Newsletter
  • Guides
  • Previews
    • Indie Games
    • PS4
    • PC
    • Xbox One
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo 3DS
    • PS Vita
    • PS3
    • Xbox 360
    • Wii U
  • Site Info
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Staff Directory
    • Join Our Team
    • Privacy Policy
      • Cookies Policy
    • RSS Feeds
    • Social Media
      • Youtube
      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • Twitch
      • Instagram
      • Tumblr
      • Linkedin
      • Pinterest
      • Discord
  • Discord
  • Store
  • Logitech G
  • green man gaming
  • Affiliates
    • GAMIVO.com
    • Logitech
    • Astro Gaming
    • Nord VPN
    • Best Buy
    • Namecheap Hosting
    • Blue Mic
    • Ultimate Ears
    • Jaybird
Friday, May 16, 2025
BG
  • News
    • All
    • Esports
    • Interviews

    Bungie Premieres Gameplay For Marathon

    Bitcoin Browser Mini Games To Play Online

    Screenshot

    Rival Stars Horse Racing: Is The VR Edition Worth It?

    Evolution of iGaming: What’s Changing for Players in 2025?

    Top Played Sport Games in Canada

    The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II Releases 2025

    esports new frontier

    The New Frontier: Exploring the Thrills of Esports Betting and its Impact on Traditional Sports Betting

    XDEFIANT REVEALS INFO FOR SEASON 1

    KENA: BRIDGE OF SPIRITS IS COMING TO XBOX

    Trending Tags

    • Top Stories
    • PlayStation
    • Xbox
    • Nintendo
    • Retro Games
    • Mobile Games
    • Indie Games
    • Square Enix
    • Sony
    • Microsoft
    • PAX
    • EGX
    • Gamescom
    • Rockstar Games
    • Electronic Arts
    • Activision Blizzard
    • E3 Expo
  • Reviews
    • All
    • Flash Game Reviews
    • Google Stadia
    • Indie Game Reviews
    • Mobile Game Reviews
    • Nintendo 3DS Reviews
    • Nintendo Switch Reviews
    • PC Reviews
    • PS Vita Reviews
    • PS3 Reviews
    • PS4 Reviews
    • PS5 Reviews
    • Retro Game Reviews
    • Reviews RoundUP
    • Xbox 360 Reviews
    • Xbox One Reviews

    Wild Assault Early Access Review

    Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land PC Steam Deck Review

    ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist PC Review

    Ninja Gaiden 2 Black PS5 Review

    Atomic Heart

    Atomic Heart Enchantment Under the Sea DLC Review

    Tomb Raider I-III Remastered PC Review

    ATOMIC HEART: TRAPPED IN LIMBO Review

    Granblue Fantasy: Relink PS5 Review

    Crymachina

    CryMachina PS5 Review

    Trending Tags

    • Resident Evil
    • Call of Duty
    • Final Fantasy
    • Destiny
    • Borderlands
    • Halo
    • The Elder Scrolls
    • Fortnite
    • PUBG
    • Bioshock
    • The Witcher
  • Opinion
    • All
    • Second Opinion
    From Gamers to Punters: How UX Turns a Bet into an Experience

    From Gamers to Punters: How UX Turns a Bet into an Experience

    Why Gamers Are Flocking To Online Casino Apps

    casino games you can play on your mobile phone

    Most Casino Games You Can Play on Your Mobile Phone

    Sport Betting and sports bets or online sporting events gambling as football betting and draft picks or basketball game bet and Hockey betting with 3D illustration elements.

    Overlooked Strategies That Can Improve Your Betting

    Bitcoin Browser Mini Games To Play Online

    Screenshot

    Rival Stars Horse Racing: Is The VR Edition Worth It?

    Evolution of iGaming: What’s Changing for Players in 2025?

    Online Games That We Always Keep on Playing

    Online Games When You Have Only 15 Minutes

    Trending Tags

    • Is It A Classic?
    • Remember When
    • Do We Even Care Anymore?
    • Humpday Haikus
    • Top Series
    • Thirsty Thursday
    • Aging Gamer
    • On The Way To E3
  • Podcasts
    • All
    • The BagoCast
    • TSR BagoCast

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – The Future of Game Journalism

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Social Media & Esports

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Politics in Video Games Games

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Content Creators vs Game Journalist 2

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Titan Fall and Apex: Legends Hacked

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Content Creators vs Game Journalist

    BagoCast EP: 12 – Code Vein and the DLC

    Debate/Discussion: Bad Video Games That We Love

    Discussion/Debate: Is Bioware Gone?

