Is SAM picker truly secure?

[jhonatachad]

I am aware that there are several discussions about whether SAM picker is safe or not. What I would like to know is the following: if I use it only to gain hours in games, would it still be open to interpretation that I am using a third-party program and increasing my number of hours without actually playing the game, which would be considered "cheating" because I would be trying to deceive others about my gameplay, attempting to give the impression that I have played a lot of a game and am theoretically "good" at it. Both of these interpretations would go against Valve's policies, which prohibit the use of third-party programs and "cheating." Please note that these are only a few example interpretations that could be used by the Valve analysis team. My final question is: if I use SAM picker only to acquire hours, am I liable to be banned? Has anyone been banned just for using it in this way? Since many people leave the game open minimized, they would also be in this second interpretation of gaining hours without playing to give a false sense of experience, but they would not be using third-party programs...

I appreciate and value all the responses!

[gibbed]

am I liable to be banned?

I don't know.

Has anyone been banned just for using it in this way?

I've never heard of such a case in the 15 years since SAM released originally.

[jhonatachad]

Thank you for responding so quickly!

I am truly concerned, not about the program itself, but because Steam can be very dictatorial. At times they may turn a blind eye to something, and then suddenly start banning those who used it. My intention is simply to keep the game open using SAM to gain a few hours, without unlocking achievements. However, many here are apprehensive about dealing with programs and Steam simultaneously, and fear losing their account over something so trivial.