Valorant’s custom software-based anti-cheat solution is known as Vanguard. It is a key part of stopping cheaters and hackers in Riot Games’ popular first-person shooter, and it is touted as an industry-leading tool when it comes to stopping injections and intrusions alike.
Unlike anti-cheat software like VAC or Punkbuster, it has kernel-level access to your computer to dig deep into any potential cheats, which was seen as potentially too intrusive for some. The devs have set out to alleviate any such concerns with public-facing descriptions of the software like this one:
“Both the client and the driver of Riot Vanguard have been developed in-house, with both game safety and personal computer safety being a priority. We’ve made this commitment through extensive testing and by reviewing the product both internally and with external security reviews by industry experts.”
Vanguard’s made up two main elements, a regular scanning component that is only active when the game is one, and a device driver that is always active from the system boot-up onwards. This is the one with the kernel-level access and it’s been a source of much consternation for security-minded users. Though some other anti-cheat solutions like the ones used for Fortnite and DayZ also have such access, they’re only on as long as the game in question is running. Issues with kernel-level access has been seen before with ESEA’s high-profile scandal in 2013 when they used their drivers’ access to mine bitcoin with the unsuspecting players’ PCs.
So far, it seems like Riot’s assuaged most concerns about Vanguard. That’s all well and good, but does it do what it’s set out to do?
Does Vanguard work in Valorant?
Riot’s anti-cheat solution was prominently featured even in the pre-release marketing of the game, and with good reason: the current volume of Valorant betting on pro matches would be clearly unsustainable if there would be constant accusations of cheating going around, and it is, therefore, a key element of the game’s potential esports success. Though it was initially advertised as entirely cheat-proof, it quickly turned out not to be the case after its launch. For what it’s worth, the battle against hackers is always about an escalating arms race: new tools are constantly developed on both sides to get an edge over their adversaries. Still, the notion that Valorant and Vanguard were designed in a way so that they cannot be cheated on was ludicrous from the start.