    Trending Tags

    • Film Fallout
    • 8Bit Proof
    • Gaming Historia
    • Bago Anime Cast
    • Gamers In Beta
    • Gamers Unscripted
  • Videos

    Controller Guide For Wild Assault

    Trevor Bogan Interview

    Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden’s Gets Gameplay Trailer

    Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Gets New Story Trailer

    Stephen Oyoung Interview

    Jacqueline Pinol Interview

    So, You Wanna Play Junker Queen?

    Matchpoint Tennis Championships Live Review

    Void Slayer – Review

  • Geek Culture
    • All
    • Anime and Manga
    • Anime/Manga Review
    • Collectibles
    • Comic Books
    • Cosplay
    • Movies
    • Tech
    • TV Shows

    Tickets Are Now on Sale for OVERLORD: The Sacred Kingdom

    Crunchyroll Announces Blu-ray Titles Coming in January 2025

    MY BOYFRIEND IS A DOG Manga gets English release

    Jae Woo Kim Interview

    Crunchyroll Anime Award 2024 Winners Announced

    GAYMING AWARDS 2024 NOMINEES & HOSTS ANNOUNCED

    The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes

    Anime Review: The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes

    Crunchyroll Acquires Anime Film The Concierge in North America, Reveals Trailer

    Crunchyroll Announces New Titles Coming Next Year at NYCC

    Trending Tags

    • Movie Reviews
    • Movie News
    • TV News
    • TV Episode Review
    • Episode Guide
    • Competitive Gaming
    • Tech News
    • Tech Review
    • Anime and Manga News
    • Anime and Manga Review
    • Comic Book News
    • Comic Book Review
  • Forum
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • All
    • Esports
    • Interviews

    Bungie Premieres Gameplay For Marathon

    Bitcoin Browser Mini Games To Play Online

    Screenshot

    Rival Stars Horse Racing: Is The VR Edition Worth It?

    Evolution of iGaming: What’s Changing for Players in 2025?

    Top Played Sport Games in Canada

    The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II Releases 2025

    esports new frontier

    The New Frontier: Exploring the Thrills of Esports Betting and its Impact on Traditional Sports Betting

    XDEFIANT REVEALS INFO FOR SEASON 1

    KENA: BRIDGE OF SPIRITS IS COMING TO XBOX

    Trending Tags

    • Top Stories
    • PlayStation
    • Xbox
    • Nintendo
    • Retro Games
    • Mobile Games
    • Indie Games
    • Square Enix
    • Sony
    • Microsoft
    • PAX
    • EGX
    • Gamescom
    • Rockstar Games
    • Electronic Arts
    • Activision Blizzard
    • E3 Expo
  • Reviews
    • All
    • Flash Game Reviews
    • Google Stadia
    • Indie Game Reviews
    • Mobile Game Reviews
    • Nintendo 3DS Reviews
    • Nintendo Switch Reviews
    • PC Reviews
    • PS Vita Reviews
    • PS3 Reviews
    • PS4 Reviews
    • PS5 Reviews
    • Retro Game Reviews
    • Reviews RoundUP
    • Xbox 360 Reviews
    • Xbox One Reviews

    Wild Assault Early Access Review

    Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land PC Steam Deck Review

    ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist PC Review

    Ninja Gaiden 2 Black PS5 Review

    Atomic Heart

    Atomic Heart Enchantment Under the Sea DLC Review

    Tomb Raider I-III Remastered PC Review

    ATOMIC HEART: TRAPPED IN LIMBO Review

    Granblue Fantasy: Relink PS5 Review

    Crymachina

    CryMachina PS5 Review

    Trending Tags

    • Resident Evil
    • Call of Duty
    • Final Fantasy
    • Destiny
    • Borderlands
    • Halo
    • The Elder Scrolls
    • Fortnite
    • PUBG
    • Bioshock
    • The Witcher
  • Opinion
    • All
    • Second Opinion
    From Gamers to Punters: How UX Turns a Bet into an Experience

    From Gamers to Punters: How UX Turns a Bet into an Experience

    Why Gamers Are Flocking To Online Casino Apps

    casino games you can play on your mobile phone

    Most Casino Games You Can Play on Your Mobile Phone

    Sport Betting and sports bets or online sporting events gambling as football betting and draft picks or basketball game bet and Hockey betting with 3D illustration elements.

