Steam Client Web Browser (Red URL Field)?

[RendCycle]

It has been about a year now and I am still experiencing the unsecure connection (red text color in the URL field) inside the Steam Client software when visiting such web pages as the store, community, activities, etc. I think this issue is related to the SSL Certificate of the Steam website being incorrectly detected as unsecure/invalid.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1886127134

I have already tried these several of the ff. suggested fixes below but I still haven't found a proper solution:

---

- Re-installed Steam Client and even moved it to a different hard drive

- Re-installed and updated my anti-virus, internet security, and anti-malware software. I even added several Valve Steam software in my exemption list. The re-installation worked for a while but now it does not.

- Changed my PC's date. This only works (URL field becomes green color again) if I set my date to at least one day late. But I cannot have this because some software are dependent on this data. My PC's date has to be accurate.

---

Does anybody know what browser does the Steam Client use? Was it built by Valve from scratch? Also, what code controls the changing of the text color of the URL field in the Steam Client Web Browser? Is it the Steam Client software itself or my third-party anti-virus, internet security, anti-malware software?

I hope there are more options available in accessing the settings of the Steam Client Web Browser just like most of the popular web browsers (e.g. Chrome, Firefox, etc.). This is so maybe we would be able to have some control and tweak it's security settings.

With this existing problem, the Steam Client is only suitable for accessing the games/software in your Library that you want to play/run and not for shopping purposes because the red URL field just screams UNSAFE. It is quite a hassle to use an external but more secure web browser just to purchase games/software in Steam and then switch to the Steam Client every time to run a software in my Library. This can be another reason for someone to veer away from using Steam as this poses a threat to any Steam account because it might mean it can easily be stolen and sold to others.

As an online storefront, I hope Steam prioritizes a fix for this issue because this involves a major functionality in their Steam Client software. This weakness can be used by competitors to further drag down the reputation of Steam. It might only take a good PR firm to publicly announce this long time problem...

[wuddih]

Originally posted by RendCycle:

My PC's date has to be accurate.

do you mean accurate for your usecases or accurate for your residential location?

what is the set store country in Steam account settings?
what country do you actually reside in?
and what is the current date and time that is displayed on your device where you get the error?

Originally posted by RendCycle:

Does anybody know what browser does the Steam Client use?

Chromium Embedded Framework.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium_Embedded_Framework

in your normal webbrowser the certificates work?

[RendCycle]

Originally posted by wuddih:

Originally posted by RendCycle:

My PC's date has to be accurate.

do you mean accurate for your usecases or accurate for your residential location?

I need both to be accurate. Some productivity software I use depend on my PC's date and time. I also frequently check/look at my PC's date & time.

Originally posted by wuddih:

what is the set store country in Steam account settings?
what country do you actually reside in?
and what is the current date and time that is displayed on your device where you get the error?

The country I am residing in is what is in my Store & Wallet Country settings as well as in my PC's Country settings. But my Country is not present in Windows 10's Timezone option so I use the closest country. Sometimes I also change the Country value under Downloads settings to a different one when installing games/software so it will be faster.

Originally posted by wuddih:

Originally posted by RendCycle:

Does anybody know what browser does the Steam Client use?

Chromium Embedded Framework.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium_Embedded_Framework

in your normal webbrowser the certificates work?

Thanks for the info and yes, 3 different external normal web browsers I use just work fine. No SSL certificate security/invalid errors.

[RendCycle]

UPDATE: I noticed in my Google Chrome, the Padlock icon became a Circle with an Exclamation Point symbol but it says "Connection is Secure". In Mozilla Firefox, Padlock icon is present and it says "Connection is Secure".

I have also contacted both Steam Support and Kaspersky. But they cannot do anything so my only resort was to reset my Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit OS. This seem to have worked and accessing Steam is back to normal for external Web Browsers and the Steam Client itself. I have to reinstall everything though and it will be a lot of work. But at least my worries got reduced.

I am not sure how my PC got this messed up with regards to accessing Steam. I can only guess it might be that those FREE third-party websites that asks for access to my Steam account login information by linking to it may have been the culprit. I frequently visit SteamTrades.com, SteamGifts.com, IsThereAnyDeal.com, SteamDB.info, SteamPrices.com, and others. Before, I also sometimes add friends and/or accept friend requests from strangers on some of those sites to facilitate Steam software trades. It might be that my Web Browser got infected somehow through the passing of Cookies or something then a malicious software that acts as a "middleman" which monitors my activity in Steam got installed without my knowledge. Another security hole I am thinking is maybe infection passed through the Steamworks Common Redistributables update process that got called from free games that I installed in Steam. This even made me totally paranoid from clicking Facebook & Steam Community Forum messages with links to external sites posted by some friends as I thought that may be another entry point.

Another thing that I noticed is the current downloadable version of the Steam Client installer has an expired Digicert certificate (9/25/2015 - 10/3/2018) reflected in Windows' Publisher's Certificate "General" tab of the SteamSetup.exe file but has valid future expiration date in the "Certificate Path" tab. Is that normal... or maybe Steam forgot to renew the Certificate and update the file?

I have always used Two-factor Authentication in Steam, Kaspersky Internet Security and other support anti-malware software for protection. I guess I need to look for a better security software solution and set my Steam Profile to "Private".

NOTE: The sticky page scrolling in the Steam Client also seem to have disappeared after the OS reset.