Account'? Or more precisely, two user names that I have to remember when logging in to play my fucking game!

How long ago was this? Unless you count a separate forum account as the "Community Account", the Steam community log in is the same as the normal steam log in. They keep forum accounts separate, because someone may want to ask some questions before making a Steam account

[Neonivek]

I hate steam so much

Tip: Don't go on GameFAQs they are overwhelmingly Pro-Steam to a fault.

[Keiseth]

How good was your password? I know a ridiculous number of people who use "dog", or a pet's name, or a birthdate. They're the worst kind of passwords you can use. RanDOm cAPs plus numb3rs in a confusing way will help deter simple password stealing. It's pretty easy to memorize too if you work on it for a minute.

Anyway, I do agree with you entirely. I had bought a friend a Steam game (Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines) as a gift. It didn't run. We fought with it for eight hours, put in support tickets, never got anything in return. A few weeks down it started working mysteriously, then broke again.

I, for one, am immensely distrusting of any service where the sum of everything I've paid for in the service can be taken by anyone in the world who can figure out my password or steal it. Surely, there is a better way.

When possible I prefer to use GOG, but they're called "Good Old Games" for a reason, and so one is occasionally forced to go elsewhere...

[Nilocy]

I <3 steam. For the sole reason that all the games i like to play they have on there. The lovelieness of not having to lug around like 40 box's with me every time i go to a friends house to do some lanning its a god send.

Suggestions for your problem woose? I'd keep contacting steam saying you don't have a digital camera, or find a friend with a digital camer (or use a mobile phone if you have one with a camera). Keep asking, cause they are a massive company with alot of people having problems, so your problem will just get lost in the sea of troubles of others. They're a good honest company and they will fix the problems if you give them time and all the things they require from you.

Take a breather and go about it the sensisble way please

[Detrevni|inverteD]

I use randomly generated 12-23 character codes with mixed caps, symbols and numbers that changes monthly for Steam. I keep them hand written in a book under my desk in a drawer with a lock on it.

I have no worries with getting my account stolen. I have never had an account stolen for anything, ever.

[Asehujiko]

Steam is like a modern jetliner. When it does what it's supposed to do, it's awesome but when something breaks, you are fucked.

[olemars]

I loved steam until they decided that I should pay double because I live in Europe, with their arbitrary 1€ == 1$ crap. I still play all the games I've bought there and I think steam as a system is quite good, but I haven't bought a steam game since before christmas and won't until their prices are reasonable again.

[Nilocy]

Well, do what most people do, say you live in America when you don't.

[Drakale]

I loved steam until they decided that I should pay double because I live in Europe, with their arbitrary 1€ == 1$ crap. I still play all the games I've bought there and I think steam as a system is quite good, but I haven't bought a steam game since before christmas and won't until their prices are reasonable again.

Yeah that's totally insane. I cannot even understand why this is not considered illegal practice in EU laws, after all they are charging you higher prices with no justification at all.