Insecure Mode

[SweptThr.one]

I've been trying to play a VAC-secured game (Fistful of Frags) for about a week now, and every time I try to join any secure server (which is all of them), I am met with the message:

You are in insecure mode. You must restart before you can connect to secure servers.

To try to remedy this issue, I have:
Made sure -insecure is not in my launch options
Added -secure to my launch options (even though it's not an actual option)
Added -steam to my launch options
Launched the game from the Steam library
Launched the game from a desktop shortcut
Verified my game cache
Reinstalled the game
Restarted Steam
Unsubscribed from every workshop addon
Restarted my computer
Absolutely wiped any trace of the game off my hard drive before reinstalling
Tried other Source games (they work)
Changing cloud location
Disabling cloud syncing
Tried using the Steam beta
Tried using the Fistful of Frags beta (there were no servers)
Tried using the Fistful of Frags prerelease (there were no servers)
Reinstalled Steam as a whole
Disabled my antivirus temporarily
Installing the game on a second drive
Scoured the internet for hours on end

and nothing has worked. I was able to play before I had reinstalled the rest of my games, but after installing them, I was met with the same message every time. Is there any way to fix this?

[The Giving One]

Saw your post here :

https://steamcommunity.com/app/265630/discussions/2/1608274347736417769/#c1696095174291411045

You said you can sometimes play but get a VAC error. Was that this, to be sure ?

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2117-ilzv-2837

Also, I see above that you said you tried using your library to run the game, but in that other post, you mentioned shortcuts.

Do not use any shortcuts for now while testing the problem. Only use your Steam library as you said.

EDIT...........

You said in that other post, that you could not find the .exe file.

Do you have Windows set to make visible file extensions ?

If you do, and the .exe is really missing for some reason, that is important to note, please.

How much free space is left on the hard drive where you now have the game installed ?

Originally posted by SweptThrone:

Installing the game on a second drive

Is that on an external hard drive ?

What antivirus program are you using ? For some suites, disabled is not good enough.

Then the post above the other one, you said 8 files fail to validate.

Yea, you definitely seem to still have a security process causing that issue. Is your AV Norton , perhaps ?

[SweptThr.one]

Originally posted by The Giving One:

...

Thank you for your response.

Yes, that was the error I was getting when it was working. It would happen mid game, and after it happened, the original "Insecure mode" message would come back every time I tried to join.

After reinstalling Steam and everything, shortcuts failed to be created at all, so I have been running it out of my library while I've been trying to solve this issue.

I dug around a bit more, and I think I was wrong in my diagnosis of there being no executable, it just wasn't where I expected it to be, but I think it's where it should be. (It wasn't in fof/, instead it was hl2.exe in sdk/)

There are 369 GB free on the hard drive I installed it on, and 233 GB free on the second drive.

The second drive is an external hard drive.

Yes, I am using Norton Security Suite, and I followed their instructions to disable, which was disabling Auto-Protect and I disabled Smart Firewall for good measure.

[The Giving One]

Ok, I am betting that Norton is your problem. I also posted in your game forum thread. Thanks for the answers.

Norton is notorious for things like this. That is why disabling it is not always good enough.

Run msconfig from Windows Start. Look for background processes that are symantec or Norton. That is almost surely your issue, unless you have others also coupled with it that can cause problems.

Also, it's not recommended to use Steam and games on an external hard drive.

But for now, we will just put that aside for later.

EDIT....

Don't forget to verify the game files once again, after you are sure that no processes such as Norton or others are causing issues.

If the files just keep failing to validate and are being reaquired, then something is still quarantining them, such as Norton or another program (CCleaner, is one example).

EDIT 2..........

It's possible also, as long as all the software conflicts are covered, that the issue is the external hard drive. It would be best if you had the game installed on your internal hard drive for now, while troubleshooting this problem.

[Silicon Vampire]

Please continue in the proper area

https://steamcommunity.com/app/265630/discussions/2/1608274347736417769/