VAC Safety

[rjc851]

Good evening, I was curious due to how I have seen a few games use VAC and other forms of Anti-cheat, and with how I have noticed that some go down to the kernel level (though admittedly I am not that proficient with computers so i don't know what that means), I was able to infer that this goes deep into the computers files.

My question is this: If i have mods installed for a single player game such as Skyrim, Slay the Spire, or any other single player games, and I don't remove the files from my laptop/pc that I use for gaming, would it trigger a VAC or other types of bans? As i want to ensure I continue to have a nice time gaming with my friends and I don't want to risk my account over modding a single player game.

I recognize that the odds are that it wouldn't trigger and that single player games are okay to do this with, but I still wanted to ask to ensure that I can be as safe as possible. Thank you for your time.

[Champion Of Pressing Buttons]

Originally posted by rjc851:

Good evening, I was curious due to how I have seen a few games use VAC and other forms of Anti-cheat, and with how I have noticed that some go down to the kernel level (though admittedly I am not that proficient with computers so i don't know what that means), I was able to infer that this goes deep into the computers files.

My question is this: If i have mods installed for a single player game such as Skyrim, Slay the Spire, or any other single player games, and I don't remove the files from my laptop/pc that I use for gaming, would it trigger a VAC or other types of bans? As i want to ensure I continue to have a nice time gaming with my friends and I don't want to risk my account over modding a single player game.

I recognize that the odds are that it wouldn't trigger and that single player games are okay to do this with, but I still wanted to ask to ensure that I can be as safe as possible. Thank you for your time.

i don't think VAC will "detect" mods for a skyrim. Because it 1. Single-Player game 2. There is no VAC executed in this game.

i don't think you can get game ban because 1. You can get game-ban ONLY on Multiplayer game, like cs:go, team fortress 2 and other games else.

[rjc851]

Thank you for informing me of that, I doubted that it would detect it in Skyrim but I was also concerned about if it mods would be detected from Slay the Spire, as iirc i think it has a online component to it, i could be wrong though.

I also was unsure as to how the anti cheat software for Valve works, and with how I had discovered some anti cheat software that went down to the kernel level. In addition to this it seems I might have misconstructed my question, as I am aware that single player games are, for the most part, okay to mod. I was primarily worried about what would happen if I have single player mods installed before I go to any sort of online game without removing the mods from my laptop.

I hope this doesn't change anything too much.

thanks for helping answer my question, I hope i haven't taken up too much of your time.

[Champion Of Pressing Buttons]

Originally posted by rjc851:

Thank you for informing me of that, I doubted that it would detect it in Skyrim but I was also concerned about if it mods would be detected from Slay the Spire, as iirc i think it has a online component to it, i could be wrong though.

I also was unsure as to how the anti cheat software for Valve works, and with how I had discovered some anti cheat software that went down to the kernel level. In addition to this it seems I might have misconstructed my question, as I am aware that single player games are, for the most part, okay to mod. I was primarily worried about what would happen if I have single player mods installed before I go to any sort of online game without removing the mods from my laptop.

I hope this doesn't change anything too much.

thanks for helping answer my question, I hope i haven't taken up too much of your time.

No problem. But maybe you can get ban from the game Slay the Spire, i don't know because i never played this game. But still, you can ask in game forum if you could get a game ban.

Also you can check VAC FAQ: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/571A-97DA-70E9-FF74 , And FAQ about gamebans https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/46DB-4CEC-F7E9-49E5

[rjc851]

Thanks for letting me know, and I think that Slay the Spire is okay to do, as I have just been doing it single player and theres even an option to play it with the mods installed or not if i launch it through the Steam app. so I think that one is okay.

Thanks again :)

[Hammer Of Evil]

Originally posted by rjc851:

Good evening, I was curious due to how I have seen a few games use VAC and other forms of Anti-cheat, and with how I have noticed that some go down to the kernel level (though admittedly I am not that proficient with computers so i don't know what that means), I was able to infer that this goes deep into the computers files.

My question is this: If i have mods installed for a single player game such as Skyrim, Slay the Spire, or any other single player games, and I don't remove the files from my laptop/pc that I use for gaming, would it trigger a VAC or other types of bans? As i want to ensure I continue to have a nice time gaming with my friends and I don't want to risk my account over modding a single player game.

I recognize that the odds are that it wouldn't trigger and that single player games are okay to do this with, but I still wanted to ask to ensure that I can be as safe as possible. Thank you for your time.

no.

VAC is not the boogey man, despite what fake rumors the cheaters keep spreading because they are salty they got caught.

the premise is simple.

