Anti-Cheat: How To Avoid Cheaters in CS:GO - Hellcase Blog

Counter-Strike Global Offensive is an extremely popular video game millions of players worldwide enjoy. Among many factors, it became admired for its competitive gameplay, thriving esports scene, and requiring people to work together to win matches.

However, some players tend to cheat, and playing with or against a cheater in your game ruins all the fun and the competitive spirit.

In this article, we will discover what types of CS:GO cheats are there, why CS:GO cheating is still a big problem after a decade since the game was released, and how to avoid hackers in your matches.

What is the Cheating in CS:GO?

CS:GO cheating involves using third-party software to gain an unfair advantage in the game. Some of the most popular cheating mods are wallhack, aimbot, spinbots, bunnyhop scripts, etc.

Although the rules of CS:GO prohibit using third-party software for cheating, and Valve bans unfair users daily for breaking these rules, the CS:GO cheating problem is not going anywhere. Is VAC that helpful? Not really.

There are both free cheats CS:GO players can find to use and paid ones. Oftentimes, free CS:GO cheats are fake software downloaded from a phishing site that might steal your personal data and login credentials or harm your PC and Steam account .

Also, free cheats are most likely to get you banned as soon as you load into the game, as they are extremely popular, and anti-cheating software solutions distinguish them quickly and easily.

How to Avoid Cheaters in CS:GO?

It might be a tough pillow to swallow, but there is no bulletproof way to completely avoid cheating players in CS:GO. Anti-cheat measures are in place, but there are still players seeking ways to work around these measures and gain an advantage using cheats.

However, you can still take a few steps to at least minimalize your chances of meeting them on the servers.

• Play on trusted servers.

Playing on VAC-supported servers lessens the chances of encountering cheaters in your games. These servers are protected by Valve Anti-Cheat, which recognizes third-party software interfering with the game and bans unfair players.

• Try out online matchmaking platforms.

These include FACEIT and ESEA. Both platforms have advanced anti-cheat software solutions and are even used on professional LAN events. Also, they offer 128-tick servers, which is sure a pleasant experience.

• Report any suspicious activity.

Sometimes your enemy might simply have a great aim day, but you should stay cautious, and report players who you suspect are cheating. Always report a cheater whether you are matched with them or against them.

• Participate in CS:GO Overwatch.

The Overwatch system allows experienced CS:GO players to review parts of demos of other players reported due to suspicious activity in-game. Review these demos when you have spare time and determine if accused players are actually guilty of cheating. This way, you will contribute to bettering the CS:GO community.

• Get Prime Status.

Of course, if for some reason you haven’t already done so. Since CS:GO became a free-to-play game, a lot of cheaters have come along. Among other things, Prime Status will let you minimize the odds of playing with cheaters.

As we have mentioned, avoiding cheaters in CS:GO completely is not possible, at least now. Follow these steps to lessen your chances of encountering cheaters in your CS:GO matches, and don’t let them ruin your experience.

There are a few anti-cheat software solutions designed by Valve, FACEIT, and ESEA. They prevent cheaters from gaining an unfair advantage. Let’s learn more about their anti-cheat systems.

VAC

VAC, Valve Anti-Cheat, is an automated system developed by Valve to detect and ban cheating players across a variety of games, including CS:GO, DOTA 2, RUST, and others. In total, VAC is supported by more than a hundred video games presented on Steam.

It is designed to prevent third-party software and modifications to a game from running and giving one player any unfair advantage. This includes modifying a game’s core executable files and dynamic link libraries.

Any piece of software recognized as cheats or hacks used by a player on a VAC-secured server will trigger a VAC ban. It includes not only CS:GO cheats but also skin-changing software that allows playing with any CS:GO skin without actually buying it.

While it sounds solid, the VAC system is not perfect. New cheats are developed regularly, and it takes time for VAC to recognize them and find all players using new software. Then, when this new cheat is discovered, a ban wave hits these players with a VAC ban. But before it happens, unfair players can play on trusted servers with cheats for weeks or months.

VAC bans are permanent, non-negotiable, and cannot be removed by Steam Support. However, if a VAC ban has been mistakenly issued, it will be automatically removed.