    Overlooked Strategies That Can Improve Your Betting

    Bitcoin Browser Mini Games To Play Online

    Screenshot

    Rival Stars Horse Racing: Is The VR Edition Worth It?

    Evolution of iGaming: What’s Changing for Players in 2025?

    Online Games That We Always Keep on Playing

    Online Games When You Have Only 15 Minutes

    Trending Tags

    • Is It A Classic?
    • Remember When
    • Do We Even Care Anymore?
    • Humpday Haikus
    • Top Series
    • Thirsty Thursday
    • Aging Gamer
    • On The Way To E3
  • Podcasts
    • All
    • The BagoCast
    • TSR BagoCast

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – The Future of Game Journalism

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Social Media & Esports

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Politics in Video Games Games

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Content Creators vs Game Journalist 2

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Titan Fall and Apex: Legends Hacked

    Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – Content Creators vs Game Journalist

    BagoCast EP: 12 – Code Vein and the DLC

    Debate/Discussion: Bad Video Games That We Love

    Discussion/Debate: Is Bioware Gone?

    Trending Tags

    • Film Fallout
    • 8Bit Proof
    • Gaming Historia
    • Bago Anime Cast
    • Gamers In Beta
    • Gamers Unscripted
  • Videos

    Controller Guide For Wild Assault

    Trevor Bogan Interview

    Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden’s Gets Gameplay Trailer

    Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden Gets New Story Trailer

    Stephen Oyoung Interview

    Jacqueline Pinol Interview

    So, You Wanna Play Junker Queen?

    Matchpoint Tennis Championships Live Review

    Void Slayer – Review

  • Geek Culture
    • All
    • Anime and Manga
    • Anime/Manga Review
    • Collectibles
    • Comic Books
    • Cosplay
    • Movies
    • Tech
    • TV Shows

    Tickets Are Now on Sale for OVERLORD: The Sacred Kingdom

    Crunchyroll Announces Blu-ray Titles Coming in January 2025

    MY BOYFRIEND IS A DOG Manga gets English release

    Jae Woo Kim Interview

    Crunchyroll Anime Award 2024 Winners Announced

    GAYMING AWARDS 2024 NOMINEES & HOSTS ANNOUNCED

    The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes

    Anime Review: The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes

    Crunchyroll Acquires Anime Film The Concierge in North America, Reveals Trailer

    Crunchyroll Announces New Titles Coming Next Year at NYCC

    Trending Tags

    • Movie Reviews
    • Movie News
    • TV News
    • TV Episode Review
    • Episode Guide
    • Competitive Gaming
    • Tech News
    • Tech Review
    • Anime and Manga News
    • Anime and Manga Review
    • Comic Book News
    • Comic Book Review
  • Forum
No Result
View All Result
BagoGames
No Result
View All Result

BagoGames > Articles > Opinion > Why I Don’t Trust Valorant

Why I Don’t Trust Valorant

Chris Newton by Chris Newton
5 years ago
in Opinion
Reading Time: 6 mins read
2
Share on FacebookShare on Bluesky

RelatedStories

From Gamers to Punters: How UX Turns a Bet into an Experience

From Gamers to Punters: How UX Turns a Bet into an Experience

1 week ago

Why Gamers Are Flocking To Online Casino Apps

3 weeks ago

Valorant is the new first-person shooter (FPS) video game from Riot Games, the creators of League of Legends, Tales of Runeterra, and Teamfight Tactics. The game has already made itself notorious with Counter-Strike style of gameplay, updated graphics, very comfortable gunplay, an unprecedented amount of viewers on Twitch (1.4 million to be precise), and its anti-cheat system called Vanguard. There is Valorant boosting available from different providers so that players can progress faster in the game.

Riot Games is facing a controversy due to its aggressive anti-cheat system integrated in Valorant, which runs with elevated privileges on the Kernel level of your computer. For those who are unfamiliar with the terms, this means that the program starts running once you turn on the computer and holds the same, if not more, privileges as your administrator account. This means that the invasive Vanguard program can and does not only monitor what is going on on your computer while playing the game but after you’re done or even way before you decide to play Valorant. Coincidentally, Riot Games is also owned by Tencent, a Chinese corporation, well funded by the notoriously untrustworthy Chinese government.

