• Please make sure you are familiar with the forum rules. You can find them here: https://forums.tripwireinteractive.com/index.php?threads/forum-rules.2334636/

Server VAC Bans Recorded but playing on RS servers?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
-=THOR=-

-=THOR=-

Grizzled Veteran
Sep 20, 2011
1,050
50
#1
How come are players with VAC bans able to play on a VAC secured server? I just had 2 hackers on my servers changing names constantly to mimic real player names, had a hard time tracking them down. When I (finally) opened their steam profiles, I saw both had VAC bans recorded. Plus yesterday I got another one using wall hacks. He had VAC bans recorded too. Why are they able to join my server in the first place?
 
Last edited:
#4
-=THOR=- said:
Done, I sent you the link to their steam profiles. All 3 are VAC banned.
Click to expand...

VAC bans do not carry over for all games. Say you are banned on some random MP game. You will only be banned from VAC servers on that one game. However, if you are VAC banned on any Source game (TF2, DOD etc) it will apply to all source games. RO2 VAC bans are just for RO2, so it means your cheaters got their VAC ban from a different game.
 
Upvote 0
#7
Ducky said:
This is one way how Valve says "don't cheat, but we still want you to buy our games" :D
Click to expand...
They even suggest creating a new account if you want to buy the game again, but one of their goals was to catch VAC cheaters creating new accounts. :confused:

Steam Support Site said:
Do not register retail products or purchase new Steam subscriptions on a VAC banned account.
If you choose to purchase a new copy of the game, please register it or install it under a newly-created Steam account
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
#8
What is Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC)?

Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) is an anti-cheat component of the Steam platform, and it is used to protect against in-game cheating in a variety of games. Any modification to a game which allows for one player to have an advantage over another player may be considered a cheat. The VAC system detects cheats using cheat signatures, and should a cheat be detected by VAC the offending player will receive a VAC ban.

A VAC ban is not to be confused with a server side specific ban. If you receive the notification message "STEAMID IS BANNED" when attempting to join a game-server then you have received a server side specific ban. The server administration team for the server in question have decided to prohibit you from joining their server, but you have not received a VAC ban and as a result you may continue to partake on other game-servers. VAC is an automated system and server administrators may not impose a VAC ban.

How do I know if a server is VAC protected?

Servers are VAC protected if the following notification is displayed when joining a server - "Note: This server is VAC secured. Cheating will result in a permanent ban". A visual representation of this notification may be found here. The VAC shield is also displayed on the Steam server browser to indicate if a specific server is VAC protected. A visual representation of the VAC shield in the Steam server browser may be found here.

I have received a VAC ban - why?

The following notification will display should you receive a VAC ban, indicating that a VAC ban is now in operation - "Your connection to this secure server has been rejected. Because of past cheating violations, you have been banned from playing on all secure services". If you receive the notification message outlined above, the VAC system has, based on its cheat signatures, detected a cheat operating on your system. As a result a VAC ban has been imposed and has come into operation to restrict you from joining VAC protected servers. It should be noted that VAC employs the use of delayed bans in order to disrupt the development process of cheats - a ban imposed today may have been the result of a cheat detected by VAC two weeks previously.

I have received a VAC ban - what do I do now?

As Valve has a zero-tolerance policy towards cheating, all VAC bans are permanent in nature and will not be lifted over time. Once you receive a VAC ban you may no longer play on VAC secure servers.

You may continue to play your single-player games. You may also continue to play on VAC-insecure servers. You may access a list of insecure servers by doing the following:
  • Open Steam.
  • Select the "View" drop-down tab.
  • Select "Servers".
  • Select "Change filters".
  • Select "Not-Secure" under the VAC drop-down list.
I believe VAC has made a mistake in banning me - what do I do now?

These forums only offer user to user support and as a result this forum section should only be used to find information on the VAC system. The forum community (including volunteer moderators) are unable to investigate VAC bans. The policy on these forums is that Steam account specific issues must be referred to Steam support. If you believe you have been banned for an unjust reason then you must raise the issue with Steam support. Details on how to contact Steam support may be found below.

Contacting Steam Billing & Support: A Detailed Walk-through.

How do I report a cheater?

