Riot Game’s Anti-Cheat Software Vanguard is Reportedly Bricking and Taking Screenshots of Users’ PCs
Valorant, Riot Games’ popular first-person shooter, has once again found itself in controversy over its Vanguard anti-cheat software. This time, the uproar stems from reports that Vanguard is taking screenshots of users’ PCs, raising serious concerns about privacy and security. Vanguard was also recently integrated into another Riot title, League of Legends, sparking a wave of backlash and accusations from players.
What is Riot Game’s Vanguard Anti-Cheat?
Since its launch alongside Valorant in 2020, Vanguard has faced criticism for its aggressive approach to combating cheating. The software operates at the kernel level, giving it deep access to the inner workings of a user’s computer. While Riot has defended this approach as necessary to maintain a fair playing field, many users remain skeptical.
Riot is denying that Vanguard is bricking people’s PCs, and any kind of Vanguard discussion is banned from the sub.
It’s tampering with unrelated files, preventing startup programs from booting, causing other programs to crash, etc.
All this was known and they still launched. https://t.co/cTWWmPioIh pic.twitter.com/PO6NW6kpGJ
— Yasukeh (@yasubro) May 1, 2024
Privacy Concerns Raised by Vanguard
One of the key issues raised by users is the extent of Vanguard’s surveillance. Unlike other anti-cheat software that only takes screenshots of the game window, Vanguard has been reported to take screenshots of the entire screen, including overlays like Discord. This has led to concerns that Vanguard may be infringing on users’ privacy by capturing sensitive information.
Some Fans Have Spoken in Support of Vanguard
Despite these concerns, some Valorant fans have come out in support of Vanguard, arguing that the software is a necessary evil to combat cheating effectively. They point to other popular games like Call of Duty and Escape from Tarkov, which also use similar screenshot systems to catch cheaters.
Vanguard’s Integration into League of Legends
However, the controversy took a new turn when Vanguard was integrated into League of Legends with patch 14.9. Players quickly reported somef issues, ranging from PCs being “bricked” to Vanguard allegedly tampering with unrelated files. Riot has denied these claims, stating that Vanguard is not responsible for the reported technical issues.
Update: after taking out CMOS battery and resetting battery was able to finally get into BIOS and fix PC w/ Vanguard running (you need UEFI and TPM2.0 both enabled in BIOS or your PC wont load). Other computer still bricked though. pic.twitter.com/f6aWHUYDHk
— H. Baker (@LSXYZ9) May 1, 2024
Riot’s Response
In response to the backlash, Riot has been actively engaging with the community, offering troubleshooting tips and requesting logs from affected users. Despite these efforts, the controversy surrounding Vanguard shows no signs of abating, highlighting the ongoing tension between effective anti-cheat measures and user privacy.
