As a gamer, you must have wondered whether Steam Unlocked is safe. Steam Unlocked offers cracked versions of several popular game titles, making it a major hit among gamers.
Moreover, the games you download on this website are free, so many forums have popped up on the internet solely dedicated to Steam Unlocked. But what are the legal and ethical implications of using such websites? In this article, we will answer many such questions in detail.
Safety Assessment of Steam Unlocked
Steam Unlocked is not affiliated with Steam in any way. All you have to do is visit the website, navigate to the game you want to download, and select the download link without signing in with your account or even installing Steam Unlocked on your computer.
Once you click on the link, the file is in ZIP format, which you will later have to extract. Usually, the game runs after this process. However, sometimes, you may need another step of copying cracked files or applying a patch.
We started the safety assessment by first analysing the website on Virustotal, Sucuri and the threatYeti domain intelligence platform.
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Virustotal

When we checked Steam Unlocked on Virustotal, we found that at least three security vendors flagged the domain as malicious. Virustotal also found one outgoing link on the domain going to romsunlocked.com.
Next, we navigated to the community section. We saw that while many people are in support of Steam Unlocked, several others have faced crypto miners and other malware in the games that they downloaded.
threatYeti

threatYeti flagged Steam Unlocked as a potentially malicious website. Out of the 5000+ hosts, more than 2400 were flagged as risky by threatYeti.
This is a big number revealing a thing or two about the gaming website.
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Sucuri

When we checked Steam Unlocked on Sucuri, it was flagged as a Medium Security Risk.
Even a preliminary risk analysis tells us that not all is right with Steam Unlocked. We advise you to refrain from visiting the website or visit with proper security precautions.
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Is Steam Unlocked legal?
Apart from the cybersecurity issue, downloading games from Steam Unlocked also has legal implications.
As Steam Unlocked is not affiliated with Steam or the game developers, you are technically violating their terms of service. Moreover, you are contributing to piracy by stealing from creators and marketers.
When you download games from these unaffiliated websites, you are depriving the companies of earning revenue, which will affect future game development.
Will you face legal consequences or land in jail? This scenario is improbable. However, if you were caught, the companies could impose fines and lawsuits and may even charge you with criminal misconduct.
Other problems with Steam Unlocked
We have already seen that the Steam Unlocked website seems suspicious, and we have also covered the legal consequences of downloading games illegally.
Other risks include:
- Malware in the game: Reports allege that pirated PC games distributed malware on 3.2 million PCs.
- Adware: Though not as potent as malware, adware can irritate by displaying sudden pop-ups. Online app stores such as Google Play Store regularly remove such games from their platform.
- Problems with the game: Pirated games often do not run seamlessly on your PC or other device.
- Ban: You may be banned from playing the game if the gaming company can track the pirated software. This usually happens if you try to join a multiplayer battle.
In conclusion, Steam Ulocked is not a safe website, and you should avoid such domains in the future. If you want to play games, we advise buying them from authorised online or offline stores.
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