I don't get it

[Rohok]

Would modding your game get you VAC banned? I just don't understand VAC at all. What if someone has spyware, or adware? Could VAC see that as a cheat? Is anybody at risk of randomly being banned by VAC?

The stories I hear from friends, it seems like VAC randomly and indiscriminately bans people by mistake, and Valve doesn't care. Can anybody clear this up for me? I own upwards of 100 games on my STEAM account, if I ever got banned, that'd be 500 dollars gone to waste. I don't have anything to hide or be afraid of, but I donot run firewalls or antivirus, and I almost always DMZ my main computer from my router. I can't stand having to use security software, because everything (Including AVG free and Comodo) bog down my system. What do you guys think? Am I just misinformed?

What exactly constitutes a cheat according to VAC? Do lua modifications count? I used to play a lot of GMOD using lua modifications for HUDs and things like TacoBot, or similar tools. I have scanned the sticky, if somebody could point me to more information, I'd be very grateful. I currently do not have any valve games installed, nor do I play competitive multiplayer, but are non-valve games VAC secured too?

And what about people getting banned for modding a video game? How is that cheating? I just don't get it. Sounds like VAC just bans indiscriminately for no reason.

[Χάρης]

Some people cheat,some people get their accounts stolen,that's all.

btw i think lua scripts get you banned

[damaged]

I know altering MW2 files can get you banned (keep in mind this is not Valve's doing, but rather the publishers), not sure about BLOPS.

You have to keep in mind, many, many people who cheat, and get caught, make up FUD in an attempt to discredit VAC, VAC does exactly what it is supposed to do.

That being said, (speaking only about the present VAC version) there have been at least one time where a virus and the like have triggered VAC bans, and one time due to VAC detecting an updated file as an altered DLL, however, in these cases, Valve has undone the bans, and even compensated each and every victim with a free game.

The only place you can get a definitive answer about a VAC ban, is from Support, as the forums contain only users like yourself which have no access to your account.

[B33 ENN]

Would modding your game get you VAC banned? I just don't understand VAC at all. What if someone has spyware, or adware? Could VAC see that as a cheat? Is anybody at risk of randomly being banned by VAC? The stories I hear from friends, it seems like VAC randomly and indiscriminately bans people by mistake, and Valve doesn't care. Can anybody clear this up for me?

Useful information and resources about Valve Anti-Cheat system:

Forum Sticky: Valve Anti-Cheat: Information Thread (http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1385172)

Steam KB/FAQ: Valve Anti-Cheat System (VAC) (https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7849-RADZ-6869)

[Rohok]

I know altering MW2 files can get you banned (keep in mind this is not Valve's doing, but rather the publishers), not sure about BLOPS.

You have to keep in mind, many, many people who cheat, and get caught, make up FUD in an attempt to discredit VAC, VAC does exactly what it is supposed to do.

That being said, (speaking only about the present VAC version) there have been at least one time where a virus and the like have triggered VAC bans, and one time due to VAC detecting an updated file as an altered DLL, however, in these cases, Valve has undone the bans, and even compensated each and every victim with a free game.

The only place you can get a definitive answer about a VAC ban, is from Support, as the forums contain only users like yourself which have no access to your account.

I figured most people were just being immature about it, however I am still worried, as I always am with automated "defense" systems most games have now a'days. It's very hard for me to trust a machine to make correct decisions, as they know only logic, and have no human common sense or sympathy. We've all seen the movies, haha.

So how would Valve know if your account was stolen and that's why you were VAC banned? It's very easy for somebody to get your account password, so if that happens, it just looks like you logged in from a different location, right? There's really no way to prove that it wasn't you, which is what I don't understand.

[damaged]

I figured most people were just being immature about it, however I am still worried, as I always am with automated "defense" systems most games have now a'days. It's very hard for me to trust a machine to make correct decisions, as they know only logic, and have no human common sense or sympathy. We've all seen the movies, haha.

So how would Valve know if your account was stolen and that's why you were VAC banned? It's very easy for somebody to get your account password, so if that happens, it just looks like you logged in from a different location, right? There's really no way to prove that it wasn't you, which is what I don't understand.

Here's the thing, when your account is hijacked and you are VAC banned, Valve policy is that you will not be unbanned.

