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 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.