In the new tactical shooter Valorant there’s a discussion about the anti-cheat protection. The program vgk.sys becomes active as soon as players turn on the PC, they don’t even have to start Valorant.
This is causing discussion: On reddit, a player found out that a “Kernel Anticheat Driver” named vgk.sys starts running as soon as you turn on the computer.
The user says: He thinks it’s okay if an anti-cheat program starts as soon as you launch the game, but that the anti-cheat system starts running before you even play seems a bit unusual to him.
Many PC users are notoriously skeptical when programs run that they have no control over, that data is being collected and shared. It seems mainly to be an issue that Riot Games hasn’t informed anyone that they are doing this. Such things need to be communicated clearly, says the user on reddit.
Riot says: It has to be this way
This is what Riot says: They confirm (via reddit), that the program runs as soon as the system starts. They say:
- the system is designed to use minimal resources
- the program does nothing when no game is running
- there is no information sent to Riot’s servers
They have installed the anti-cheat system to start with the PC boot because cheat systems often activate before an antivirus system kicks in. When an anti-cheat system is active at startup, it makes it harder for cheats to succeed.
Riot emphasizes that they were very careful about the program’s security and had several external security teams review the system.
The program does not collect data about the computer and does not send it back to Riot. At Riot, they consider this kind of protection necessary to ensure a safe, cheat-free game.
This is what it’s about: Even before the name “Valorant” was known, Riot said: protection against cheaters is one of the biggest priorities for their new game. The game should offer everything competitive shooter players want, and one of their biggest wishes is an absolutely integral game, without cheaters.
Riot Games’ decision is understandable for many. Why they did not communicate this and why it is only now being noticed in practice seems to be a valid question.
Many players feel uneasy when programs run on their PC that they were not informed about and over which they have no control – because this is often how malware behaves.
