In another attempt to stop the bad guys getting away with it, Valve have added a new Captcha system to any and all Steam trade offers, to help prevent users from being swindled by nifty malware. Users will now need to type in the cryptic code displayed on each offer they submit. According to Valve, this is due to malicious malware being able to make trades on the users behalf, effectively cleaning out their accounts.
Just over a month ago, Valve limited the ability to trade newly purchased games as gifts, making them untradable for thirty days after purchase. Today, further restrictions have been imposed in an effort to prevent hacking via a new method using malware.
“We’re updating trading to include a captcha as part of confirmation process.” said Valve in the announcement. “This is to prevent malware on users’ machines making trades on their behalf. We know it’s a bit of a hassle, and we don’t like making trading harder for users, but we do expect it to significantly help customers who are tricked into downloading and running malware from losing their items.”
While Valve means well, the new system has had an undesired side effect. All current and pending trade offers have been canceled, angering many regular Steam traders.
If you want to have your say about the new system, Valve are looking for input over on the Steam forums.