Vanguard, the controversial anti-cheat software initially attached to Valorant, is now also coming to League of Legends.
Summary:
The article discusses Riot Games’ requirement for players to install their Vanguard anti-cheat software, which runs at the kernel level, in order to play their games such as League of Legends and Valorant. The software aims to combat cheating by scanning for known vulnerabilities and blocking them, as well as monitoring for suspicious activity while the game is being played. However, the use of kernel-level software raises concerns about privacy and security, as it grants the company complete access to users’ devices.
The article highlights that Riot Games is owned by Tencent, a Chinese tech giant that has been involved in censorship and surveillance activities in China. This raises concerns that Vanguard could potentially be used for similar purposes, such as monitoring players’ activity and restricting free speech in-game.
Ultimately, the decision to install Vanguard rests with players, but the article urges caution and encourages players to consider the potential risks and implications before doing so.
I understand people here are not that big of a fan for kernel level anticheats, but if cheaters are able to easily bypass a non-kernel level anticheat, what other choice do they really have?
Edit
January 20th, 2024 7:03 PM (19:03) EST: While all of you have good points, I’m not backing down on this. Yes, I get the privacy concerns but have we thought about the application could possibly only be sending/receiving data for updates to the anticheat, maybe sending data only when the game is open (or the launcher), or something like that? Again, I’m not backing down, I said what I said. I’m fine with all of you disagreeing with what I said, but I won’t back down.Edit2
January 20th, 2024 7:11 PM (19:11) EST: I did not realize until now that Tencent has a stake in Riot Games. I see your concerns now, but I’m still not backing down.For the company its the best solution.
If you don’t care about your entire computer except for gaming its fine.
If your computer has any meaningful data then its just depressing that you as a user have lost control of your device to play LoL.
Is there a reason to think kernel-level anti-cheat isn’t (easily) bypassable? The next step is recording users and their input devices like a speed-run substitution or an at-home exam, which I presume could become (easily) bypassable too.
Are there any companies which have even tried to explore other options?
I mean I’d believe everything is bypassable, but I also believe that the Kernel Level Anticheat makes it more difficult to bypass, if that makes sense.
I know what you mean: a barrier to entry reduces cheating while a work-around is unknown, or yet implimented and shared.
The kernel manages interactions between software and hardware: simply it has total control of your computer. Cheaters ruining my game during my time off are annoying but a company having that level of power over millions of computers is a concern on the level of society.
I also understand your point.
Wouldn’t it just mean the cheat tools also move into the kernel space and keep doing what they’re already doing? Whether people will trust that or not I have no idea but I’ll wager people willing to use cheats in an online PVP game probably won’t care that much.
I mean that would make sense I guess, but it would mean they’d have to spend time and resources to figure it out. I get your points entirely.