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[ManaByte]

This is a big deal because Riot is launching Vanguard (the anti-cheat that does this) with League of Legends.

 

[DaGwaphics]

Yikes. That seems borderline illegal.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

 

[phant0m]

Yikes, gonna be a no from me dawg. But I stopped laying Valorant over a year ago and never got into MOBAs

 

[RagnarokIV]

 

[RickSanchez]

is this a multiplayer problem that i'm too single-player to understand ?

on a more serious note, i would say it is not ok to take in-game screenshots without player's consent, but here the tweet is saying they can screenshot anything on your PC i.e any window other than the game itself ? How ? is there no Windows permission required to do this ? This is FUBAR

and then they wonder why piracy is a thing

 

[ManaByte]

How ? is there no Windows permission required to do this ? This FUBAR

Vanguard is a kernel level anti-cheat that has full 100% access to your PC.

 

[near]

I think it's time to uninstall and remove this from my PC completely.

 

[STARSBarry]

Vanguard is a kernel level anti-cheat that has full 100% access to your PC.

 

[RickSanchez]

Vanguard is a kernel level anti-cheat that has full 100% access to your PC.

Fuck me. That's terrifying. Maybe we should have a Steam curator that lists games containing intrusive anti-cheat/DRM programs.....is there already a tracker like this ?

 

[violence]

Sounds like malware. I only played Valerant for 10 matches and then uninstalled. It’s a typical souless game designed to sell cosmetics. It got valve to update counterstrike so it served its purpose.

 

[makaveli60]

Orwell‘s 1984 was not intended to be the manual for the future

 

[winjer]

That is malware. Plain and simple.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Keep you old PC for any non gaming ‘stuff’.

 

[ManaByte]

Sounds like malware.

That is malware. Plain and simple.

 

[Mr Moose]

I get why (wall hacks and shit), I don't think they should be allowed though.

 

[Wildebeest]

Its totally justified. They just need to see if you have any illegal pictures of Tiananmen Square, Hong Kong protestors or Winnie the Pooh which could make you a problematic toxic gamer.

 

[violence]

Its totally justified. They just need to see if you have any illegal pictures of Tiananmen Square, Hong Kong protestors or Winnie the Pooh which could make you a problematic toxic gamer.

I don’t even need to say what happens if you’re watching South Park on your computer.

 

[killatopak]

My privacy or cheaters

 

[Tommi84]

I get why (wall hacks and shit), I don't think they should be allowed though.

Why do they need to screen from my Windows desktop when they wouls just need to check the game's window?

 

[rodrigolfp]

Every kernel level anti cheat can do, no?

 

[Kataploom]

And that's the reason I want to move to consoles for online gaming, no kidding, it's creepy af, some of us don't feel comfortable with those privacy issues... I'll have to say goodbye to LoL but it's not that I played too frequently in the last few years

 

[Kataploom]

Every kernel level anti cheat can do, no?

Yes, afaik, that's why the only "solution" for them so you can feel secure is telling you "just trust us bro" and move on

 

[Mr Moose]

Why do they need to screen from my Windows desktop when they wouls just need to check the game's window?

Doesn't it screen capture the game window?

 

[rodrigolfp]

And that's the reason I want to move to consoles for online gaming

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe console makers can do stuff like this without anyone knowing.

 

[willothedog]

Helldivers 2 has similar kennel level access too which is why I did not buy it on PC.

 

[MayauMiao]

I smell class action lawsuit.

 

[Shin-Ra]

This is why you don’t mix business and pleasure.

While some apps like media players may block full or partial screen capture of media, I doubt if you’re, for example, internet banking the web browser content gets blanked out.

 

[AJUMP23]

I bet you agreed to it in the EULA.

 

[Solidus_T]

Considering how widespread cheating is in Valorant, I can understand why they would do this, but even then some popular cheating methods will still bypass this!

 

[willothedog]

Considering how widespread cheating is in Valorant, I can understand why they would do this, but even then some popular cheating methods will still bypass this!

Bypassed by using a second PC and DMA card.

 

[STARSBarry]

I bet you agreed to it in the EULA.

The issue is that plenty of EULA's put unenforceable and completely illegal clauses in them. You can bet your top Euro this will run into a multiple legal issues within the EU.

 

[Solidus_T]

Bypassed by using a second PC and DMA card.

Yep! I hate that these methods even exist, but that was one of the first things I thought of. Either that or an easier method using a raspberry pi hardware pixel bot.

 

[Hudo]

Someone should tell the EU Commission.

 

[Kataploom]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe console makers can do stuff like this without anyone knowing.

