3 ms·

It runs at admin rights and I don’t know what it does. Besides having the game as usual. I don’t know if it’s malicious or not.

codingdave 3y ago
> It runs at admin rights Game over right there. No matter what it does or doesn't do today, you never know what they'll push in the next update, or when ownership changes hands. I'd never run a game with admin rights.
- evanjrowley 3y ago
  This excludes most AAA multiplayer games with anti-cheat. I'm not disagreeing with you, only pointing out that it's an unfortunate mainstream trend.
  - k9unit 3y ago
    Video games with anti cheats don't normally run as admin. A service on windows is created by requesting admin once when installing the anti cheat, so that the service with a kernel driver can be loaded without admin. Furthermore, it's funny when people cry about how kernel anticheats are invading their privacy. These anticheats are better secured and protected than 99% of the drivers for windows, which are FULL of kernel elevation exploits. Absolutely filled to brink. I could go into it more, but this thread isn't the place.
  - piaste 3y ago
    I'm sure there are game devs that try to install rootkits for no good reason, but preventing cheating in multiplayer competitions can unfortunately be a legitimate reason to ask "Hey $customer, I need to take full control of your machine, and it can't be a VM". You basically have three options: - Cross your fingers and pray that the game company isn't going to do anything malicious to your machine - Keep your gaming PC completely isolated from your private data - Accept that you won't be able to play some competitive games, or the competitive modes of some games (eg. the default CounterStrike multiplayer runs with usermode anticheat, but competitive matchmakers like FaceIt require you to install a kernel-level anticheat)
    - evanjrowley 3y ago
      Yes, it is an unfortunate reality. I was very pleased to discover that Valve's newly released Counter Strike 2 did not require the invasive type of anti-cheat software. On the other hand, it also seemed like some players I encountered were making shots that were too accurate for a human player. Maybe CS2 players are just that good... My wish is that multiplayer games would have the option to play on servers with anti-cheat and servers without anti-cheat. If my memory serves correctly, that is kind of how Microsoft's Halo: Master Chief Collection is, at least when played on the Steam Deck. While I don't like the entire experience (e.g., having to use a MS account), at least optional anti-cheat is a plus. FWIW I typically choose option 2 - keeping the gaming PC separate from anything important.
  - Kuraj 3y ago
    I stopped seeing this once I stopped playing Asian MMORPGs.
- PeterisP 3y ago
  I think that if you really care about privacy and security then the simplest way to ensure that a game can't harm you is to avoid handling anything important on your gaming PC. If you think they might do something malicious, not having admin rights won't prevent that game from reading all your authentication credentials from your browser, for example.
- tetris11 3y ago
  I've been playing PC games my whole life, but never with an internet connection. Yes sure I might miss out on some MMOs, but I see these mostly as toxic cesspools of enraged teen activity. Offline PC gaming is quiet, safe, and you know that no one is watching because they can't.
PrimeMcFly 3y ago
So run it in a sandbox.
- bell-cot 3y ago
  Yes, though that has two obvious issues: - It might detect the sandbox and refuse to run the game - If more seriously malicious, it might quietly escape the sandbox at first opportunity - say, a sandbox-escape exploit which the game provider obtains before the user can/does install the security patch
  - PrimeMcFly 3y ago
    That's more the behavior of something highly targeted than something as general as a game.
    - lazide 3y ago
      Welcome to anti-cheat/anti-piracy
      - PrimeMcFly 3y ago
        If it's a game from a big studio, then it won't have a keylogger. If it's an indie game, it won't be checking if it's in a sandbox.
        hiatus 3y ago
        > If it's a game from a big studio, then it won't have a keylogger. History has proven this to be false. Recall the sony rootkit scandal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootk...
        PrimeMcFly 3y ago
        I was talking about games, and what Sony did back then definitely wouldn't fly today.

codingdave 3y ago

> It runs at admin rights Game over right there. No matter what it does or doesn't do today, you never know what they'll push in the next update, or when ownership changes hands. I'd never run a game with admin rights.

evanjrowley 3y ago
This excludes most AAA multiplayer games with anti-cheat. I'm not disagreeing with you, only pointing out that it's an unfortunate mainstream trend.
- k9unit 3y ago
  Video games with anti cheats don't normally run as admin. A service on windows is created by requesting admin once when installing the anti cheat, so that the service with a kernel driver can be loaded without admin. Furthermore, it's funny when people cry about how kernel anticheats are invading their privacy. These anticheats are better secured and protected than 99% of the drivers for windows, which are FULL of kernel elevation exploits. Absolutely filled to brink. I could go into it more, but this thread isn't the place.
- piaste 3y ago
  I'm sure there are game devs that try to install rootkits for no good reason, but preventing cheating in multiplayer competitions can unfortunately be a legitimate reason to ask "Hey $customer, I need to take full control of your machine, and it can't be a VM". You basically have three options: - Cross your fingers and pray that the game company isn't going to do anything malicious to your machine - Keep your gaming PC completely isolated from your private data - Accept that you won't be able to play some competitive games, or the competitive modes of some games (eg. the default CounterStrike multiplayer runs with usermode anticheat, but competitive matchmakers like FaceIt require you to install a kernel-level anticheat)
  - evanjrowley 3y ago
    Yes, it is an unfortunate reality. I was very pleased to discover that Valve's newly released Counter Strike 2 did not require the invasive type of anti-cheat software. On the other hand, it also seemed like some players I encountered were making shots that were too accurate for a human player. Maybe CS2 players are just that good... My wish is that multiplayer games would have the option to play on servers with anti-cheat and servers without anti-cheat. If my memory serves correctly, that is kind of how Microsoft's Halo: Master Chief Collection is, at least when played on the Steam Deck. While I don't like the entire experience (e.g., having to use a MS account), at least optional anti-cheat is a plus. FWIW I typically choose option 2 - keeping the gaming PC separate from anything important.
- Kuraj 3y ago
  I stopped seeing this once I stopped playing Asian MMORPGs.
PeterisP 3y ago
I think that if you really care about privacy and security then the simplest way to ensure that a game can't harm you is to avoid handling anything important on your gaming PC. If you think they might do something malicious, not having admin rights won't prevent that game from reading all your authentication credentials from your browser, for example.
tetris11 3y ago
I've been playing PC games my whole life, but never with an internet connection. Yes sure I might miss out on some MMOs, but I see these mostly as toxic cesspools of enraged teen activity. Offline PC gaming is quiet, safe, and you know that no one is watching because they can't.

PrimeMcFly 3y ago

So run it in a sandbox.

bell-cot 3y ago
Yes, though that has two obvious issues: - It might detect the sandbox and refuse to run the game - If more seriously malicious, it might quietly escape the sandbox at first opportunity - say, a sandbox-escape exploit which the game provider obtains before the user can/does install the security patch
- PrimeMcFly 3y ago
  That's more the behavior of something highly targeted than something as general as a game.
  - lazide 3y ago
    Welcome to anti-cheat/anti-piracy
    - PrimeMcFly 3y ago
      If it's a game from a big studio, then it won't have a keylogger. If it's an indie game, it won't be checking if it's in a sandbox.
      - hiatus 3y ago
        > If it's a game from a big studio, then it won't have a keylogger. History has proven this to be false. Recall the sony rootkit scandal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootk...
        PrimeMcFly 3y ago
        I was talking about games, and what Sony did back then definitely wouldn't fly today.