Vanguard, the controversial anti-cheat software initially attached to Valorant, is now also coming to League of Legends.

Summary:

The article discusses Riot Games’ requirement for players to install their Vanguard anti-cheat software, which runs at the kernel level, in order to play their games such as League of Legends and Valorant. The software aims to combat cheating by scanning for known vulnerabilities and blocking them, as well as monitoring for suspicious activity while the game is being played. However, the use of kernel-level software raises concerns about privacy and security, as it grants the company complete access to users’ devices.

The article highlights that Riot Games is owned by Tencent, a Chinese tech giant that has been involved in censorship and surveillance activities in China. This raises concerns that Vanguard could potentially be used for similar purposes, such as monitoring players’ activity and restricting free speech in-game.

Ultimately, the decision to install Vanguard rests with players, but the article urges caution and encourages players to consider the potential risks and implications before doing so.

    • viking@infosec.pub
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      4 months ago

      The guys were playing all nights & weekends for years, neglected their wives and in one case children (other couple didn’t have any), the childless wife ended up cheating, the other allegedly as well (but wasn’t ever proven nor admitted to), both women eventually filed for divorce.

      They also neglected their friends and came crawling back once their lives fell apart. I had since moved so didn’t really hang out with them again, but from what I hear, both got back into the game eventually and withdrew further.

        • Chriswild@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          Alcohol doesn’t really taste good and neither do cigarettes.

          People often times have illnesses that make these types of things consume their life. It’s easy to look down on them but they honestly need help.

          • MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
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            4 months ago

            And even then, perhaps illnesses aside even, there’s so many dark patterns built into these mass-appeal games it can grab anybody potentially. They’ll A/B test every little thing to see what holds a second’s more attention.

            Everything is designed so hard to push players’ brains into a simple loop:

            While(Alive == True): One_More_Match() Insert_Money()

            • Chriswild@lemmy.world
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              4 months ago

              I’d still consider it an exploitation or mental illnesses. Some people are just predisposed to getting addicted and struggle way harder. Just like some people can’t help themselves and gamble their lives away.

              I agree that they clearly design games to be as addictive and consuming as possible but it’s still an exploitation of mental illnesses. I have never had to struggle with addiction so I feel a bit judgemental if I assume others are just ruining their life by choice.