Valorant developers have stepped in to dispel sinister rumors surrounding anti-cheat client Vanguard.
Controversial articles have surfaced claiming that Riot Games' security software is volatile for PC gamers and takes screenshots of sensitive information and chats.
As we reported earlier, League of Legends, also from Riot, was impacted. One player posted that he had to remove the CMOS battery to fix an issue caused by Vanguard.
Riot Developers Speak Out About Data Security Rumors
The rumors started with a series of user posts like @w_sted, saying: “It’s definitely not legal. Valorant now takes screenshots of your PC. They are actually able to capture Discord chats and make any window full screen without you knowing and upload them to their servers.
User @KiiiExe would post on Extremely illegal.
This caused the Riot Game development team and their anti-cheat lead, Phillip Koskinas, aka @deteccphilippe, to speak out in response to @KaiiExe, saying dryly:
No. Vanguard does not monitor your clipboard or recycling bin.
We take screenshots of the game window only when you are in-game, like all other anti-cheats.
– Phillip Koskinas (@deteccphilippe) May 2, 2024
Further down the thread of social media posts, Koskinas would answer other questions, such as @NotKarou asking “Would Riot ever consent to trusted third-party analysis of Vanguard?” Like signing a contract saying you can't divulge the source code or any of the secrets, but in broad strokes? I don't care anyway, but I know a lot of people do for some reason.
Koskinas said “Yes. We did it in 2020 and we plan to do it again this year. I think the difficulty is getting anyone to trust the results.
Trust appears to be a key issue for the developer, but its stance has been firm on the use of the system and its validity. It remains to be seen whether the vibrant communities of League of Legends and Valorant believe in third-party analysis.
What is Vanguard?
Vanguard, Riot Game's proprietary security software, runs silently in the background of the FPS experience. It aims to make data security and privacy a priority. Riots statement on player data protection is however not the most up to date, as it was published in June 2019:
“Our commitment to security includes our commitment to your privacy. Riot Vanguard was created with Riot Games' commitment to data privacy in mind, and we worked with our legal and compliance teams to ensure it complies with regional data privacy laws. data,” says the developer.
Many gamers see this mandatory client software that appears between games as a hindrance rather than a help. Riot, on the other hand, is harsh, stating: “To ensure the integrity of players' games, Riot Vanguard must be active during VALORANT gameplay. »
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