[lanaer]

It actually doesn't need access to download & update games, since those are simply kept inside the user's home directory.

It also doesn't need admin access to view all running processes, any user on a unix system can do so.

That being said… I'm pretty sure Steam never actually asked me for an admin password (and I run in a non-privileged account), so I'm not quite sure what this guy is talking about.

[pixelbath]

Ah. I'm completely shooting in the dark, since I use Steam on Windows.

Can a normal *nix user also examine in-memory bytecode for other processes? (actual query; I have no idea)

[lanaer]

Hm, on that point I'm not sure.

In any case, Steam isn't running with any elevated privileges on my own system (I already had access enabled for assistive devices, which Steam only seems to need to actually launch its games), so I have no complaint on a security standpoint.

My only complaint with Steam so far is that it hardcodes the directory it stores the games. I want to put them elsewhere.

[geocar]

> Can a normal *nix user also examine in-memory bytecode for other processes? (actual query; I have no idea)

If the user owns that process, then yes.