If the game is protected by Valve Anti Cheat, and cheats are used, it will result in a permanent ban. VAC secured games have a warning before you connect to the server.

every other circumstance equals no vac ban.

so, in skyrim. is skyrim protected by VAC? No. You won't get a ban no matter what you do. Install any mod or cheat you want.

Slay the spire - is slay the spire protected by VAC? - i don't think it is, but. it seems there is an anti cheat implemented in the game. Using a cheat there, might result in some punishment. (i just search '<game name> and anticheat' to find out usually). they say its score based, but I generally don't take chances.

So, your takeaway is, if a game is protected by an anti cheat (not just VAC), don't try modding it. people say 'modding is not cheating' but to an anti cheat -- they are one and the same, and will trigger a ban.

You can't claim ignorance, most developers (especially valve) will not hear any excuse.

Note that if a mod developer makes the wrong move while modding an anti-cheat secured game, anyone who uses that mod will get banned by the anti cheat, and the dev probably won't reverse it.

Everyone argues like 'ohh i mod it for x years blah blah' - hey man, thats your own risk. if the dev decides to troll the 300k subscribers to his mod, you risk getting cake on your face. I won't give them the chance =p

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

Be aware that some single player games do use VAC:

https://store.steampowered.com/search/?category2=8



Also, you have to be cautious of what you install and where you get the content from:

Use caution when installing any game modifications like scripts or custom skins, and only download custom content from trusted sources. Hackers may maliciously disguise their cheats to cause others to get banned.
For more information on how you can protect yourself and your account, please refer to our Account Security Recommendations help article.

https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/571A-97DA-70E9-FF74#avoidvac


These are things to be aware of.

[rjc851]

Thanks Hammer of Evil, and thank you all for helping answer these questions. I will be sure to use caution and only use mods from trusted sources, and thank you Guyver for that list of single player games that use VAC.

I hope that my questions weren't out of line to ask. I hope you all have a great day.

[(banned)]

Originally posted by rjc851:

and with how I have noticed that some go down to the kernel level (though admittedly I am not that proficient with computers so i don't know what that means)

Means:

* They use drivers which run at the same level (or security "ring") as Windows internals.
* This allows for checking to make sure things run according to what the game dev assumes to be valid and not modifying things. This includes making sure that Windows APIs are not "hooked" which can be used to alter how programs see results from Windows APIs to be handled. This "hooking" is exceptionally useful for malware, and cheating.
* VAC operates at the same level as the application level (which is ring3). This is much more prone to alteration and cannot check modifications to system APIs done at a kernel level. So it is much harder to maintain application integrity. This is why Valve uses some other anticheat systems that are not client based and all server side for a particular FPS (like Trust Factor and Overwatch), to supplement VAC, because VAC on its own is brittle. Kernel based anticheat though is much harder to bypass, but still tinkerable with some effort on the reverse engineer (doesn't help sometimes considering that cheating is now an industry onto itself, and that reversers can afford the development time to make such cheats, because its so lucrative).

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

Trust Factor and Overwatch have nothing to do with VAC or this forum.

[(banned)]

....way to miss the point, but okay, point taken. User wanted a explanation of kernel vs usermode anticheat. And just explained that one game uses supplemental anticheat in combination with VAC.

But whatever.

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

Originally posted by Janker:

....way to miss the point, but okay, point taken. User wanted a explanation of kernel vs usermode anticheat. And just explained that one game uses supplemental anticheat in combination with VAC.

But whatever.

I haven't missed anything, Trust Factor is not anti-cheat at all. Further, Overwatch is a totally separate anti-cheat system that doesn't work anything like VAC. Overwatch is based on gameplay. VAC is not.

[(banned)]

And VAC is based on signatures ONLY.

Gold star, 100 points. Go, be happy. Unless you find a reason to debate being happy about winning on the Internet.

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

Originally posted by Janker:

And VAC is based on signatures ONLY.

Gold star, 100 points. Go, be happy. Unless you find a reason to debate being happy about winning on the Internet.

It's not my fault, that you posted irrelevant information.

[Mr. Monday]

Originally posted by C²C^Guyver |NZB|:

Originally posted by Janker:

And VAC is based on signatures ONLY.

Gold star, 100 points. Go, be happy. Unless you find a reason to debate being happy about winning on the Internet.

It's not my fault, that you posted irrelevant information.

Funny. I found what you posted to be far more irrelevant than what he did.

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

Originally posted by Mr. Monday:

Originally posted by C²C^Guyver |NZB|:

It's not my fault, that you posted irrelevant information.

Funny. I found what you posted to be far more irrelevant than what he did.

Oh? Am I mistaken or did he bring up Overwatch and Trust Factor?