This seems unfair but you must think about why, the reason is, if Valve unbanned people who have been hijacked then a cheater can use this and exploit it by making it look like they have been hijacked, then cheat all they want, then when they are VAC banned, they just show them how they've been 'hijacked' and get unbanned, and do it all over again, thus getting away with cheating, in addition, Valve (correctly) maintains that account security is at the account owners hands, so if you get hijacked, it is still your fault and the ban will stand, even if a hijacker is the reason you got banned.

Another piece of misinformation, is that if you get VAC banned, you lose access to all your games, this is not true, you only lose the ability to play on VAC servers with THAT engine (the exception is if you use a VAC disabler, this will get all VAC engines banned).

[kakkerlak]

maybe it is easy that people get your password but that should not be the case.

valve does not need to know who cheated , getting hijacked is beside the point.

only a tiny portion of games on steam use VAC.

[Rohok]

Well, I guess I really worried for nothing. I don't play any games that use VAC anyway.

[damaged]

Well, I guess I really worried for nothing. I don't play any games that use VAC anyway.

Then obviously, VAC will not affect you.

[Fyndir]

It's very easy for somebody to get your account password

It is?

How?

[B33 ENN]

It is?

How?

Most likely because his PC is home to every keylogger in existence... :D

[Rohok]

No my PC is pretty virus free. I'm very tech savvy and know what to look for without the extra, third party virus crap. If somebody really wanted to, they could easily figure out your password if it isn't good enough.

[DarkRit]

You know B33 it would not surprise me to find out his machine is home to more than just a slew of keyloggers. It is incredibly naive to run a computer with out at least turning on windows firewall (which really isnt much but it is better than nothing).
@Rohok
Tech savvy or not all it takes is one single download to start the ball rolling. Believe it or not even clean sites can get hacked and have malicious code inserted to trip the unwary.

[damaged]

No my PC is pretty virus free. I'm very tech savvy and know what to look for without the extra, third party virus crap. If somebody really wanted to, they could easily figure out your password if it isn't good enough.

If you mean via brute forcing. That would likely result in the account being disabled for your protection. Then one would have to provide proof of ownership before it would be re-enabled. That is conjecture on my part, but I'd wager on it.

[Rohok]

You know B33 it would not surprise me to find out his machine is home to more than just a slew of keyloggers. It is incredibly naive to run a computer with out at least turning on windows firewall (which really isnt much but it is better than nothing).
@Rohok
Tech savvy or not all it takes is one single download to start the ball rolling. Believe it or not even clean sites can get hacked and have malicious code inserted to trip the unwary.

I've had more computer breakdowns when running programs like Comoado, AVG, Mcafee, and Norton than I ever had just running adaware, FireFox noscript, and spybot. I'm fine, but thank you for your concern.

My question isn't about security software, it's about VAC and how safe I am from it's hammer. When doing a search for VAC enabled games, I discovered I don't even play any games that use VAC for the most part. My question has been answered.

[Rohok]

Looks like elementary school let their students out early today. :D

[Ace42]

I don't have anything to hide or be afraid of, but I donot run firewalls or antivirus, and I almost always DMZ my main computer from my router. I can't stand having to use security software, because everything (Including AVG free and Comodo) bog down my system. What do you guys think? Am I just misinformed?

I use AVG, and I have it set up to only be active when I want it to; it runs from services you can start or stop at will, so unless you want it to, it won't do a thing. It's not as secure as having all its features on all the time, but as long as you use it to scan incoming downloads and keep it updated manually, it'll be a damn sight better than using nothing at all.

A software firewall is pretty vital; windows firewall is terrible, but better than nothing. I use zonealarm, and although it can be annoying (locking up your full-screen apps when they request internet access for the first time), if you use its "game mode" setting, or else configure it manually in advance, it's fine and is vital protection.

Running in DMZ is totally pointless with a router - if you have upnp set-up right on your computer and your router, it will do pretty much the same thing whilst still protecting you from some of the most egregious attacks (port-scans, etc); potentially freeing up PC performance.

With vac, the mods depend on the game and the type of mod. Rule of thumb is that modifying an exe or .dll will definitely get you squelched; with valve games most other mods will be fine, as they use sv_pure switches on the servers and a whitelist to determine if you're cheating or not independent of VAC. But, with all cases, YMMV, and when in doubt, don't edit; or play only on VAC-insecure servers.

