VAC Bans and Game Bans

A brief guide on what VAC Bans are and what Game Bans are.

What is VAC?

VAC is Valve-Anti-Cheat. A system created in 2002, along with Counter Strike. Since then has been modified so that it works without skipping a beat. Specific servers are VAC protected, if you’re caught cheating, you will be banned. If you’re cheating on a non-VAC protected server, you will not get a VAC ban but may be reported for cheating by other users of Steam.

Basic Questions:

1. If I cheat, will I be caught?

Yes, you will be caught and will be banned sooner or later.

2. Can VAC bans / Game Bans be removed?

Like the picture above says, No there will always be a big red wording on your profile with a VAC ban / Game Bans X days ago. It’s only possible to get VAC bans (and Game Bans) on VAC protected games. To see a full list of all the Steam games protected by VAC, click here

3. Why did I get a VAC ban?

The answer is rather simple. You cheated. VAC bans are triggered when VAC finds a cheating/hacking software running in the ram of your computer. Editing core game files can also trigger VAC bans. You may think “I cheated last week but not this week, how come I got a ban?” VAC bans are delayed, they can take days to take effect on your account. Once you cheat, its just a matter of time before you are caught and banned from playing on VAC secured servers.

4. Someone reported me for cheating

No, the report didn't cause the VAC system to ban you, it just told Valve that you're cheating and let them know about your behavior.

5. Do VAC bans carry over from game to game?

If you get a VAC ban in one of the Gold Source games or Source Engine, it will apply to ALL Gold Source/Source Engine games. In games like Call of Duty, if you cheat in Black Ops lll, it won't apply to Modern Warfare 3.

List of Gold Source Games:

Counter-Strike
Condition Zero
Ricochet
Day of Defeat
Team Fortress Classic
Half-Life: Deathmatch
Deathmatch Classic

List of Source Engine Games:

Counter-Strike: Source
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
Day of Defeat: Source
Team Fortress 2

6. Can I receive a VAC ban in a private match with a friend?

Depends on the game. Some games allow you to turn VAC off when playing on a private matches. Other games you can’t. It's safe to say it's risky cheating even with a friend.

7. Your Account Is PermanentlyUntrusted

What does this mean? It means your account was caught cheating, and will be VAC banned within the next few hours.

8. I am VAC banned in Modern Warfare 2, can I ever play it again?

You can create a new account and purchase the game again and still be able to play.

9. I have Family Share enabled and one of my friend's cheated?

If you have Family Share enabled for some of your friends, and your friend uses your account to cheat, you will also be punished for the user’s actions. A good way to avoid this, is to only share your games with people you trust. Its your responsibility to manage your account. Be wise on who you lend your account to.

10. What if my cat got on my computer and hacked?

This also is a lot like the last question. Your account is your responsibility, not your friends, not your "cat's" or anyone else, only yours. Also to point this out, why would you even say your cat hacked? pffft.

11. Phone Sharing

Similar to library sharing, if you have a phone number tagged (setup via settings) on multiple accounts, all accounts will be banned if any of the accounts are caught with cheating.

12. I honestly didn’t cheat, what happened?

If you were cheating in Minecraft and left the cheating program open and played Modern Warfare 3, you might have received the ban from that.

13. The VAC system made a mistake banning me!

If the VAC system made a mistake, it will be caught and fixed as soon as possible.

14. I am VAC banned, how do I get a fresh start?

You can start by removing all those cheating programs. It’s highly suggested to do a reformat of your OS after cheating; most software(s) can give you viruses. If you don’t reformat, it could lead to you having another VAC ban on your new account. Then, create that new account, buy the said game and don't cheat!

15. I don't have a VAC ban but I am banned from many servers, what does this mean?

It means you were banned by server admins, or a third party ban manger. i.e – Punk Buster.

16. I have a Game Ban, what is the difference between a Game Ban and VAC Ban?

VAC ban is when you’re caught by Steam’s system. Game ban is when you’re caught by the Developers of the game you cheated on. If you get a permanent game ban, it will appear on your profile. If you get a temporary ban, it will not appear on your profile, however, it is up to the Developer to decide how long your temporary ban will last. Game bans may also restrict you from playing online and will only let you play offline, it depends on how the Developer punishes you.

17. How can I see if I am VAC banned?

Go into Settings < > Account tab <> VAC Status

18. I cheated in a Free 2 Play game, what will happen?

The game will be removed from your library and the red mark of death (VAC / Game Ban) will be placed on your account.

How to Report a Cheater/Hacker

First off, Cheater/Hacker really mean same thing. A Cheater breaks the rules and is called a cheater. A hacker is abusing the system by inserting hacks from program(s), so in a sense he/she is cheating.





