CS2’s New VACNet Anti-Cheat – How It Works and How to Access It

For pretty much the entire existence of Counter-Strike, fans (and haters, too) have been clamoring for one thing above all else: a better anti-cheat system. With the number of hackers in competitive CS2, especially in Premier mode, it’s either that cheat developers have gotten way better compared to previous years or Valve’s anti-cheat simply isn’t up to par anymore.

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That being said, the first step towards a better gaming experience has been launched fairly recently. In a recent update, Valve introduced the VACnet Labeling Portal — the developers’ newest attempt to combat all forms of cheating within the community.

VACNet Labeling Portal Isn’t Available To Everyone (yet)

As of now, not everyone can make use of this new VAC system. It’s not exactly clear how to get a direct invite to the VACnet Labeling Portal from Valve; however, some users on social media have stated that they are able to receive invites from other players who got directly invited to participate.

The criteria to be selected can’t really be determined yet, at least as of now. For instance, X user @poggu__ was able to access VACnet Labeling Portal through his VAC banned account thanks to an invite from a friend.

VACNet Doesn’t Get Someone VAC Banned

The video clips that are being featured on the VACnet Labeling Portal for review are definitely from actual in-game cheaters, but even if the entire player base marks a specific clip as an obvious case of cheating, it won’t get said cheater (who is anonymous to the person reviewing) banned from the game.

The VACnet Labeling Portal is instead being used to further enhance the system’s cheat detection through demo review. It’s likely that human review is being used to teach VACnet deep learning of cheats by figuring out the patterns of what cheaters in Counter-Strike 2 exhibit as common behavior.

Multiple Cheat Reporting Types Within VACnet For Deep Learning

The VACnet Labeling Portal doesn’t only let you determine whether or not someone is cheating, but also what kind of cheats are being used. If you’re one of the lucky people to have early access to this kind of software, this is a pretty neat detail that they added to the demo review experience.

Everything from rage hacks, aimbots, and the such are included in what you could flag a demo for.

VACnet Is The New CS2 Anti-Cheat

VAC, or Valve Anti-Cheat, was the designated AC for Counter-Strike for the longest time. It’s also what the entire player base has been complaining about. VAC operated in a way that it searches your device for any potential cheats installed, while VACnet essentially detects suspicious movement from the player.

Essentially, the goal is to be able to track down any kind of cheat, no matter how new or how well-hidden, simply by looking at the in-game footage. It’s received mixed comments from the community but overall, it’s a very promising start towards the solution the entire community has been looking for.

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