GAME INSTALLS ROOTKIT: "nProtect GameGuard"

[Roenie]

As per title.

// UPDATE #1:

I've been receiving too many friend invites because of this thread. I don't accept them because I have enough people to help IRL. Others just want to 'talk tech' and I appreciate it but I don't want to spend more time chatting on the internet. You get more out of spending that time on (finding) local friends and family IRL so I recommend doing that instead.

The devs have responded in this thread in post #213 (page 15-ish) saying they're working on providing an easy removal method. The devs also wrote: "There are cases where the nProtect program can be used for other games than UNDECEMBER. For this reason, this security module is not being automatically deleted." I understand and had already considered that. My stance on that: the uninstall process should ask the user to make the decision and to help them make the decision ideally provide a link to a webpage that the GameGuard developers should maintain that lists all games currently using GameGuard. The uninstall process should at least inform the user that it's leaving it behind and why it's doing that.

There's now a notice on the store page on the right side to inform you that the game incorporates nProtect GameGuard. They didn't mention adding that notice but I'm pretty sure that wasn't there earlier when I installed the demo. So that's two steps in the right direction.

Because the store page makes you aware and the devs are working on hopefully providing a removal tool, I'm happy if a moderator wants to lock this thread so it doesn't keep coming back to page 1.

I would still strongly suggest adding a notice at the time of installation if at all possible because a lot of people will overlook the tiny warning on the store page. Wanting a rootkit on your system or not is everybody's personal choice. So you should always be made aware before the installation so that people who don't want it can opt out. It shouldn't be installed silently as part of the installation process of something else. When I installed the demo I wasn't aware that GameGuard comes with it.

Being unaware that it installs in the first place is a more important problem than the one where it doesn't get uninstalled when you uninstall the game and doesn't tell you, even though that's also bad.
// end UPDATE #1

// UPDATE #2

Link to removal tool

Link to removal tool provided by developer can now be found in this Undecember news post:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1549250/view/6456498378615365698

By sharing this link I am not responsible for whatever the removal tool does. It's probably made by the Korean company that makes GameGuard. I have not used it myself as I have already removed GameGuard using the manual process I described below.
// end UPDATE #2

nProtect GameGuard

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NProtect_GameGuard
Product page listing its features: https://gameguard.nprotect.com/en/index.html

This 'malware' will not be removed when you uninstall the game. In fact there is no uninstaller available to the public and there is no removal info on the website of the Korean company that creates it.

Notable sections of the Wikipedia page:

GameGuard hides the game application process, monitors the entire memory range, terminates applications defined by the game vendor and INCA Internet to be cheats (QIP for example[citation needed]), blocks certain calls to Direct X functions and Windows APIs, keylogs keyboard input[citation needed], and auto-updates itself to change as new possible threats surface.[1]

Since GameGuard essentially works like a rootkit,[2][6] players may experience unintended and potentially unwanted side effects. If set, GameGuard blocks any installation or activation of hardware and peripherals (e.g., a mouse) while the program is running. Since GameGuard monitors any changes in the computer's memory, it will cause performance issues when the protected game loads multiple or large resources all at once.[7]

Additionally, some versions of GameGuard had an unpatched privilege escalation bug, allowing any program to issue commands as if they were running under an Administrator account.[8]

GameGuard possesses a database on game hacks based on security references from more than 260 game clients. Some editions of GameGuard are now bundled with INCA Internet's Tachyon anti-virus/anti-spyware library, and others with nProtect Key Crypt, an anti-key-logger software that protects the keyboard input information.

Some of the other threads worth reading with additonal info about GameGuard (GG):

GG opening browser on its own to download file to reinstall itself:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1549250/discussions/0/3388420307306147309/

GG causing regular players to be unable to play:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1549250/discussions/0/3388420307303552350/

Thread similar to the current thread you're reading:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1549250/discussions/0/3388420307299415010/

Removing nProtect GameGuard

There is now a link to a removal tool more toward the top of this post. Look for the blue header: "Link to removal tool" in a section called UPDATE #2. The following is the manual removal process I described earlier:

Find and delete the main executable
Rootkits sometimes hide their main executable from being seen or deleted from within the operating system it's installed to, so just to be sure to not waste time trying to do it from within Windows I used linux to remove the executable after first trying to do it with a file manager program that crashed when I did. Possibly a coincidence. Reports from other users indicate that this particular rootkit doesn't hide or protect its executable file so you probably don't have to use linux but I'll explain the way I personally did it. I booted into linux (stored on a thumb drive) to find and delete GameMon.des that the game's installation process adds to the C:\Windows\SysWOW64 directory. Again reports from other users indicate you can probably see it and delete it from within Windows, so you can try that first.