FACEIT

FACEIT is an online matchmaking service that allows gamers to play competitive multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. This platform provides CS:GO players with various features, including the opportunity to join and create teams, participate in various events, and access game-related data and analytics.

The platform also has an anti-cheat system, FACEIT Anti-Cheat, to ensure a fair gaming environment on the platform’s servers.

FACEIT Anti-Cheat is a sophisticated client and server-based anti-cheat system built by FACEIT, and its purpose is to provide an enjoyable and fair gaming experience for everyone. This software is regularly updated to identify and prevent unfair players from using CS:GO cheats such as aimbots, wallhacks, and other software that give players unfair advantages in-game.

To be able to play on the FACEIT platform, it is a must to install FACEIT Anti-Cheat on your PC and run it in the background while you are gaming so it is monitoring for any suspicious activity. It is only active when playing a supported game on the FACEIT platform, which at the moment are CS:GO, TF2, and Krunker.

To identify cheaters, the system utilizes a range of methods, including evaluating gameplay data, monitoring any suspicious software, and tracking player conduct.

CEVO

CEVO used to be an esports organizing company known for building the fundamentals of the North American esports scene since 2003. CEVO held multiple competitive events, ladders, and leagues for Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Source, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

In 2017, CEVO got acquired for $2.7 million by Gfinity, a media and technology company in the gaming and esports industry.

CEVO was acknowledged as the first North American online league to beat CAL, Cyberathlete Amateur League, due to great CMN (CEVO Match Network) and superior anti-cheat software.

CEVO’s Paladin anti-cheat technologies protected everyone playing on CEVO’s servers from cheaters and ensured equality between gamers.

ESEA

Detecting the undetectable. ESEA is an online gaming platform known for hosting tournaments, the largest CS:GO Open League, 128-tick servers, and an industry-leading anti-cheat client that ensures everyone is playing on an even field. It is an alternative to FACEIT.

The ESEA Client is a tool developed to help combat cheating and other server disruption, and installing it is required to play on all ESEA game servers. It works like an anti-malware software.

“The latest generation of cheats, which are designed similarly to malware, gain an advantage when loading before anti-cheat tools. It’s customary at live tournaments to not even allow players to connect thumb drives or other USB-enabled devices out of fear that an illegal cheat could be used.

After much deliberation and under the careful guidance of legal, security, and privacy experts, the ESEA Client takes a more active and aggressive approach, similar to the publicly available anti-virus software, to monitor the activities around Counter-Strike in order to combat these efforts.” – r00t, ESEA Developer .

ESEA’s advanced anti-cheat Client is more “invasive” than other software solutions designed to prevent cheating. However, the ESEA Client only monitors activities that take place in and around CS:GO and accesses only those files which may be used to aid in cheating. The sensitive personal data of players is not being monitored or scanned.

What are the Most Popular Cheats in CS:GO?

Since CS:GO became a free-to-play game at the end of 2018, the number of cheaters has exploded. It is a trend for all free competitive video games because banned players can create multiple new accounts without spending a penny and continue cheating.

Cheating is a big problem in CS:GO, and you can encounter unfair players on a daily basis in your games. There are different types of cheats used by dishonest players, and we will learn about the most popular ones.

Mobility Hacks

Mobility hacks are not as popular as AimBots or Wallhacks, but you can still encounter cheaters using them in games. With these hacks, unfair players can wall through walls and objects and teleport themselves across the map.

They are uncommon, but it is extremely obvious when someone uses them.

AimBots

AimBots are among the most popular CS:GO cheats. AimBot automatically aims the crosshair at the enemy and shoots, which gives a cheater using it an advantage both in accuracy and reaction time.

Oftentimes, AimBots offer customization features allowing CS:GO cheaters to make it target specific body parts of the characters’ models, change the aim speed and smoothness, and also make it account for the weapon recoil.

It is almost impossible to win a duel against a cheater using an AimBot cheat because they are given an unfair advantage in reaction time and level of accuracy out of reach for humans.

