802

Now if only they could more clearly communicate when games are playable offline.

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[-] Nytixus@kbin.melroy.org 30 points 9 hours ago

Meanwhile at Epic...

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

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[-] corroded@lemmy.world 17 points 9 hours ago

Why is kernel-level anti-cheat even a thing?

If I was trying to prevent cheating, I'd hash the relevant game files, encrypt the values, and hard-code them into the executable. Then when the game is launched, calculated the hash of the existing files and compare to the saved values.

What is gained by running anti-cheat in kernel mode? I only play single-player games, so I assume I'm missing something.

[-] SkavarSharraddas@gehirneimer.de 13 points 8 hours ago

Modern cheats for multiplayer games don't modify local files (or attribute values in memory), since the server validates everything anyway. They're about giving you information that's available but not shown in the game (like see-through walls, or exact skill ranges), or manipulate input (dodge enemy damage, easy combos). Those cheat can run in kernel mode (or at least evade detection from user mode), so the anti-cheat needs kernel mode to be more effective.

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[-] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 9 points 8 hours ago

They can prevent you from running cheats that other anti-cheats can't detect. For instance, they could modify the value in memory so that your calculated hash always succeeds even when it's modified. This doesn't stop cheating though; it just means cheaters have to use cheat hardware that exists at a layer that even kernel anti-cheat can't detect.

[-] Maalus@lemmy.world 8 points 8 hours ago

And then a game gets updated so the hashes don't match and uh oh, everything is fucked. Oh, but we can change the hashes of the files in the executable! Yeah, so can they. People modding shit into the executable is basically a given. Let alone the fact that you'd need to sit through a steam "validation of files" length of time every time you'd need to launch a game (because validation works exactly as you have described).

What is gained is that it has access to more information. Some cheats use an entirely different program / process that reads memory and outputs info that is available to the game but hidden from the player. Like a client needs to know where a person on the other team is to be able to draw their model. So you read that, you put a little box over where they are, and bang you have wallhacks.

[-] joyjoy@lemm.ee 5 points 8 hours ago

I think the popular thing now is to mod your mouse so it clicks on the enemy player's head.

[-] catloaf@lemm.ee 5 points 8 hours ago

You don't need to modify the files to modify data in memory.

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[-] Riccosuave@lemmy.world 5 points 7 hours ago

Not to be annoying, but can someone please ELI5 how kernel level anti-cheat software actually works, or link good resources where I can read about it.

[-] scoobford@lemmy.zip 10 points 7 hours ago

Eli5: your PC has different access levels a program can run at. This prevents a malicious or badly coded program from completely fucking your computer. Kernel level anti cheat runs at the lowest level access that exists under windows. It can do basically whatever it wants to your PC, and if a backdoor is coded in (happens way more than you'd think), it gives malware basically total access to your PC.

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[-] Chozo@fedia.io 6 points 8 hours ago

Probably a pessimistic take, but I don't expect this to have any discernable impact on sales, or any other effects that would discourage publishers from these practices. The average user doesn't care about or understand how these things work; they'll see an anti-cheat warning on the store page and think "Okay, tell the colonel I'll be on my best behavior then" and continue to buy the game.

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[-] x00z@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

I wish Valve would just ban them. It's weird to have something that looks like pure malware in a Game store.

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[-] hal_5700X@sh.itjust.works 2 points 7 hours ago
[-] EmperorHenry@discuss.tchncs.de 0 points 5 hours ago

god damn right!

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this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2024
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