If the nProtect GameGuard system service exists (see next paragraph) then the file gamemon.des will of course also exist even if you can't see it in File Explorer from within Windows in which case you can liveboot linux to find and delete the file. I briefly explained that process in this post: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1549250/discussions/0/3388420307302919948/?ctp=5#c3388420307306305282

If you can't find the executable, a useful trick is to go to the properties of the nProtect GameGuard system service to check what executable file path it points to. (WinKey+R --> services.msc) If the redirection between system32 and SysWOW64 causes confusion, read this post: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1549250/discussions/0/3388420307302919948/?ctp=25#c3487500856975883781

System service (optional)
After removing the main executable, the system service that points to it no longer functions. Delete the orphaned nProtect GameGuard service that remains in services.msc. To check if it's there: press WinKey+R and type services.msc. To remove the service, open a command prompt run as administrator, then enter the command: sc delete npggsvc. You may have to refresh the Services window with F5 to see the result.

Registry key (optional)
GameGuard creates a registry key called INCAInternet with various subkeys.
Press Windows-Key + R. type "regedit".
Search for (Ctrl+F, F3 to repeat) and delete that entire key. It should be here: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\INCAInternet

"gameMonitor" is added to several values in subkeys of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SecurityManager\CapabilityClasses\ (see post #31 to #34 for why I crossed out the latter: these entries were not related to it.)

Learning about rootkit anti-cheat in general

The 1st video also covers the potential for system instability - big reason for me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaL7owZmbEA
The 2nd video is more focused on the security risks, and covers what happened when the game Genshin Impact's rootkit anti-cheat was abused by a ransomware actor to disable antivirus software. (Do note that antivirus even when active is often inadequate to protect against ransomware.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY41wMvwrLQ
Server side anti-cheat is a thing but it's not perfect either. It does help to write the game's code in a way that the client doesn't receive and send more data than it strictly needs so it can't manipulate it either, but there is no perfect solution and the more is done server side the more expensive it gets for the deverloper, hardware wise, to get the same server performance. Many multiplayer games employ client side anti-cheat, often a rookit, in an attempt to protect the developer's profits with the unfortunate side effect of making your PC less secure. I don't really play multiplayer games anymore especially not competitive ones so I can realistically avoid having any client side anti-cheat installed. This time though I was unaware that one was getting installed along with the demo.

General advice if you can't avoid anti-cheat rootkits

If you do important things with your system or store important documents and like to play multiplayer games so can't avoid client side anti-cheats, I recommend using a dedicated gaming/entertainment/web browsing PC (inherently insecure) and a 2nd PC or laptop to do everything else with. The entertainment PC should be in a different IP address range so it's not able to communicate with other devices on your home network, it only gets internet access. Even better for security is to use a managed network switch to create VLANs so you can "physically" leave the gaming PC out of your main VLAN. The 2nd PC typically doesn't have to be fast thus can be cheap but if you can't afford one or don't want one: another solution albeit not as secure, is to "dualboot": install another operating system onto your gaming PC so you can choose which one to boot into: your gaming/entertainment OS or your serious/home office OS. I like Linux for the latter but both can be Windows if you want. On the entertainment OS don't assign a drive letter to the storage where you keep your documents. The technical how-to of all this is beyond the scope of this thread, so Google is your friend.