What most people do when finding a Cheater, their first reaction is to call them out on it and post their profile link on the Steam Forums and asking people to spam report them for cheating. While it may seem you’re doing the right thing by reporting them for cheating, you are doing more harm than good. Here are the reasons why.

• Posting someone’s profile link in public is called Naming & Shaming
  
• Most people will have to spend their precious time to tell you that you are Naming & Shaming
  
• People report the cheater and create a spam list for Steam Support to deal with
  
• The Steam Moderators will end up having to edit your topic to remove the user’s profile

With that explained, by you reporting them you’ve created a lot of extra work for people. Now you’re wondering, well then how do I report them without creating all this extra work for people? The answer is rather simple. If you find a cheater, go to their profile and just report them by clicking on the More button > Report Violation. Then leave it at that. Don’t be the child who spams the Steam Forums and makes the active people of the community have to tell you the same thing over and over.

What is a Game Ban?

Like I already explained. Game bans are when the Developers of X game and find you cheating. For example, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, If you cheat on that game, the Devs will ban you once you're caught. Game bans can all be different. Some may be temporary, others may be permanent. The reason why Steam allowed Devs to do this, is so that they can have their own type of anti-cheat system.


When a Developer finds you cheating/hacking, he/her will issue a ban to Valve and Valve will ban the select user given to them by the Developer.

Will the a Game Ban Stop Me From Launching The Game?

Depends. The Developer may have allowed you to still play in offline mode but restricted you from playing online. In most cases, the Dev will just limit you from playing online, but depending on how you cheated, it might effect how the ban will take effect on your account. Game bans may also prevent you from trading items from that game such as trading cards, skins, etc.

Ending Notes

To conclude this guide, VAC is really simple to avoid, don’t cheat/hack on VAC protected servers. No one likes playing with cheaters, ruins the whole purpose of the game if you cheat. Along with VAC bans, Game bans are really the same as a VAC ban, but issued by a developer instead of Steam's Anti-Cheat-system. You can also read the links listed below for more information on the VAC system/Game Bans. I hope you found this guide helpful, if you have questions, leave them down below. Thanks for reading!

- Captain Price

VAC Bans & Game Bans - Helpful Links

Valve Anti-Cheat System (VAC)

I've Been Banned

Banned by Game Developer (Game Ban)

VAC Pinned Thread

Game Ban Pinned Thread





Disclaimer: I do not take ownership of all photos used in this guide, only the screenshots of the Steam UI

[IsM1ku]

People don't realize VACs objective, it isn't banning all cheaters, it's banning a cheater with 99.99% confidence, if BattlEye bans an innocent person then too bad cunt but if VAC does it then Valve has SERIOUSLY fucked up and the anti cheat has failed at its job (not hitting innocents in the crossfire)

[Aefstadir]

Not punishing enough. I think they should cross over to sales and various other services controlled by a higher internet authority. (https://www.ieee.org/)

[Mr. G]

@The Unknown Writer, If there is that many cheaters, the game is most likely beyond saving. The other case is the server is setup to allow cheats, but it depends on game. If it were me, I'd leave and find a different lobby.

[The Unknown Writer (Busy)]

Question:

What would be the best recommended action, should you notice almost of the users cheating on a server?

[Excuh]

Well some people call you a cheater and report u even though u know u didnt cheat and getting people spamming the report can get innocent people banned

[0°H2O]

yup on deaf ears which it pretty much deserves vac is pretty good about things. and a lot of deliberation goes on concerning banning. so you have time to think about what you did or maybe planning to do. make sure you tell the world when it happens so we can laugh AT you not with you.
just curious who pays for your games...and will they kick the living dog snot out of you for wasting their hard earned cash?
oh yeah post pictures of your ass kicking when it happens.

[Stret]

Just curious :

If you get banned by VAC and you believe you didnt cheat and it was an mistake, is it possible to appeal somehow?

[happy]

@Napoleon Dynamite and @Captain Price
VAC has been on since forever in mw2 again, because someone wrote Valve an Email, and apparently they turned VAC off by accident.
On top of that, if people make the VACation joke, noone says VAC CATION or VACcation with 2 c's.
That kills the joke.
I know you are trying to make it understandable because meme generators always write everything in allcaps, but that can easily bypassed by photoshopping the sentence on it yourself, MS Paint is enough for that already.

[76561198128903164]

VAC make mistakes, and much mistakes.... i was banned in a server while my internet fell and when he's back i was banned from the server, the next day i received the yellow alert with VAC ban and i dont had any program open that possibly detected as hack and neither any hack.

[Mr. G]

@Danny Mcbride, MW2 is an example...