this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2024
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10958052

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.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago (1 children)

cheaters control the hardware, there will always be workarounds and cheaters will end up cheating anyway. the financial incentive is there: cheaters pay good money and even subscriptions for cheats.

legitimate players on the other hand get a slower game, invasive and insecure anticheat, and is more limited otherwise (eg. linux cant play lol anymore, etc)

[–] [email protected] -4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Do you know how clean Valorant is to play compared to Counter-Strike? Definitely worth it. Shooters just don't work anymore without kernel level anti-cheat. The demand is real that even third party add-ons are used to play with them, e. g. Face It for Counter-Strike. It doesn't stop all cheats and never will, but makes cheating expensive enough to exclude many.

The famous Escape from Tarkov Wiggle video should put it into perspective.

The Linux - FOSS user group of Lemmy is obviously mad, but that is the new reality.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

no because it doesnt run on my machine and i dont want riot poking around my computer but i dont remember seeing a cheater in csgo in a loong time. i havent played cs in a while, but kernel level anticheat will eventually be cracked if it isnt already, it is inevitable.