Clarifying my main concern

The user should always be aware of the installation because it's their computer, freedom of choice and all that. The main issue I personally have with rootkit anti-cheat isn't even that it reduces system security, even though that's very important (people don't care about security until it's too late), for me it's that whenever I have a problem with a PC or game I don't want to have additional variables to exclude in search of a possible cause. Especially programs that don't want you to know they're there so you're likely to not think about them. If an anti-cheat ever DOES cause an issue (even if unlikely) you'll spend way too much time eliminating every other possible cause first. And if a game you have an issue with won't start without the anti-cheat, you can't eliminate it as a possible cause at all. So while you stress test RAM, CPU, disable certain programs or overlays etc etc maybe even reinstall your OS you have this nagging voice in the back of your mind saying "what if it's actually the anti-cheat and I'm just wasting my time?"

[tinge]

"gameMonitor" seems to be legit windows, I have a system not touched by gameguard and it's there. You can double check with another clean system.

[Roenie]

You don't mean gamemon.des, but the gameMonitor registry values?

Apps > UWP > Reference > Windows Runtime API > Windows.Gaming.UI
GameMonitor Class
Allows an app to get the game monitor permission state of the device, and potentially prompt the user to enable game monitoring.
As of Windows 10, version 1809 (10.0; Build 17763), this API is removed from the public API surface of Windows.

This class uses TruePlay, a system on Windows 10 that helps to combat cheating in PC games. As of Windows 10, version 1809 (10.0; Build 17763), TruePlay is removed from Windows.

No longer in use, luckily.

[tinge]

gameMonitor registry values, under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SecurityManager\CapabilityClasses\

[Roenie]

Yeah good catch. No harm done though removing these outdated lines.
Wasn't aware MS used to have anti-cheat of its own.

[Torinux]

Originally posted by Roenie:

Yeah good catch. No harm done though removing these outdated lines.
Wasn't aware MS used to have anti-cheat of its own.

Again Professional multi degree It yadah yadah and is not up to date about windows registry changes lol, here take some of my points.

[A.C.I.D.🌀23]

people are mad when games dont have anticheat, and then people are mad when there is an anticheat!
Do you use IG FB and co.? then better delete it!

[Roenie]

Originally posted by TorinuxCthulhu:

Originally posted by Roenie:

Yeah good catch. No harm done though removing these outdated lines.
Wasn't aware MS used to have anti-cheat of its own.

Professional not up to date about windows registry changes

Keeping up with every single MS Windows registry change - or any registry changes for that matter - is not part of an IT professional's job. You think IT engineers commit the registry to memory? It's not possible. It's far, far too large for that, and changes too often. Exactly zero out of hundreds of IT engineers I've worked with would know about these particular registry values if you asked 'em. These particular values even have nothing at all to do with IT work, it's purely gaming related, not something a business would care about and therefore nothing an admin cares about. I got a little trigger happy and should've made sure, I will say that. P.S. I don't do MS work anymore, IT does not equal Windows, you can work in other fields of IT and never have to deal with Windows crap. (Highly recommended because MS engineers are easily replaced and therefore usually not well paid, while MS training to remain certified is very expensive.)

Originally posted by Jue:

people are mad when games dont have anticheat, and then people are mad when there is an anticheat!

Not guilty, I'm only mad when they have anticheat. Anticheat like *this*, anyway...and don't tell you about it. When they don't have anticheat, I like it. I don't play multiplayer games anymore, especially PvP or competitive ones. That's where the toxic crowds hang out. All the multiplayer games these days suck imo. It was great in 1999 when nobody played for money or fame because there wasn't any and "eSports" wasn't a word. I still prefer a multiplayer game having cheaters over having anticheat, because if a multiplayer game is worth playing it has a server browser and lets users setup dedicated servers so that the players are in charge of all the parameters of the game experience: what map, what game mode and rules etc. So you'll then have private, password protected servers to play on where there won't be any cheaters. If it only has a matchmaking queue that you have no control over then it's going to be a crap game in other areas too, not worth playing. There will always be people ruining matches if there's only matchmaking and you can't control who joins. If it's not a cheater then it'll be a teamkiller, an idler, a quitter or a spammer. And if dedicated private servers are not applicable because it's an MMO then it's not worth playing because it's an MMO and MMOs are grindfests for children with nothing better to do. Anti-cheat will be circumvented by cheaters anyway. GameGuard especially is easy to get around, apparently. Like DRM it mostly only hurts the legit players. Pirates play without DRM, just like cheaters play without the anti-cheat getting in the way. Only the idiots end up getting kicked/banned/blocked, along with a large number of players who didn't know random software tool XYZ on their system in use for some other legit purpose was going to get their account flagged.