Wallhacks

Wallhacks, also known as “X-Ray”, are CS:GO cheats that allow unfair players to see the outlines or silhouettes of enemies through walls and other solid objects.

These cheats give unfair players a huge strategic advantage, allowing them to track down their enemies and always be one step further. Using wallhacks makes the game unbalanced and frustrating for the enemy team because they constantly get ambushed or avoided wherever they go.

SpinBots

SpinBots are similar to AimBots as they provide aim assistance and make it precise too. In addition, however, SpinBots make the cheater’s in-game model spin around at high speed, making it very hard for the enemies to hit them.

It is extremely obvious when cheaters use SpinBots, unlike Wallhack or AimBots. These cheats are mostly meant for trolling purposes.

Radar Hacks

Radar hacks are used to check the positioning of the enemy team on the map. With this cheating software, unfair CS:GO players are able to see all enemy positions on the in-game radar, regardless of their visibility to the player.

These hacks make it impossible for the enemy team to play stealthily and use tactics of a surprise because cheaters follow their every move on the radar.

ESP (Extra Sensory Perception)

The ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) cheat is third-party software that provides cheaters with information that is not available to fair players: level of enemies’ health, distance to them, types of weapons they have, etc.

A few advanced ESP cheats also allow seeing the trajectory of grenades.

TriggerBots

TriggerBots fires the cheater’s weapon automatically once their crosshair is placed over an enemy. Like most AimBots, these cheats can be customized to “pull the trigger” only when aiming for specific body parts of the enemies’ models.

Oftentimes, TriggerBots are not that easy to spot as they are more subtle than AimBots.

Are There Any Legal CS:GO Cheats?

In case you did not know, there is actually a legal wallhack feature in CS:GO that can be turned on with commands through the built-in Developer Console presented in the game.

However, these wallhack commands will only work on custom servers and via GOTV , which is used to watch live games with a delay or previously recorded match demos.

Legal In-game Wallhack

To turn it on, open the in-game console by pressing the “~” button on the keyboard. If nothing happened after you pressed it, ensure the Developer Console is enabled in your settings.

You will find this property in Settings -> Game -> Enable Developer Console (~) -> YES.

When in-game on the server with bots, type “sv_cheats 1” in the console and press Enter. Now, you can use legal CS:GO cheats.

Playing with bots or on a custom server, you can use one of two commands to enable legal wallhack in your games. These are “r_drawothermodels 2” and “enable_skeleton_draw 1”.

If you want to enable the legal wallhack feature while watching a live match or a demo via GOTV, go to the in-game Developer Console, type “spec_show_xray 1”, and press Enter. Now, you are able to see the outlines of characters from both teams.

To turn it off, return to the Developer Console, type “spec_show_xray 0”, and press Enter. It will deactivate the X-Ray, and you will not be able to see the outlines anymore.

Does Trusted Mode Prevent Cheats?

The answer is yes and no. While Trusted Mode in CS:GO can not block cheaters or prevent third-party software from running on a cheater’s PC, it does help a bit with detecting this kind of software.

The Trusted Mode in CS:GO blocks third-party files from interacting with the game. The purpose of Trusted Mode is to assist with cheat detection, and it is enabled by default for all CS:GO players.

“Trusted mode is a minimal barrier to cheat development, however, we expect that cheats will be detected more quickly. The goal of Trusted mode is to create a barrier that can’t accidentally be crossed, and to be able to easily identify any application that does.” – Steam Support .

While playing with the Trusted Mode will not help you avoid all the cheaters in the world, it is most certainly recommended that you always have it enabled.

Even if you are a fair player and never use cheats, Trusted Mode will prevent any third-party software running in the background from injecting in CS:GO, which might be recognized as cheats by VAC and get you banned.

To Wrap Up!

As we have found out, there is no bulletproof method of protecting yourself from encountering cheaters in your CS:GO games. However, anti-cheat software solutions are regularly improved, meaning there is still hope for an enjoyable cheaters-free competitive environment not only in the esports scene but for regular CS:GO players as well.

Cheating is bad, don’t be that guy. Explore our blog for more articles about CS:GO skins and other cosmetics, in-depth game guides, and esports news. Stay tuned!