Firstly, I would like to point out, that officially VAC2 has not been "released" but instead is in the position of officially still beta, however "VAC2 is now enabled by default". At least, this is as much has been stated.
VAC2 has definitions for some of the older exploits, however there are very commonly mirrored and well known websites which house working exploits for Steam games which could be easily updated. VAC2 was never supposed to do anything particularly special or new, as such I personally had no un-reasonable expectations about it. It does not enforce full file checks like many of the punkbuster solutions, many clients would say this is a good thing, as it takes one hell of a long time to do. The other issue with that is, should it be post-steam or pre-steam resources? (packed/unpacked, encrypted/unencrypted). As far as memory resource usage is concerned, Steam could, and should take an active interest in Software and Hardware DEP solutions, amoung other things. This having been said, some of the relevant hacks do not appear in kernel or user space, they appear on code loaded onto the graphics card itself. (was that released?) Several of the admin plugins have now taken an interest too, scanning for the cvars which are added by these systems. This is a very crude method of course, resulting in a clear and simple retaliation from crack/cheat builders. If you want a slightly more comprehensive service, you might try Steambans, however this is not the same thing. There is lots of hype surrounding this HackCam thing. I refuse to publicly state my opinions on that, all I can say is, this level of technological development has far greater business value than the games industry. As the producer has refused to contact me regarding substantial (far more so than the games industry can offer) development contracts, I suspect this product does not exist in reality. He is currently hiding behind a NDA, however once again, the size of contracts offered would not hold him quiet for long if he had such a product to sell. One of the final things to note. Many people complain that they've never seen VAC2 working, or that it never catches cheaters. The important thing to remember here is that with VAC2, once they are caught, that steam id, they are gone, one time, and forever. I have seen it work. Rick wrote:
Ok, I am NOT trolling (at least not intentionally). I am very curious as to whether you, the serious server admins, think that VAC2 is working as promised or what your general opinion of VAC2 is? The reason I am asking is that a lot of people I know stopped playing STEAM games due to the rampant cheating. I know I can get some people back if I can convince them that things are better now. FYI: I stopped running a server about a year ago due to this problem and am contemplating starting a new one for DOD:S. Your input is very important to that decision. Thanks in advance... RR _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlds
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