Why Steam games aren't automatically allowed?

Comodo Internet Security - CIS Defense+ / Sandbox Help - CIS
#1

I was wondering one thing after seeing this problem for so many times.

Why don’t games executed by Steam get allowed automatically? All Steam client EXE are digitally signed, yet i’m constantly getting games blocked (especially those active that get updated regularly, like Natural Selection 2 for example). If parent is trusted, shouldn’t a child process be safe as well?

Or is this done intentionally since you can manually add games to Steam library and that could potentially be a problem?

#2

The rules are not carried over from parent to child, Steam is trusted yes but the game executables are not. The exception of course, is if you set Steam to Installer/updater policy, in which case all of its child processes will also be treated with the Installer/updater policy. ← That’s what I’ve done since I too got tired of it however I would assume it’s a security risk, for example rogue game developers etc. 88)

Or if you’re using BB then you can add the Steam executable to the exclusions and then tick the switch that also excludes child processes.

Basically yes I believe this is intended behavior however you can manually change the settings to allow Steam to install/launch all games however that could possibly be a security issue.

#3

I find it hard to believe there would be a “rogue” game developer selling games on Valve’s Steam…

#4

So do I, I just mentioned it as a possible risk even if it is highly unlikely to happen.

Well to be honest, Steam is starting to go down a path of allowing more publishers to release games more easily on steam, and I believe they are going to introduce self-publishing in the future (They’ve already announced plans of getting rid of greenlight and opening up the Steam platform) So it might not be so unlikely in the near future. But I’m going to continue running with Steam as Installer/updater because the alerts from HIPS for games just gets annoying after a while, I just wish we had the ability to modify the Installer/updater ruleset (I want it to block access to my backup folder)

#5

Steam’s been pushing alot of indie games so its possible.