Riot Vanguard
Riot Vanguard is a kernel-level anti-cheat developed by Riot Games. Vanguard initially released as the anti-cheat used for Valorant on April 7th, 2020. Originally designed for Windows only alongside Valorant, the console edition of Valorant released in June 2024 has an anti-cheat using the same branding, however this anti-cheat functions very differently. Vanguard has received much criticism because of its intrusive nature. Vanguard was introduced into League of Legends on April 11th, 2024.
Features
Client-side defenses
anti-cheat solution has client-side protections that actively observe the game for any suspicious behavior. These protections are essential in identifying game client modifications or efforts to inject code to alter the game. Riot's system operates behind the scenes, actively detecting and preventing cheats like aimbots, wallhacks, and other client-side modifications. The system employs methods for identifying normal player behavior against behavior that constitutes cheating.Kernel-level anti-cheat
On top of client-side protections, Riot introduced a kernel-level anti-cheat to target more advanced cheating techniques. This method runs at a lower system level, which makes it more difficult for cheats to avoid detection. Kernel-level monitoring has been questioned because of its potential security risks.Critics have stated that providing the anti-cheat system with higher system privileges could be vulnerable since the higher access could be exploited by attackers. Riot justifies kernel-level scanning despite such problems by claiming that this is the way that existing cheating practices can be detected.