Valve have today announced Steam Guard, a new Steam and Steamworks feature designed to provide increased security for gamers. Steam Guard allows users to link account management options to a specific machine, an extra measure to prevent unauthorized access. Steam guard can be set up to notify you if any PCs attempt to log into your account.

Steam Guard will also take advantage of upcoming Intel® Identity Protection Technology (Intel® IPT), an encrypted, hardware-based feature available with the new 2nd Generation Intel® CoreT and Intel® CoreT vProT processors. Gabe Newell, president of Valve has said "Account phishing and hijacking are our #1 support issues. With Intel's IPT and Steam Guard, we've taken a big step towards giving customers the account security they need as they purchase more and more digital goods."