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Question:
Make a blog entry titled “HW4proj.” If your term project (see “Course Information” tab for details) is a paper, write 375 words or more and put it in the blog. Do not include any material already in a previous blog entry. To see the word count, copy into MS Word and look at the little status bar in the lower left corner of its window. OpenOffice Writer has a tool that you can click on to find out the # of words. Let me know if you can’t find it.
If your project is not a paper, do the equivalent amount of work. Explain what you did on your blog. For team projects, focus on your own activities although you can also discuss the overall effort to provide some context. Explain and give evidence (for example, if a web site, you could provide a link to it; if software, give the code; if a skit, give some of the script or list rehearsal or meeting times; etc.). If you’re not sure what to do, see me or send me an email and I will try to suggest something.
Answer:
There are many types of anti-cheats out there in the world and Vanguard is not alone in it's level of access and power. There are many others that operate in much the same way but have some key differences. nProtect is another anti-cheat used by games and it is the most similar to Vanguard but somehow manages to be even scarier. nProtect, like Vanguard, is running from the moment your computer starts until it shuts down. Unlike Vanguard nProtect does not have any easy way to be uninstalled. It requires many steps to uninstall it that are unintuitive and difficult to do without a decent degree of computer knowledge. The reason this is scarier is that even if you suspected your computer of being taken advantage of, it would be troublesome and downright impossible for a layman to uninstall. Vanguard at least has a very quick one click process of uninstallation. Another similar anti-cheat is called EAC, or Easy Anti-Cheat, and it has the same level of access as Vanguard as well, but it only runs when the game is started so it is much less capable of being used maliciously. The downside to this is that many hacks or cheats used in games are loaded when the computer is booted, meaning that an anti-cheat of EAC would not be able to detect cheats like this as easily as Vanguard would be able.
Valorant's anti-cheat has it's benefits and drawbacks and only the individual can weigh whether or not the risks are worth the reward. Many people like myself view the usage of it as worth whatever negatives may be attached. Having played competitive games for most of my life I can say with confidence that the experience is significantly more painless without the worry of hackers and cheaters plaguing the ecosystem. Many people aren't even aware of the possible effects of having it installed in the first place. If a hacker was able to get access to Vanguard and gain control over it they could do any number of disastrous things to your computer and your life. Any and all passwords you enter, any documents you have saved, your bank account information, all would be open for a hacker with such control to see. The computer it's running on could even be manipulated physically by the hacker. Your CPU or Graphics Card could be overclocked to 150% with fans turned off, quickly blowing up your hardware, even possibly starting a fire. This is all possible due to the high level of access Vanguard has to your computer.
Make a blog entry titled “HW4proj.” If your term project (see “Course Information” tab for details) is a paper, write 375 words or more and put it in the blog. Do not include any material already in a previous blog entry. To see the word count, copy into MS Word and look at the little status bar in the lower left corner of its window. OpenOffice Writer has a tool that you can click on to find out the # of words. Let me know if you can’t find it.
If your project is not a paper, do the equivalent amount of work. Explain what you did on your blog. For team projects, focus on your own activities although you can also discuss the overall effort to provide some context. Explain and give evidence (for example, if a web site, you could provide a link to it; if software, give the code; if a skit, give some of the script or list rehearsal or meeting times; etc.). If you’re not sure what to do, see me or send me an email and I will try to suggest something.
Answer:
There are many types of anti-cheats out there in the world and Vanguard is not alone in it's level of access and power. There are many others that operate in much the same way but have some key differences. nProtect is another anti-cheat used by games and it is the most similar to Vanguard but somehow manages to be even scarier. nProtect, like Vanguard, is running from the moment your computer starts until it shuts down. Unlike Vanguard nProtect does not have any easy way to be uninstalled. It requires many steps to uninstall it that are unintuitive and difficult to do without a decent degree of computer knowledge. The reason this is scarier is that even if you suspected your computer of being taken advantage of, it would be troublesome and downright impossible for a layman to uninstall. Vanguard at least has a very quick one click process of uninstallation. Another similar anti-cheat is called EAC, or Easy Anti-Cheat, and it has the same level of access as Vanguard as well, but it only runs when the game is started so it is much less capable of being used maliciously. The downside to this is that many hacks or cheats used in games are loaded when the computer is booted, meaning that an anti-cheat of EAC would not be able to detect cheats like this as easily as Vanguard would be able.
Valorant's anti-cheat has it's benefits and drawbacks and only the individual can weigh whether or not the risks are worth the reward. Many people like myself view the usage of it as worth whatever negatives may be attached. Having played competitive games for most of my life I can say with confidence that the experience is significantly more painless without the worry of hackers and cheaters plaguing the ecosystem. Many people aren't even aware of the possible effects of having it installed in the first place. If a hacker was able to get access to Vanguard and gain control over it they could do any number of disastrous things to your computer and your life. Any and all passwords you enter, any documents you have saved, your bank account information, all would be open for a hacker with such control to see. The computer it's running on could even be manipulated physically by the hacker. Your CPU or Graphics Card could be overclocked to 150% with fans turned off, quickly blowing up your hardware, even possibly starting a fire. This is all possible due to the high level of access Vanguard has to your computer.
