One of Steam’s Most Popular Apps Removes Some Wallpapers Due to Malware Concerns

Steam’s Wallpaper Engine is removing Application Wallpapers due to malware concerns.

Wallpaper Engine is one of the most popular applications on Steam and has maintained this status for a long time. You can always find Wallpaper Engine listed in the most played games category on SteamDB, typically averaging over 100,000 concurrent users. However, the app was recently criticized due to concerns about malware. In response, the developers have taken steps to address these issues.

Wallpaper Engine is Getting Rid of Application Wallpapers Next Week

A new blog post on Steam reveals that, as part of a security change, Wallpaper Engine will remove Application Wallpapers next week. This decision will impact 0.5% of all wallpapers, but the actual number of users will be much lower than that. If players are actively using any application wallpapers they want to keep, they have around a week to back them up locally.

The blog post explained that Application Wallpapers are essentially Windows applications that have full access to a user’s computer. While this feature has enabled users to create some fascinating designs, it has also been exploited by malicious actors. The post emphasizes that executable files cannot be reliably secured with automated systems, and individuals will always find ways to circumvent security measures. Recently, there have been reports of users leveraging this feature “to spread malware.”

With the new update, players will no longer be able to download application wallpapers to and from the Steam Workshop. However, they will still be able to run custom app wallpapers locally on their machines. Public distribution through Steam, though, will be discontinued.

What are your thoughts on Steam’s Wallpaper Engine removing some wallpapers due to malware concerns? Leave your thoughts down in the comments, and join the official Insider Gaming Discord server.

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