League of Legends gets Vanguard anti-cheating software that works at kernel level

Riot Games will add the anti-cheating software Vanguard to League of Legends. The company says this is due to a previous attack in which the game’s source code was stolen, which led to more cheats. Vanguard is already used in Valorant and works at the kernel level.

League of Legends’ current anti-cheating software was already outdated, but the hack early last year exacerbated the problems, states Riot Games in an update video for the moba. This made the game more vulnerable to cheats and bots, increasing the need to replace the outdated software. The company has therefore announced that it will add Vanguard to League at the end of February or beginning of March. To play the game, users will then have to install this anti-cheating software on their PC. Riot states that Vanguard has been very successful at stopping cheaters in Valorant, and expects the same results for LoL. By the way, that applies This obligation does not apply to Mac devices, as they would be ‘substantially different’. The company says it will take a ‘different approach’ for Mac systems, although it does not elaborate further.

The anti-cheating software Vanguard works at the kernel level. This means that the software constantly runs in the background on the computer while playing and monitors whether cheat programs are being used. If that is the case, Riot can ban the entire system, making it no longer possible to play the game from that PC. This is quite drastic and goes far beyond the technology previously used. However, Riot states that it is necessary to take this measure, as otherwise cheaters can bypass all anti-cheating software. According to Riot, many users are concerned about the privacy risks of such software, but the company claims that it does not collect and process more personal information than is the case with League’s current anti-cheating program.