Riot Requires Kernel Level Anti-Cheat Software
tuta.com
League of Legends and Valorant Players Being Forced to Run Closed Source Low-Level Software.

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.

    • Grass@sh.itjust.works
      22·
      10 months ago

      I don’t support this existing, but does the nsa collect and sell all your data to third parties and make a shitload of money doing so? Because everyone else definitely does. I don’t know how difficult it is now, but some number of years ago you could request a copy of all the data some of the social media sites have on you and it’s fucking scary especially with how much is deduced, presumably from piecing together info from your entire social network.

      • version_unsorted@lemmy.ml
        3·
        10 months ago

        Well, the world today kind of sucks and continues to decline and the US plays global police force which no one asked for.

      • Jako301@feddit.de
        41·
        10 months ago

        I’d much rather have the USA as a world leader, but considering that neither if them are anywhere near that level of control, giving my data to China is the better option.

        If the US has my data and the worst case happens, i.e. anything in my data labels me as a terrorist (let’s be honest, nothing else matters to the NSA, they don’t care about your day to day life), then the possibility is high that my own government gets a hint and I’m locked up pretty quickly.

        If China has my data the worst case is that I can’t set foot into China, that’s it.

        Both options are shit, but having their data in China means less possible harm for anyone that isn’t a Chinese or Russian citizen.