In the case of some exploited keys, you could get the serial for free and usually scam a heap of them, circumventing the rules/intentions of the provider by creating a whole load of duplicate accounts.
Cases in point are the Gotham City pack (Facebook), Eets (Macheist) and a number of games from the Puppy Games giveaway. In the case of the latter, the developers cancelled all keys, much to the chagrin of scammers :D
Also, exploited keys can include leaked keys (ie Dirt 3).
In general, exploited keys are gained in some underhand way, against the intentions of the provider and do not require any sort of financial outlay from the "gifters".
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Lunk is correct, but there are also other types of exploited key. Lunk mentions only one type of exploit, but there are other ways of obtaining keys, through skullduggery of one sort or another.
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Surprisingly they're not on the FAQ page list, although most on here would consider these to be exploited, and they appeared on here in ludicrous numbers when the promotion was running.
From the FAQ:
Keys Considered Exploited:
Dead Island
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Bulletstorm
Homefront Shotgun DLC
AI War
Supreme Commander / Forged Alliance
Portal 2
DiRT 3
Puppy Games Keys
Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 (Region Locked)
Dark Messiah of Might & Magic Multiplayer
Eets (in certain amounts)
World of Goo
Puzzle Agent
Risen 2: Dark Waters - Air Temple DLCComment has been collapsed.
Depends how it was exploited. In most cases, it's more that the key was obtained in a sneaky way, by exploiting the kindness of a developer, etc, in which case nothing will happen to you.
If the key was obtained via a leak, a keygen, or other illegal means, your key may not initially activate, or could be cancelled further down the line. That said, unless Valve find you using a large number of illegally obtained keys, your Steam account is probably safe.
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Cases in point are the Gotham City pack (Facebook), Eets (Macheist) and a number of games from the Puppy Games
giveaway. In the case of the latter, the developers cancelled all keys, much to the chagrin of scammers :D
Do not forget the CD-Action keys they had for their registered readers. Of course there were people from outside Poland who used proxies etc. to get them... :-/
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True. I just gave a few examples, but there are plenty of games and DLC which could be, and usually were, obtained by way of abusing someone's generosity and kindness.
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exploit
verb |ikˈsploit| [ trans. ]
make full use of and derive benefit from (a resource) : 500 companies sprang up to exploit this new technology.
• use (a situation or person) in an unfair or selfish way : the company was exploiting a legal loophole | accusations that he exploited a wealthy patient.
• benefit unfairly from the work of (someone), typically by overworking or underpaying them : making money does not always mean exploiting others.
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I'm not english, so I'm asking.
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