As VAC is an automated system, user submitted bans are not accepted. As VAC uses a delayed ban system, the chances are that the cheater you encountered in-game has been flagged by VAC and will be banned in the near future. If you believe a player is cheating in a server the recommendation is that you contact the administration team for that specific server in order to report the possible cheater. This will allow the administration team for the server investigate the possible cheater in more depth and take whatever action they feel is appropriate.

You can also report a suspected cheater by following the information found in this FAQ

Where can I report a cheat-site / cheat binaries?

Please do not post links to cheat sites on the open forums. Instead we request that you private message the details of the cheat site to the VAC Team. When reporting a cheat-site, or specific cheat binaries, please attempt to provide as much detail as possible.

Where can I find more information on the VAC system?

Additional information on the topic of VAC may be found on the Steam support website.

Valve Anti-Cheat System (VAC)

Cheaters, Abusive Admins, New Cheats, and Cheat Websites

I've Been Banned

Behaviour in the VAC forum - a fair warning:

Trolling in the VAC forum will not be tolerated. Please do not post unless you have something constructive to add to a topic. Many issues relating to VAC are not ban related, so don't treat every thread as such.

If a user posts that they have been VAC banned it is not an excuse to ignore the forum guidelines.
__________________
Steam Support | Forum Staff | Forum Rules & Guidelines | Join us in SPUFU chat!

SOURCE
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
#9
Mike_Nomad said:
--SNIP--
I have received a VAC ban - why?

The following notification will display should you receive a VAC ban, indicating that a VAC ban is now in operation - "Your connection to this secure server has been rejected. Because of past cheating violations, you have been banned from playing on all secure services". If you receive the notification message outlined above, the VAC system has, based on its cheat signatures, detected a cheat operating on your system. As a result a VAC ban has been imposed and has come into operation to restrict you from joining VAC protected servers. It should be noted that VAC employs the use of delayed bans in order to disrupt the development process of cheats - a ban imposed today may have been the result of a cheat detected by VAC two weeks previously.

I have received a VAC ban - what do I do now?

As Valve has a zero-tolerance policy towards cheating, all VAC bans are permanent in nature and will not be lifted over time. Once you receive a VAC ban you may no longer play on VAC secure servers.
--SNIP--
Click to expand...

Correct. But it doesn't say if it's only for the servers running the game on which the cheat was detected on or if it is for all. Below quote comes from those that maintain the vac bans.

When you get VAC banned, not all your games in your Steam Account get banned, you usually get VAC banned from the game you cheated in, but there are a few exceptions.
Click to expand...

Source: http://www.vacbanned.com/static/informations
 
Upvote 0
#10
Valve Anti-Cheat System (VAC)



Important:

All VAC bans are permanent - Valve has a zero-tolerance policy for cheating and will not lift VAC bans under any circumstances.


What is VAC?

If a user connects to a VAC-Secured server from a computer with identifiable cheats installed, the VAC system will ban the user from playing on VAC-Secured servers in the future.
While server admins may choose to ban specific players, server admins cannot VAC ban players. The VAC system is automated - contacting Steam Support to report cheaters is not necessary, nor will Steam Support act on any information provided.
The VAC system reliably detects cheats using their cheat signatures. Any third-party modification to a game designed to give one player an advantage over another is classified as a cheat or hack and will trigger a VAC ban. This includes modifications to a game's core executable files and dynamic link libraries.
The following will not trigger a VAC ban:


  • Using chat programs like X-Fire
  • System hardware configurations
  • Updated system drivers, such as video card drivers
Use only trusted machines to play on VAC-Secured servers - if you are not sure whether or not the machine you are using to connect to Steam may have cheats installed, do not play on VAC-Secured servers.
Use caution when installing any game modifications, such as scripts or custom skins. Only download custom content from trusted sources. Hackers sometimes maliciously disguise their cheats to cause others to get banned.
For more information on how you can protect yourself, please refer to this FAQ:
Account Security Recommendations
For more information on Valve's policies, please see the Steam Subscriber Agreement and the Rules of Steam Online Conduct.
Steam Subscriber Agreement

Steam Subscriber Agreement
Rules of Steam Online Conduct

Rules of Steam Online Conduct


Reporting a new Cheat

If you know of a new cheat, especially private cheats (ones that aren't on a public website), and can provide the links or the actual binaries, please visit the SteamPowered Forums and PM (private mail) a moderator there and it will be reported to the VAC team.


Reporting Cheaters

Encountered a cheater? Please follow the instructions in this FAQ to report the suspected cheater. Please note that users are never banned based on reports alone.


