The team behind the popular PC desktop utility 'Wallpaper Engine' has decided to remove 'application-type wallpapers' from the Steam Workshop. This decision follows concerns regarding the potential for these files to be abused for malware distribution.

The Wallpaper Engine team announced the removal schedule and the reasoning behind it on their official Steam page on June 30. These application-type wallpapers, which account for approximately 0.5% of the total library, will be permanently removed next week. Users who wish to keep specific wallpapers can back them up locally to run them, but public distribution via Steam will be discontinued.

Application-type wallpapers provide various functions such as mini-games, planners, calendars, and CPU/GPU usage monitoring, functioning similarly to standalone Windows applications. The developers initially supported this feature, inspired by the sideloading of external apps on Android OS, but explained that almost all tasks previously limited to these app-type wallpapers can now be implemented directly within Wallpaper Engine itself.

However, risks of malware distribution using this feature have been raised. 'Securelist,' a blog operated by global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, warned on June 16 that malware had been discovered in application-type wallpapers. This poses risks such as the theft of user Steam accounts, computer infection leading to file locking, or exploitation for cryptocurrency mining.

Wallpaper Engine had previously provided basic safety measures, such as hiding app-type wallpapers by default and displaying mandatory warning prompts. However, the team explained that recent attempts to distribute malware have made it difficult to maintain a feature that allows for the easy sharing of arbitrary executable files on the Steam Workshop. They also determined that keeping 'safe' wallpapers without updates was not viable, as an original creator's Steam account could be hacked, leading to the distribution of malicious updates.

Finally, the Wallpaper Engine team stated that the number of users affected by application-type wallpapers was minuscule, and argued that many media reports had stripped away context to exaggerate the scale of the problem and create unnecessary alarm. Nevertheless, they decided to discontinue the feature to alleviate user concerns.