Riot Logo
Riot Games Logo…

Even if we disregard the fact that the company is based in China and Tencent is basically a state-owned corporation, the malicious users who can find a way to abuse the Vanguard system will have absolute mayhem on our computers. It goes without saying that by definition, the way that this program acts, can be defined as a “rootkit,” which as Kaspersky Labs notes “is a term applied to a type of malware that is designed to infect a target PC and allow an attacker to install a set of tools that grant him persistent remote access to the computer.”

The concerns are multiple:

  • The software cannot be switched off and hence can be used as a rootkit to install programs and keep malicious users inside our systems (EDIT: due to recent developments Riot has announced that the program can be separately uninstalled while not playing Valorant, however, you’ll still have to reinstall and activate it once you want to play the game).
  • The anti-cheat system (Vanguard) works in Kernel, which means that our standard anti-virus programs will not be able to detect any exploitations of the service.
  • Chinese government owns 5% of market shares of Tencent and Riot Games.
  • Reportedly, Vanguard is poorly coded causing performance problems (Frames Per Second (FPS) drops) for other games like Monster Hunter.

These concerns obviously raised a lot of questions in the online community about whether this company can be trusted with such power over your computer. Privacy in 2020 is not a joke. The Internet, at least the version that we use most of the time, is not built with privacy in mind as when it was being developed nobody thought that there would be so many people interacting with each other with their own personal devices, which include computers, smartphones, tablets, and other designated systems.

New Zealand
Yes, this is actually New Zealand…

New Zealand is a prime example of a country that has been working on privacy-oriented laws since 1993, where they developed the New Zealand Privacy Act. This act protects all New Zealanders from the invasion of private space by other parties like businesses, government organizations, foreign companies, and so on. This includes regulation of personal information collection, source of this information, manner of collection of said information, limits of use of personal data, and limits on disclosure.

There are a lot of companies that depend on our personal information in order to make their services fair and available to all of the potential customers. One such industry that comes to mind is casinos. Heavy screening is supposedly taking place for every customer using Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines, but all of the information provided is given by the user via their own decision. This is a prime example of handling private data. Casinos need to check the identity of their customers to prevent fraud as they are dealing with a lot of finances. Personal data leaks can lead to identity theft, which in turn can result in not only unsolicited financial transactions but even huge fines for companies involved with such individuals even unknowingly. In today’s digital age, understanding the significance of having a reliable cybercrime attorney cannot be overstated. With the rapid advancement of technology, New Jersey Criminal Law Attorney’s expertise in internet crime is vital in protecting your rights and ensuring a fair trial. A skilled lawyer can help you navigate the complexities of cybercrime laws and safeguard your interests.

Valorant is a game made by a huge player, Riot Games, in eSports. This usually involves a lot of gambling as players love betting on different teams during tournaments. Due to this online casinos are becoming more and more popular with such gaming services. Until Valorant comes out of closed beta, some of the other gambling games are netting huge followings in New Zealand alone. For example, online blackjack for real money in New Zealand has gained a huge user base lately and even more during the lockdown period as people are at home with lots of free time. Some casinos have even created new privacy-oriented extensions for their users to make it even easier and safer to connect to and play on their platforms.

The regulations are there to protect the users, who can fill out a lawsuit against a company locally and work from there. However, the issue presents itself when we have an external player, as a foreign government, delving into this data using the companies that operate in their state.

China
China are known for their massive population…

Trust Riot Games, not the Chinese Government

The issue with China is simple: I honestly believe that neither Tencent nor Riot Games are interested in our personal information, however, much alike 2016 when FBI wanted to have a backdoor into every iPhone in the name of anti-terrorism (which is a noble cause obviously), Apple did not want to disclose such information to the governmental organization, more importantly, with the reputation of spying on its citizens. So Apple took the FBI to the court and fought the lawsuit there. Apple came out victorious and the FBI never got this backdoor, which could potentially be used to spy on all of us.

This is how things go in the countries where legislative systems are developed to give the companies the ability to fight government organizations in the court of law to protect their reputation, userbase, and assets. The benefits of hiring English speaking Koh Samui lawyers is massive especially when dealing with legal issues in a foreign country.

The issue is that in China no such laws exist. The problem arises if and when the Chinese Communist Party sends one of its jokers to demand personal data of all of the players, who have Vanguard installed on their computers. Unfortunately, in China, no such laws exist to give the company ability to fight the government and deny them this information. If such a case happens – Tencent and Riot Games will have no way of denying this access to the Chinese officials.

