cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10958052
Vanguard, the controversial anti-cheat software initially attached to Valorant, is now also coming to League of Legends.
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.
End of the day, if friends want to play something, I’ll happily join them. We only have ~80 years on this planet and I’m not spending them being forever upset at things I cannot change about the world that have no real significance.
Valorant already has 25 million active gamers who don’t care enough to ditch the game for the anti-cheat. All 500 players who decide to uninstall LoL over this simply won’t matter to Riot.
The Network Effect described the the GNU Project is when individuals will submit themselves to nonfree and DRM’d software simply in order to socially connect with others. Messaging apps are the textbook example, but video games are as well.
Of course the defense is always a form of apathy or some call to apathy like stating that more people indulge in the activity than those who actively abstain. Of course there is an implicit shaming tactic of those who preserve their freedom, calling them the “frigid minority” or the “isolated zealots”
Shame on you for being so closed minded. The spread of DRM is never okay under any scenario, just because you have some perceived FOMO. There are thousands of multiplayer games out there that don’t have DRM rootkits, why not try to play those with your friends instead?
There’s only one LoL and a lot of its players like it specifically for its gameplay. If I’m going to be preachy to my friends, I’ll save it for something that matters.
If you’re convinced you’re saving the world, by all means do as you desire.
You’ll be downvoted but you are objectively correct
Ironically this comment is upvoted and my original one is downvoted lol.
I just don’t trust games targeting Windows and it’s far easier to throw stuff on a second PC, put that on my guest VLAN, and not worry about what happens anymore. If it’s not a root kit, it’s installing some persistent game loader or other crap that doesn’t need to run 24/7 on the same machine I do my taxes.