Check Your Steam Account Settings

[smr1957]

Heads up for everyone.  Check your Steam account settings.

I just purchased something from Steam and my saved payment info was gone, and I had to re-enter it.   BUT, more importantly, update information for games was changed.  Games set to only update on launch were still set for that, but also had the update info being overwritten by Steam, under the Downloads tab in Steam settings - which had updates changed to "Let Steam decide when to update" for games installed in Steam Library - and even though I had games set as exceptions, they still showed a pending download date - and I certainly DO NOT trust Steam to respect those exceptions.  I had to change the global setting for games in my library to "Only update at game launch."

I strongly suggest that everyone check their Steam settings and fix them as needed.

IMPORTANT NOTE

Upon checking the Manage Downloads page (accessed via the bottom of the Steam page), I observed that Steam had once again set a date to download updates for games, despite them being set to only update on launch and despite my changing the global parameters to only update on launch.  So this needs to be checked on your end - Do NOT rely upon Steam to correctly apply changes.

Edited January 25 by smr1957

[Arthmoor]

Thanks for the heads up. Cheeky little update. All of my game settings were reset as well.

[smr1957]

31 minutes ago, Arthmoor said:

Thanks for the heads up. Cheeky little update. All of my game settings were reset as well.

Yeah - and I just checked, and despite my resetting things, on the Manage Downloads page, Steam had once again set a time for download.  They simply cannot be trusted.

[Selene310187]

I disconnected the internet, started Steam and could change back the update settings of each game. But when I wanted to restore the payment info after reconnecting the internet, I could't select PayPal. I can only choose between Visa, Mastercard and JBC... 

... I did some research: I need to buy a game, select PayPal as payment option and save this option for future purchases. I bought the ultimate edition of Red Dead Redemption 2 by the way (80% off right now!).

Thank you for this vital information about the Steam update. You've saved me from a few headaches.

[smr1957]

47 minutes ago, Selene310187 said:

I disconnected the internet, started Steam and could change back the update settings of each game. But when I wanted to restore the payment info after reconnecting the internet, I could't select PayPal. I can only choose between Visa, Mastercard and JBC... 

... I did some research: I need to buy a game, select PayPal as payment option and save this option for future purchases. I bought the ultimate edition of Red Dead Redemption 2 by the way (80% off right now!).

Thank you for this vital information about the Steam update. You've saved me from a few headaches.

It seems that a lot of people have had to readjust the settings.  I'm just glad that I was able to help! 

[lmstearn]

Funny, only the Jan 22 update (1737514353) here, slight variation:

Quote

Steam Client Update - January 20th
A new Steam client has been released and will be automatically downloaded.

Note: This update was re-released on January 21st with the following additional changes:
Fixed an issue where dropdown menus would sometimes fail to appear.
Fixed "Processing Shaders" status window failing to show during game launch on Linux.
Fixed an issue where foreground colors did not apply correctly to Steam Input Virtual menus.
Updated localization.

Checked for updates, this is the latest, the purchase history from 2017 is there, but:

Quote

You have no payment methods associated with this account.

[BlackPete]

It makes you wonder if Steam deliberately did this to everyone's account. I don't even remember what all of my settings were, because it has been so long. The part that bothers me the most is the issues with payment mentioned above by others. I don't trust them with my card or PayPal information and haven't for a long time. In my personal opinion, allowing any company to store sensitive information online is a bad idea and should be avoided when possible. Even though it's not as convenient, reentering everything for each transaction seems like it is at least somewhat safer.

This wasn't something I really cared about, but a while back someone made a bunch of transactions with my Steam Wallet and stole a bunch of achievement related items (like trading cards). That shouldn't have happened since my passwords are very strong and I change them every two or three months. Obviously, nothing could be done about it since their policy states that they won't refund you. I've decided to try to avoid purchasing from Steam from now on. Even EA, as bad as they can be, have at least been willing to help with account issues.

Anyhow, thank you for the helpful information. Sorry if what I said sounds like ranting, but my experiences with this particular company have reached a point where I don't want anything to do with them. Hopefully nobody else will have the same or similar problems.

Edited January 26 by BlackPete

[smr1957]

Just to re-emphasize, if you have pending downloads for games on your Steam "Manage Downloads" page, even if they were in the "Unscheduled" section, and  you do not want them updated, you WILL need to check after launching Steam, as Steam may have reset them to a scheduled time for download and moved them to the "Up Next" section IN SPITE OF YOU SETTING THEM NOT TO, except upon launch.

Edited January 26 by smr1957

[Arthmoor]

Pete, the best protection you can get from someone doing that is to set up 2-factor authentication. Yes, it can be a huge pain in the ass to deal with, but it's better than leaving your account vulnerable to a password hacker.

smr, you may have a more uncommon scenario in your case with the updates. As I mentioned yesterday, the only thing that scheduled an update was the Steamworks Common Redistributables, and when I told it to go ahead and do its thing, it was a 0-byte download. So it actually had nothing to do.

If you get your global and/or game settings locked down before something is ready then you should be fine. It's really only going to be an issue for those who think Steam is infallible and won't reset their choices. Obviously stay vigilant but I don't think it's just going to sit there and repeatedly undo things day by day.

[BlackPete]

Quote

Pete, the best protection you can get from someone doing that is to set up 2-factor authentication.

Thanks, I appreciate the advice. The thing is that 2-factor authentication was set up and active at the time on my account. Looking at it right now, the Security tab (under Settings) says Steam Guard has been active since October 2013, so their security must not be that great. In any case, I've had several really bad experiences with Steam over the years, none of which were my fault. If it wasn't for the Bethesda games, I would close my account and be done with them. It concerns me that they're undoing our account settings, and who knows if 2FA will be reset in the future without my knowledge. Although smr1957 was seemingly referring to something different and in a slightly different context, I have to agree that Steam can't be trusted.

Edited January 27 by BlackPete

[Arthmoor]

Yep, I get it. I've limited my experiences with Steam as much as I can by buying my games through GOG if they're for sale there. Outside of the BGS games I've got a very small handful of things that have never made their way over to GOG so I wouldn't be able to part ways with them even if I wanted to.

[smr1957]

Yeah, I think that GOG is the best way to go - don't have to deal with all the nonsense that way.   I only wish I had learned that lesson sooner - and did not just dismiss it as an option.  Well, live and learn. 

[ug-phyllis]

But Steam still has a lot of good games that I can't find outside. Other than Steam, where do people usually find game sources?

[smr1957]

22 minutes ago, ug-phyllis said:

But Steam still has a lot of good games that I can't find outside. Other than Steam, where do people usually find game sources?

As I posted immediately above, GOG is a really great place to buy games.  Great selection of games, and DRM free, so you avoid a lot of hassles that are typical with Steam or some other sites.  Then there is also Epic Games which also has a large selection available.

[Arthmoor]

Epic Games also has freebies available on their site too. Sometimes even for AAA titles. Not just demos, but actual full versions of the games.