Originally posted by Jue:

Do you use IG FB and co.?

No.

Originally posted by Jue:

then better delete it!

Solid advice for anyone who hasn't done that yet.

[Seraphiel]

How do I delete it?

Under CapabilityClasses are 6 more files.

[Roenie]

They did kinda pull a blizzard with that frozen orb looking thing.

[Roenie]

Originally posted by Seraphiel:

How do I delete it?

By removing gamemon.des from C:\Windows\SysWOW64, primarily.

Then to tidy up:
To remove the system service (which will not work anyway with gamemon.des removed) you can run cmd.exe as admin and do:
sc delete npggsvc

To remove the registry key:
There's a key with INCA in the name (name of the company) with subkeys for their "software", just search for "gamemon". I can't give you the exact name 'cause mine's already gone. If you're unsure, right click the key and copy key name, then paste it here and I or someone here can confirm. (I'll remember when I see the full name.)

Originally posted by Seraphiel:

Under CapabilityClasses are 6 more files.

Don't worry about those entries, they're not related to GameGuard. I assumed they were and I was wrong about that. Should've double checked. There are some old references in there by MS to an anti-cheat tool by MS that used to be in Windows and is no longer in Windows.

[TheWarden]

Originally posted by Roenie:

The reason I as an IT professional of multiple decades with a degree in my field, take issue with this program is not it's anti-cheat nature, it's the way in which it does it, the fact that it's a rootkit. That's a whole nother level compared to other solutions out there, thus they should not be thought of as the same. with the same threat level and potential for problems.

You should've been made aware before installing, that you were getting this along with the game and uninstalling the game should have removed it and it doesn't. Installing a rootkit in the first place is reason enough to kick this game off of Steam. Hence, I've reported the store page to Valve.

Originally posted by Lightning:

Many other popular games use it too

The Tencent / Blackrock owned online game junk that's to be avoided in the first place.

Because rootkits are some of the strongest anticheats.

[Roenie]

Not GameGuard, it's been hacked to hell and back.

[Seraphiel]

Originally posted by Roenie:

Originally posted by Seraphiel:

How do I delete it?

By removing gamemon.des from C:\Windows\SysWOW64, primarily.

Then to tidy up:
To remove the system service (which will not work anyway with gamemon.des removed) you can run cmd.exe as admin and do:
sc delete npggsvc

To remove the registry key:
There's a key with INCA in the name (name of the company) with subkeys for their "software", just search for "gamemon". I can't give you the exact name 'cause mine's already gone. If you're unsure, right click the key and copy key name, then paste it here and I or someone here can confirm. (I'll remember when I see the full name.)

Originally posted by Seraphiel:

Under CapabilityClasses are 6 more files.

Don't worry about those entries, they're not related to GameGuard. I assumed they were and I was wrong about that. Should've double checked. There are some old references in there by MS to an anti-cheat tool by MS that used to be in Windows and is no longer in Windows.

Thanks!
The first two stepss are done.

Do u mean this one: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\INCAInternet\nProtectGameGuard\GameMon ?

[Seraphiel]

Originally posted by Seraphiel:

Originally posted by Roenie:

By removing gamemon.des from C:\Windows\SysWOW64, primarily.

Then to tidy up:
To remove the system service (which will not work anyway with gamemon.des removed) you can run cmd.exe as admin and do:
sc delete npggsvc

To remove the registry key:
There's a key with INCA in the name (name of the company) with subkeys for their "software", just search for "gamemon". I can't give you the exact name 'cause mine's already gone. If you're unsure, right click the key and copy key name, then paste it here and I or someone here can confirm. (I'll remember when I see the full name.)


Don't worry about those entries, they're not related to GameGuard. I assumed they were and I was wrong about that. Should've double checked. There are some old references in there by MS to an anti-cheat tool by MS that used to be in Windows and is no longer in Windows.

Thanks!
The first two stepss are done.

Do u mean this one: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\INCAInternet\nProtectGameGuard\GameMon ?

Do I have to delete the whole INCAInternet file and all subfiles?

[Roenie]

Delete this entire key:
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\INCAInternet