VAC-BAN on MAC address or MOBO ID

[Khimari]

Hello guys,

did you consider to include a machine's MAC address or MOBO ID to be taken into account while applying a vac-ban to deny cheaters jumping among accounts?

Let's say 3x and game over.

Since the Steam app knows about HW, this could be doable, right? :)

[Forcen]

MAC adresses are very easy to spoof.

[Khimari]

ID of motherboard then... Same as OEM OS activation does...

[Njord]

Still easy to change. Just use a Virtual machine

[Khimari]

Yea, true, there would be needed to check for direct HW access without virtual sandbox and that can be hard to include I guess... Unless DX12 / Vulcan new API only... but that is a limitation to old platforms...

[Forcen]

A slightly better thing could be payment method, won't be perfect but it could complement the phone numbers.

[Khimari]

There is a problem with resellers, I'd say maybe forcing a phone number to be bound to account, I don't know if it is now or not (like if you can roll without phone number nowdays)

[The Giving One]

Same thing has been posted here many times in the past. Feel free to use the forum seach for "hardware bans" or "IP bans" or "Mac address bans" and you can see how it has been disputed that they don't work.

One of the main features of any anticheat, that many seem to overlook, is protection against false positives (bans).

This is where VAC shines, as with the others mentioned above, it is too easy to fake as well as they provide false bans in far too many cases.

Incorrectly applied VAC bans are extremely rare, and are removed automatically anyway.

Hardware bans, IP bans, and other methods mentioned in this forum in the past just don't work and are too easy to get around...and give too many false positives.

[ethananan]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Forcen:

A slightly better thing could be payment method, won't be perfect but it could complement the phone numbers.

People who buy accounts or games for family members could be punished unfairly. Everything apart from flagging the account itself has room for error.

[Forcen]

Początkowo opublikowane przez ethananan:

Początkowo opublikowane przez Forcen:

A slightly better thing could be payment method, won't be perfect but it could complement the phone numbers.

People who buy accounts or games for family members could be punished unfairly. Everything apart from flagging the account itself has room for error.

Yep, just like they are if they use family sharing and shared phone numbers. Example: http://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/9/1474221865177716554/

Worth it IMO, just don't make it retroactive and warn people when they buy the game from a card that has bought the game before.

[ExoIon]

Payment method wont help. Anyone can get a pre-funded credit card Visa/Mastercard.

[Satoru]

I can also generate infinite virtual credit cards to bypass that

Russian Kiosks are cash based and untraceable

So are paysafe cards

[Forcen]

Początkowo opublikowane przez Satoru:

I can also generate infinite virtual credit cards to bypass that

Do you think it would be easier to bypass than the phone thing? Could those cards be "verified" by Steam the way they verify cards for the market?

I'm sure people could bypass this but they already bypass phones and other stuff, this would just add another hurdle to deter casual cheating.
Yeah, other payment methods might be more problematic..

[76561198407601200]

Początkowo opublikowane przez ExoIon:

Payment method wont help. Anyone can get a pre-funded credit card Visa/Mastercard.

Right, but one thing that those lower-forum users hate is having to go through a long press just to get denied quickly. An example (not exactly vac related), is before I came to my sense and got my own l4d server, I was having to block someone who would just make a new account to bypass it. I'd block him, he'd get more upset each time which was apparent in his responses. In this case with pre-paid cards is they will physically have to get a new card each time and if there's anything we know about cheaters is that they're too lazy to do things (hence why they never develop actual skill over time).

I'm all for tying payment methods to accounts, doesn't hurt the standard user in any way and the only one it affects are those with multiple accounts, which let's face it, is their own problem.

[Khimari]

Well, it seems the only viable way is a personal ID check with hand signature per steam account then, similar to opening a bank account, you can have multiple but receiving ban would spread to other accounts. It's doable, but requires do$h and administration... Well, bummer. :(

[ExoIon]

Początkowo opublikowane przez The Living Tribunal:

Początkowo opublikowane przez ExoIon:

Payment method wont help. Anyone can get a pre-funded credit card Visa/Mastercard.

In this case with pre-paid cards is they will physically have to get a new card each time and if there's anything we know about cheaters is that they're too lazy to do things (hence why they never develop actual skill over time).

It depends on how lazy they are. Some businesses sell those cards online, for a fee.