- #Faceit anti cheat kernel level drivers#
- #Faceit anti cheat kernel level update#
- #Faceit anti cheat kernel level driver#
- #Faceit anti cheat kernel level software#
- #Faceit anti cheat kernel level code#
Shouldn't Vanguard tell you if it blocked something important like a temperature monitoring program?
#Faceit anti cheat kernel level software#
If you do have a tenuous cooling situation and rely on Windows software to keep your PC from melting, check and make sure that Vanguard hasn't blocked that software the first time you reboot after installing it. In all likelihood, you don't have to worry about this, because Vanguard now blocks fewer programs, and because most people do not have PCs which will dramatically overheat unless they are running temperature monitoring/fan control software or underclocking their GPU. Where players are reporting overheating problems, such as in this Reddit post (opens in new tab), it's because Vanguard automatically blocked software they were using to control their cooling setup or processor speeds. There is no feature or bug in Vanguard which raises CPU or GPU temperatures. From here on, Riot says it will "prefer non-invasive solutions." If it can't get a program running with Vanguard in a way it likes, it'll prevent you from playing Valorant rather than prevent the program from running.
Vanguard still blocks "a small number" of drivers, but no longer blocks most of the software it used to, including Core Temp. That policy has changed (opens in new tab).
#Faceit anti cheat kernel level drivers#
"Vanguard blocks drivers with known security vulnerabilities (usually privilege escalation via arbitrary memory writes) that allow cheat developers to load their cheats into the kernel without approval from Microsoft," wrote Valorant anti-cheat lead Paul Chamberlain in a Reddit post. Why? Riot would only speak in generalities. When it was first introduced, Vanguard blocked certain drivers, and multiple programs can use the same drivers, which led to it preventing certain temperature monitors, fan controllers, and overclocking tools from running.įor example, Vanguard wouldn't let me run a program called Core Temp, which reads and displays the temperature of each CPU core. The reason this is a controversy now is probably that, A) Valorant is a high-profile new game and Riot intentionally drew a lot of attention to its anti-cheat efforts, B) Vanguard starts with Windows instead of with the game, and C) Vanguard doesn't seem to be as lenient as other anti-cheat software, possibly blocking a wider array of programs. Just like Vanguard, these anti-cheat programs block other kernel drivers that contain security vulnerabilities. BattleEye also does, and it's used by high-profile games such as Rainbow Six Siege and PUBG. EasyAntiCheat does, and it's used by a ton of games, including Apex Legends. Regarding that last point, it's actually common for anti-cheat software to utilize kernel-mode drivers.
#Faceit anti cheat kernel level driver#
The primary argument against letting Riot run a kernel-mode driver on your PC is that if someone found a security vulnerability in it, the consequences could be much worse than if a vulnerability were discovered in regular, user-level software.
Software that runs at the kernel level has the greatest level of control over your PC. It's the core of your operating system, where the most basic functions happen, such as allocating system memory to different programs.
#Faceit anti cheat kernel level code#
If we were in a '90s hacker movie, the kernel would be the virtual reality sphere of green code where the final showdown takes place. What does it mean that the Vanguard driver is "kernel-mode"? That's why you have to reboot after installing Vanguard. If Vanguard's driver isn't started with Windows, Valorant won't trust your PC, and you won't be able to play.
#Faceit anti cheat kernel level update#
It doesn't collect data about your PC or send anything to Riot: It looks at other drivers and blocks them from running if it detects that they have a known vulnerability that could be used to compromise the anti-cheat client. (Vanguard blocks fewer programs as of an update in May, and in the future may prevent Valorant from running instead of blocking the offending software.) The kernel-mode driver is the client's bodyguard, basically. A client that checks to make sure you aren't running any cheats while you're playing Valorant.A kernel-mode driver that runs when your PC boots up.