Valve Anti-Cheat ( VAC )
The Valve Anti-Cheat Module.
What exactly is VAC we hear you say? Well, it's an anti-cheat implementation introduced by valvesoftware to aid server admins in clamping down on those people in the community who have no respect for the game, nor for the people who actually play the game without the need of cheats.
VAC is a server-based implementation which means that it is installed on the half-life dedicated server, and will check clients are cheat free compliant -- if found not to be, it will issue a incremental ban from all VAC 'secure' servers. The ban that will be issued to the cheater will depend on the severity of the cheat, and or the number of offenses. We won't be listing exactly what VAC checks for, but we will detail how to activate the module on your server.
» Installing VAC on your server:
Installing VAC on your server is a 2 minute process, and can be achieved in a number of ways.
1. add -secure to your hlds target line which will initiate the module download automatically from speakeasy.net when you start the hlds session.
OR
2. navigate to your cstrike/liblist.gam file, and open it with an editor such as notepad. You'll see a line in there which will say "secure 0", change the 0 to a 1 to activate it, save the file, and start your server up. The server will then download the latest version of the modules to your server.
» About VAC Updates:
Valve periodically updates the VAC modules, which in turn, your server will download and update them automatically. You can keep uptodate with when new modules are released via Counter-Servers main page, or by subscribing to the VALVe mailing lists.
» VAC In Action:
 | | | Here's a screenshot of VAC in action, from someone who never cheats, and wouldn't dare install a cheat on his system! It was his brother who did it! It wasn't his fault!!. Now we all know what the question is going to be. Ask yourself, do you feel lucky? 0_o
For those of you who actually mail us asking how to have the ban removed -- that's what the system is there for, and if you've allowed someone on your system who's installed cheats, they owe you for a new copy of CS, or you'll just have sit your punishment out. | |
» I'm Running a LAN, can i use VAC?:
A simple answer to this is officially, no. There are a few 3rd-party, unsupported solutions which attempt to simulate VAC in a LAN environment, available for review on our Anti-Cheat forum. There are also a few other programs out there which can offer some anti-cheat protection for LAN servers ( non-VAC ), which can be found detailed in our tools section. For a complete list of programs, please see the tools section.
If you have any additional questions, you can post to the Anti-Cheat forum here.
» I've been banned by VAC, can you unban me?:
Quite simply, no, we can't. The bans are not administered by us, they are operated under Valvesoftware. Infomation on why you were banned is logged @ Valve, so we would only suggest contacting them in the event you feel you've been wrongly banned -- otherwise, you're wasting your own time, and theirs.
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» Some Funny Emails:
" Can u please help me my brother was came home from college and went on my comp and dled hacks for counter-strike and apparently did something to make it so I cant join servers NOT EVEN MY OWN CLAN SERVER!!!! Please help "
-- We recommend you take 200mils of prozac per day. It will at least make you feel better.
" Hello. i played HL CS for about 2 years and i used to hacker for about 3 months. I found a hacker about 2 days ago and now it says im ban from all server's. who do i talk to about this or how do i get it to were i can play again. It says im ban intill 2008 (5 YEARS). Well please email me back ASAP if you can Thanks and ahve a nice day "
-- This is why we shouldn't play CS 24/7 people! School is important, as the proof suggests!
" My name is Jeremy and last time I tried to connect, I got the ban message. Now, there has to be some sort of mix-up here, because I've been playing CS for almost 3 years now and have NEVER cheated, I don't even know how cheats work!! I have no interest in cheats whatsoever, so when I got this message I was shocked. No one has access to my computer, so it must just be a mistake. How can I get un-banned? You are welcome to monitor me or whatever you want to prove that I don't hack."
-- Have you considered going into politics?
" hello.. i was playing half-life counter-strike the other night and a crzy guy came on the server... He was cussing everybody out and i told him over the mic to chill out. He then said thaths it and yelled at me and said i was gonna be sorry. Then he hacked me and tripled my lag, made it so i cannot change guns, messed with all my controls, every time i "fired" it said that i said "i am a stupid bitch ass", and i exited. Then i retried a different server and it didnt not let me connect. No joke.... i wasnt hacking or anything... i play on the name W*H*I*T*E**T*R*A*S*H always have always will. I got hacked by some crzy counter-strike nut! I reinstalled half-life and CS and I still cannot join ANY servers.... Can u guys send me a list of files he corrupted or give me straight advice or updates or patches or fixes or something so i can enjoy my half-life PLEASE! Thank you. p.s. The hacker guy had a counter-strike clan server called 5*3** or something. Thanks"
-- Bans aren't issued because an admin plays around with your config, a ban is issued because you had cheats installed.
IRC : #counter-server on gamesnet.net