Yes, you can find a very expensive and painful way of fighting this over the court, however, keep in mind that you’ll be doing this after the malicious users (be it government or some third party hacker) exploiting our systems have been found. Unfortunately, what’s even worse is that the anti-cheat system is installed separately from the game, but it doesn’t update as a standalone program. This means that we’ll have a running rootkit on our computers and unless we don’t forget to uninstall it if we don’t want to play the game anymore, it can still be used to attack our computers.

Anticheat starts upon computer boot from r/VALORANT

Developer’s Response

Paul Chamberlain, who is Riot Games’ Anti-Cheat Lead, has responded to Reddit posts where he shared the concern and stated that Vanguard is behaving in an intended manner. Even though he stated that the system does not gather or send back any information concerning the user’s system it’s still a very shady program to have installed and running on your computer. Things change and so can this statement.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while some of us may not be concerned with such issues the growing consensus it that Vanguard is deeply intrusive and dangerous to be had on a computer. The biggest problem is that we won’t even know if it’s being exploited for malicious intent. With additional concerns about the Chinese government – NOTE: these are people who imposed social scoring systems on their citizens – and performance issues for other games, my personal recommendation would be to avoid Valorant fully until some kind of a solution is found for the Vanguard system.

I believe that Riot Games and Tencent do not have any intent to spy on us and collect our personal information, however, there are multiple parties that can exploit their system, both legally and illegally, to bring harm to the millions of users.

This article contains sponsored links.

Tags: Anti-cheatChinaRiot GamesSDValorant
ShareShareTweetShare


Previous Post

Streets of Rage 4 Retro Levels Guide

Next Post

Watch Class VII Old and New Unite in The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV Story Trailer

Subscribe
Connect with
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
guest
The comment form collects your name, email and content to allow us to keep track of the comments placed on the website. Please read and accept our website Terms and Privacy Policy to post a comment.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser cookies for the next time I comment.

I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
guest
The comment form collects your name, email and content to allow us to keep track of the comments placed on the website. Please read and accept our website Terms and Privacy Policy to post a comment.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser cookies for the next time I comment.

2 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
James McKey
James McKey
5 years ago

Sony tried pulling this off for audio CD’s back in 2005 and it did NOT go well for them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal

0
0
Reply
Ule Lopez
Ule Lopez
Editor
Reply to  James McKey
5 years ago

Street Fighter V tried to pull this too.. Just saying…

0
0
Reply
wpdiscuz   wpDiscuz

BAGOGAMES WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Get this week's top news, reviews, guides, videos and opinion for your favorite games, movies, TV and tech in your email every Friday.

Don't worry, we don't spam.

NEW ON BAGOGAMES

Game Reviews

Wild Assault Early Access Review

by Michael Mosley
6 days ago
From Gamers to Punters: How UX Turns a Bet into an Experience
Opinion

From Gamers to Punters: How UX Turns a Bet into an Experience

by Trevor Kincaid
1 week ago
Guides

Controller Guide For Wild Assault

by Michael Mosley
2 weeks ago

LATEST PODCASTS & VIDEOS

Currently Playing

Void Slayer – Review

Void Slayer – Review

Game Reviews

The IDEAL Spider-Man VR Game

Opinion

BPM: Bullets Per Minute – Shooting to The Beat (Review)

Game Reviews

She Will Punish Them – Warning: Mature Content (Early Access Review)

Game Reviews

Bagocast: Interview with Upper Echelon Gamers – The Future of Game Journalism

Opinion

FOLLOW US

BagoGames

BagoGames.com © 2023 BagoGames LLC. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Staff Directory
  • Join Our Team
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter
  • RSS Feeds
  • Discord Server
  • BG Store
  • OpenCritic
  • green man gaming
  • Logitech G
  • GAMIVO.com
  • ASTRO Gaming
  • Logitech
  • Namecheap Hosting
  • Nord VPN
  • Best Buy
  • Blue Mic
  • Reviews
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Guides

Follow Us

  • Login
  • Sign Up
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Opinion
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Geek Culture
  • Previews
  • Guides
  • Short Videos
  • Forum
  • Site Info
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Join Our Team
    • Staff Directory
    • Privacy Policy
    • Newsletter
    • RSS Feeds

BagoGames.com © 2023 BagoGames LLC. All rights reserved.

wpDiscuz