Wallpaper Engine, a long-standing customization tool on Steam, is set to remove support for executable file wallpapers due to recent malware concerns. Developers announced the permanent removal of this feature, scheduled for Monday, July 6, citing security risks associated with allowing users to share arbitrary .exe files.
According to a statement from the developers, the decision comes after instances where malicious actors hijacked the application's wallpaper feature to distribute malware. This tactic reportedly began as early as late 2025, with malware capable of hijacking Steam accounts, damaging hard drives, installing cryptocurrency miners, or employing ransomware to encrypt user data. A report from Securlist brought these issues to light earlier this month.
The developers acknowledged that executable files pose an inherent security challenge, stating that "executable files cannot be reliably secured with automated systems." They concluded that "keeping a feature around that lets anyone easily share random .exe files on the Workshop is a risk we are no longer willing to take." The developers also noted that this change will affect a small percentage of wallpapers, with "0.5% of all wallpapers with actual user numbers being much lower than even that."
This situation mirrors past incidents on Steam where games have been removed due to similar malware issues, such as the case of "Beyond the Dark" last spring. The presence of malware on the platform has even attracted the attention of the FBI, which has initiated investigations into multiple affected titles.