[aboveyou]

Rohok, you have no anti virus protection at all if you only use those three on-demand-only or fx plugins...

Listen man, you need a real time AV, period. AVG I recommend, anythng else I personally don't like anymore. Especially norton. Norton is trashware.

Look man, I have Spybot, Malwarebytes, Spyware Blaster for my on demand and preemptive protections, but i also have AVG running at all times and each of them do different things. I recommend you use a real time AV, and not rely on these scanners which do not even detect all possible problems.

Same goes for AV solutions too, they do not protect you from all things that spybot and malware bytes check for, just as vice versa.

[L.o.D.]

Rohok, do you ever use an AV to scan or not?

If not, there's no way in HELL you could possibly know your machine is clean.

[Doni]

I'm no computer genius, but my tech friends say Avira.
Has an annoying ad popup that comes up every time you update, but it's easy to disable. Served me well for the past few years as far as I can tell.

[lordofterror]

lol you may think your pc is clean but without a scan you cant be sure i had the avg free for years someone suggested that i download both mse and malwarebytes and i was shocked the files you would not expect to be threats were, i mean who would think that audiohd.exe is a threat, you can boast all you want but without a scanner and firewall, its a disaster waiting to happen

in short prevention is better than cure

[themires]

Looks like elementary school let their students out early today. :D

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/70699.html?wlc=1298612021

[Rohok]

This thread is about VAC, not about my computer security setup. But thank you for your contributions to the discussion.

[~kev~]

The stories I hear from friends, it seems like VAC randomly and indiscriminately bans people by mistake, and Valve doesn't care.

More like - the people that cheated and got caught, do not want to face the facts that they got caught.



And what about people getting banned for modding a video game? How is that cheating? I just don't get it. Sounds like VAC just bans indiscriminately for no reason.

The term "modding" is used loosely here. What exactly do you can modding? Removing wall textures, adding sounds, adding new weapons,,,, something else?

People play on modded servers all the time, and never get banned. I se counter-strike weapons on left 4 dead 2 servers every week, and no bans are being handed out.

[_Budweiser_]

Would modding your game get you VAC banned? I just don't understand VAC at all. What if someone has spyware, or adware? Could VAC see that as a cheat? Is anybody at risk of randomly being banned by VAC?


You will get VAC banned for cheats or altering the core files or attempting to subvert/get around the VAC system. That's it.

In the unlikely event that 3rd party software interferes in a way to get you banned, you'd see HUNDREDS if not thousands of sudden bans appearing for the same reason.

Unless you;'re installing things that alter your Steam or Games files, or are cheats, (or perhaps something from disreputable sites), then you have absiolutely NOTHING to fear.

Non-critical components, such as config files, skins or creations made with the authoring tools will not result in a ban.

If you are still unsure, make a Support ticket and ask about the specific case in point.

----

@Rohok - complacency is the worst case scenario when it comes to security, of any kind. That's not an attack, I'm hoping you see it as helpful.

[666Ninja666]

Some people cheat,some people get their accounts stolen,that's all.

btw i think lua scripts get you banned

Lua scripts don't, Garry's Mod runs them all the time, but I wouldn't use them to be safe.

[Ace42]

i had the avg free for years someone suggested that i download both mse and malwarebytes and i was shocked the files you would not expect to be threats were, i mean who would think that audiohd.exe is a threat, you can boast all you want but without a scanner and firewall, its a disaster waiting to happen

That sounds like a false-positive to me, are you sure they didn't just pick up non-harmful adware that gets installed alongside a lot of "legit" software?

[puffader]

This is my opinion. I love VAC especially because these cheaters (Over seas especially) don't get it. They don't understand that it will get you done! And they cheat thinking they will only get server banned. I have NO sypathy for cheaters no matter what the excuse is. The only thing is, I believe that if VAC was somehow explained in big bold letters when you first started with Steam, it would cut the cheating by half. (Stickys aside, they only read those after the fact)

I mean really, how many times have you come on here and seen cheaters, begging, pleading, whinning to get there game back! That is were VAC would shine. Peace!