- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.ml
- privacyguides@lemmy.one
- privacy@lemmy.ml
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.ml
- privacyguides@lemmy.one
- privacy@lemmy.ml
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.
I’ve been playing League casually from time to time on Linux, and it’s just a shame that they’re adding Vanguard to the game since that kills any compatibility it had under wine. Though, knowing League community, a lot of players on Linux are so addicted to the game, they’ll switch their operating systems for it or buy a second computer just to play.
That being said, even for Windows users with older PC’s this is bad, because you need TPM 2.0 support for Vanguard to even work (not 100% sure about this one so correct me if I’m wrong), and one of the main draws of League was that you can play it on older systems just fine.
That’s another problem. So few will vote with their wallets because they’re so addicted to the game they’ll just deal with it.