Yes but a console only has access to played games in the console itself and gaming related data, a PC can contain a lot of other personal stuff one may not feel comfortable with others accessing, even if just family photos or stuff like that, it's creepy af

 

[near]

I smell class action lawsuit.

Doubtful. Intrusive anti-cheat software aren't illegal as far as I'm aware. Nothing will come of this. I sacrificed my privacy for a better gaming experience, and deliberately ignored the fact I'd given them kernel level access. That's on me, not on them.

 

[Soodanim]

Doubtful. Intrusive anti-cheat software aren't illegal as far as I'm aware. Nothing will come of this. I sacrificed my privacy for a better gaming experience, and deliberately ignored the fact I'd given them kernel level access. That's on me, not on them.

Does any anti-cheat tell you the level of access you have to give for the pleasure? I can't imagine any do.

 

[j0hnnix]

Does any anti-cheat tell you the level of access you have to give for the pleasure? I can't imagine any do.

Application might not tell you out right but agreeing to any TOS gives them the right.

 

[Griffon]

This is why you don’t mix business and pleasure.

Sadly you are right.
In many ways, online games are a major security risk, and maybe some of us take that risk a bit too lightly.

The right approach would be to play those on console or on a separate blank computer without personal data.

 

[near]

Does any anti-cheat tell you the level of access you have to give for the pleasure? I can't imagine any do.

Riot have always been transparent about what Riot Vanguard is and what it does. It is actually an amazing counter software to cheaters, and in all the years I've been playing Valorant I can attest to this. The unfortunate reality is that in order to enjoy a multiplayer game on PC without running into cheaters that use kernel level hacks, is to use a kernel level anti-cheat.

/dev/null: Anti-Cheat Kernel Driver - League of Legends

We’re protecting some of Riot’s upcoming games with new anti-cheat systems.

www.leagueoflegends.com

https://support-valorant.riotgames.com/hc/en-us/articles/360046160933-What-is-Vanguard

 

[ManaByte]

The plot thickens!

Vanguard just went live and LoL players are already claiming it's bricking their PCs

The anti-Vanguard uproar from the League community has been very swift and very loud.

dotesports.com

 

[Soodanim]

Riot have always been transparent about what Riot Vanguard is and what it does. It is actually an amazing counter software to cheaters, and in all the years I've been playing Valorant I can attest to this. The unfortunate reality is that in order to enjoy a multiplayer game on PC without running into cheaters that use kernel level hacks, is to use a kernel level anti-cheat.

/dev/null: Anti-Cheat Kernel Driver - League of Legends

We’re protecting some of Riot’s upcoming games with new anti-cheat systems.

www.leagueoflegends.com

https://support-valorant.riotgames.com/hc/en-us/articles/360046160933-What-is-Vanguard

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

 

[IntentionalPun]

That guys 2nd tweet isn’t giving me confidence lol.

 

[willothedog]

Fuck me. That's terrifying. Maybe we should have a Steam curator that lists games containing intrusive anti-cheat/DRM programs.....is there already a tracker like this ?

Steam Curator: Rootkit Anti-Cheats

Games that use dangerous rootkits as a form of anti-hack. They are essentially malware/spyware and are a serious security threat. Even if they don't directly do harm, they leave a backdoor for malicious software.

store.steampowered.com

 

[Hudo]

I feel the future of anti-cheat mechanisms doesn't lie on the client side (and it fucking shouldn't. Not only because it is extremely unethical but also because good hackers can circumvent that shit anyway) but on the server side, where you train some neural networks to detect irregular traffic and memory values.

The gall that companies have to request kernel level access to your system is, quite frankly, incomprehensible to me.

 

[Unknown?]

Yikes. That seems borderline illegal.

If only you knew what Windows could already do to surveil you.

 

[THE DUCK]

Why not use AI instead to screen out actions and movements that are outside the normal patters for 99.99% of gamers? At least you would think that would remove the most obvious cheats.....

 

[Mithos]

Steam Curator: Rootkit Anti-Cheats

Games that use dangerous rootkits as a form of anti-hack. They are essentially malware/spyware and are a serious security threat. Even if they don't directly do harm, they leave a backdoor for malicious software.

store.steampowered.com

Wish you could list/sort on "games I own".

 

[rodrigolfp]

Yes but a console only has access to played games in the console itself and gaming related data, a PC can contain a lot of other personal stuff one may not feel comfortable with others accessing, even if just family photos or stuff like that, it's creepy af

It is but if you think a big game dev will steal info risking ruining themselves, that is on you.

 

[Kataploom]

It is but if you think a big game dev will steal info risking ruining themselves, that is on you.

If they have powerful connections on their side (which they definitely do since they're owned by Tencent), I don't see how that can be an issue... That's only a problem for us, normal people