VAC Enabled Games

Please see the Steam Store Valve Anti Cheat Enabled search term.
Valve games

The Valve Anti-Cheat system is enabled for servers displaying the Secured shield logo. Using custom skins, sounds or maps and playing multi-player mods which do not modify core .EXE and .DLL files will not result in a VAC ban

  • Cheating in one of the following Source games will result in a VAC ban for all games in the list and your items from Team Fortress 2 will be removed except any items that have been purchased:
  • Counter-Strike: Source
  • Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
  • Day of Defeat: Source
  • Team Fortress 2

  • Cheating in one of the following Gold Source games will result in a VAC ban for all games in the list:
  • Counter-Strike
  • Condition Zero
  • Ricochet
  • Day of Defeat
  • Team Fortress Classic
  • Half-Life: Deathmatch
  • Deathmatch Classic
Note: Excluding the games listed above, VAC bans will only apply to the game the cheat was detected in. For example, a VAC ban in Modern Warfare 2 will not affect Modern Warfare 3.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 & 3

VAC is enabled on all multiplayer servers, public and private. Any modifications to the game other than editing config files can result in a VAC ban. Examples of such modifications include but are not limited to console enablers, VAC disablers, and server hosting mods.
Dungeon Defenders

VAC is enabled in both Open and Ranked mode. Using cheats or trainers in either mode will result in a VAC ban.

VAC Bans versus Server Bans

The best indicator that your account has been banned by VAC is if you receive this message when attempting to access a VAC-secure server:
"Your connection to this secure server has been rejected. Because of past cheating violations, you have been banned from playing on all secure servers"

If you receive an error message stating "STEAMID IS BANNED" (or other similar messages) when attempting to connect to a server, your account is not banned by VAC - server administrators may ban you from a particular server (we cannot prevent this - whoever runs the server can ban players for any reason they desire).


If you find that you are banned from a large number of servers but your VAC status is in good standing, you have likely been banned by a third-party ban tool, such as Steambans or Punkbuster. These third-party tools are used by a large number of servers sharing a common database of banned ID's. These tools are unrelated to Steam and we cannot assist you in resolving this issue.


You will not be banned by the VAC system unless you login to a VAC-secure server with a cheat installed on your computer.


SOURCE

Big difference in the BAN Depth between VAC ENABLED/SECURED Games and Valve Games.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
#12
So in a nutshell..... anyone that was VAC banned while playing RO2 prior to RS being released can play on your RO2/RS server until they get "caught" by VAC again? Oh, joy! :rolleyes:

One has to be pretty stupid to get banned by VAC anyway....About all its good for is catching the uninitiated rookie cheater, imo.

As a side note.....
Just for kicks, I was perusing the list of players banned in pbbans.com. I followed their gametracker profiles (took some digging as gametracker's search feature could use a few more filters). I found quite a few banned players that have been frequenting the more 'popular' servers. The one thing these servers had in common were that they were not streaming to pbbans. And all but one weren't even running punkbuster and just letting VAC do the work. FYI, even with the game change, these banned individuals are still banned from pbbans streaming servers (and incidently from any server running any game that streams to pbbans).

It would be nice to get the screenshot feature working at least 60%. I think the community as a whole would be quite surprised at the outcome.

If you are taking screenshots, I highly recommend checking out pbscreens.com. Screenshots are automatically ftp'd to them for the 'world' to see. They found, had the info sent to pbbans, and had a player banned for streaming pbbans admins before I ever got a chance to view the screenshots. That sold me on the value of the service..

------

I'm not going into the differences between Evenbalance's Punkbuster and pbbans.com other than to say that one supplements the other and adds substantial and additional levels of protection. Their individual ban lists are not related (a point that seems to sail over a lot of heads).
 
Upvote 0
#14
Ducky said:
Here they are :D

(but then for all games)
Click to expand...

Damn, that's 1407950 steam ids... I bet only 3% of these have RO2/RS :/

I don't like pointing fingers at people in the forum but you can see on the profiles below that they *do* have VAC bans.

0x0110000104B2C1BE
0x0110000107045240
0x0110000107FD93E7

[url]http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198039089598[/URL]
[url]http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198077989440[/URL]
[url]http://steamcommunity.com/id/olecrow/[/URL]
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply
Jump to latest Follow Reply
Community News
Forums
Merch
Menu