Riot Games' kernal level anti-cheat, Vanguard, has received an update which is allegedly altering system firmware associated with cheating.

Riot Games‘ kernel-level anti-cheat, Vanguard, has received an update that is allegedly altering system firmware to remove the ability of the user to access certain hardware associated with cheating.

Riot Games quoted one post discussing the anti-cheat, replying “congrats to the owners of a brand new $6k paperweight.” But how exactly does Vanguard’s new system make “paperweights” out of hardware?

  • lorty@lemmy.mlEnglish
    3·
    3 hours ago

    I’m having a hard time understanding this piece. How is updating the system’s firmware causing bricked hardware? Is the new firmware purposefully useless?

    • atrielienz@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 hour ago

      That’s because what it actually does is change your system firmware so that a physical piece of hardware commonly used for cheating will no longer connect and be available. It doesn’t actually brick anything. It prevents a handshake. It’d be like if a piece of software was able to go in and unmount your hard drive. Nothing is wrong with your computer. Nothing is wrong with the hard drive. They just don’t talk to each other anymore.

      • lorty@lemmy.mlEnglish
        1·
        60 minutes ago

        So the headline is just hyperbole? What a weird editorial choice