Vanguard Anti-Cheat: Bricks PCs After Uninstall?

Riot Games’ anti-cheat system Vanguard operates at the kernel level, granting it deep access to the operating system in order to monitor Valorant and League of Legends matches. This level of privilege has long worried players, who fear it could introduce security vulnerabilities or be exploited by attackers. A recent update has intensified those concerns, as reports allege Vanguard is now targeting software that masks cheats even after the game is uninstalled, potentially rendering affected machines unusable without a full operating system reinstall.

Aggressive Update and Flippant Response

X user ogisada reported that Vanguard triggered an IOMMU restart warning during a game, after which the system’s Direct Memory Access firmware became permanently unusable—even when Valorant was not running. In response, Riot Games replied with a terse comment: “congrats to the owners of a brand new $6k paperweight.” The remark divided the community. Some players applauded the uncompromising stance against cheaters, while others likened Vanguard to malware and voiced fears that legitimate users could suffer collateral damage.

Legal and Security Risks

The aggressive behavior also raises legal questions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which prohibits intentionally, recklessly, or negligently causing damage through unauthorized access. If Vanguard misidentifies a legitimate player as a cheater and bricks their machine, that could be construed as negligent or intentional damage. This potential for false positives is a core concern for critics who see kernel-level anti-cheat as a disproportionate measure that undermines user security and control.

Valorant points buy

#game