Friend VAC banned, few questions (not a cry thread) - Rust

Hello! This is my first post, and I hope i'm not beaten to death by it. This may be a long post, so if all you have to say is the usual rude posts I have seen in other VAC related threads, then please, don't post. I'm just seeking answers to questions. Note: This is not a "please unban him!" thread. It's more of a, should he waste his time trying to contact steam about it, thread. I've been reading countless threads of others getting VAC banned, and I'm pretty terrified of some of you. Anyways.. Friend of mine was VAC banned from Rust and has no idea why. He only has around 13 hours (I think) on the game. Before you guys jump to conclusions, he is a tinkerer of good, not a hacker of bad, so i assume something running in the background was the culprit. I don't know exactly how VAC works, I have seen the video everyone seems to post in almost every other VAC related thread. So here are a few questions.. 1. Can having some kind of program running in the background that doesn't touch Rust's files get him into getting banned? 2. I've read "dll's" and such have to be "injected" into the game to be considered a hack, as well as editing the actual files of Rust. If he didn't inject anything, or edition the files of Rust, was his ban an error? Is there a way to contact steam to prove he never edited his rust files or what not? We both aren't sure why he got banned, he didn't use any esp's, aimbots, or what not, and i'm pretty sure he's willing to send steam any files or information they need to prove (hopefully) his innocence. Is it worth him even trying to contact steam to get his ban appealed? We have read they don't unban under any circumstances, but have seen quiet a few bet lucky.. Thank you very much for those who read everything and reply!

1 - No (depending on Program) 2 - Injecting or editing Files (.dlls) that rust use will result in a VAC Ban Whats his Steam Profile?

Valve will unban in the event of a false positive or a mistake on their part. Given the prevalence of people who [B]have[/B] to hack, as well as the care Valve puts into VAC since almost all bans permanently deprive the player of something they paid for, the number is statistically tiny, but it is not 0 Here is Valve's own support article on VAC: [url]https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7849-Radz-6869[/url] Here is the companion article, I've Been Banned: [url]https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=4044-QDHJ-5691[/url] When the second article says Support won't lift your ban, that's a deterrent against rightfully-banned whiners begging for another chance, not a "no unbans ever even if we fucked up and admitted it in court". Anything that injects into running processes, including debuggers for normal, non-Rust programming, will risk a ban if the injection hits Rust, intended or not.

Thank you for the replies! So if he had a debugging program running while Rust was open, and was banned for that reason, will that ban stay permanent? I asked him if he did anything while playing, messing with console (he likes doing that in games), having other programs running in the background, and he said no. He refuses to contact steam about it no matter how much i push him. Should i keep on trying till he does, or do you think it's a waste of time? He has other Valve games he has played hours on and isn't VAC banned from those, just Rust.

If he refuses to contact Steam Support, then we're done. There's nothing to do. Valve is the one and only gatekeeper over VAC. Anything else is speculation.

[QUOTE=Nyarrior;43884797]Hello! This is my first post, and I hope i'm not beaten to death by it. This may be a long post, so if all you have to say is the usual rude posts I have seen in other VAC related threads, then please, don't post. I'm just seeking answers to questions. Note: This is not a "please unban him!" thread. It's more of a, should he waste his time trying to contact steam about it, thread. I've been reading countless threads of others getting VAC banned, and I'm pretty terrified of some of you. Anyways..[/QUOTE] Obvious "Sure...your FRIEND..." comments aside... No, he shouldn't waste his time contacting Steam. He got caught. He got banned. End of story. If he wants to play Rust he is going to have to create a new Steam account and donate another 20 bucks to Garry. A majority of hackers try to play under the radar. They cheat so they can "pwn" other players, reap approval from their peers, build up their epeen or just believe everyone else does it so they should too...so they don't usually announce to everyone that they downloaded their "skills." I've seen it time and time again, someone gets reported for cheating and they have this army of friends, fanbois, followers, etc. who immediately spring to their aid, totally vouching for them because they would never hack and they're totally legit and look...here's a video that even proves their legit! ...and then they get caught red-handed and the banhammer drops and people like me are like, "Shocker." and everyone else is like, "Gasp! ZOMG! LIES!!!!" and their world begins crumbling apart because surely a "pro", their "friend" or some efamous youtuber/streamer could never be a hacker and by then I'm too bored to even reach for the popcorn because I've already seen it a hundred times. [QUOTE=Nyarrior;43885093]Thank you for the replies! So if he had a debugging program running while Rust was open, and was banned for that reason, will that ban stay permanent? I asked him if he did anything while playing, messing with console (he likes doing that in games), having other programs running in the background, and he said no. He refuses to contact steam about it no matter how much i push him. Should i keep on trying till he does, or do you think it's a waste of time? He has other Valve games he has played hours on and isn't VAC banned from those, just Rust.[/QUOTE] That's not how VAC works. "Messing with console" will not get you banned. Bugs/glitches in the game will not get you banned. If someone got VAC banned, they were cheating.

Yes, I know Facepunch can't do a thing and only Steam can. I guess this is more about getting information to try and narrow it down as to what caused him to get VAC banned. Cause if it was a program he had running in the background, then it would be pointless to buy a 2nd copy to play on the same computer. Thanks for your time though!

[QUOTE=IGotWorms;43885143]-shit-[/QUOTE] You're not helping, Jim.

[QUOTE=IGotWorms;43885143]Obvious "Sure...your FRIEND..." comments aside... Long post[/QUOTE] I'm more than willing to give you my steam account so you can see i'm not the one VAC banned.. I'm not here crying "ohmuhguh why is he banned? He no hack!", I'm just here looking for answers to round it to why he was banned. He liked Rust very much and is willing to fling another $20 to Garry, but I'm not very tech savvy about this, so I'm here posting looking for answers for my own personal gain. He isn't a hacker as much as he's a tinkerer that looks for holes in the system to report them. I'm not saying saying he didn't hack, but at the same time i'm not saying he did. I don't know how many things he may have on his computer that may have triggered it, just trying to narrow it down, and see if i should push him into contacting steam :/ I'm only 1 person. Not an army, not a follower, not going to make a video or any of that which you stated, hell I'm not even crying here to get him unbanned! I'm just a close friend of his who bought Rust to play together with him, and now trying to research information on VACs and such.

[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;43885155]You're not helping, Jim.[/QUOTE] How is that not helping. I answered OP's question quite concisely upfront. "No, he shouldn't waste his time contacting Steam. He got caught. He got banned. End of story. If he wants to play Rust he is going to have to create a new Steam account and donate another 20 bucks to Garry." Unless, you know of a way to convince Steam that someone who got VAC banned was totally innocent because maybe they had a program running in the background, even though according to the OP his friend didn't have any background programs running and has no idea how he got VAC banned? So...if he actually contacted Steam and told them, "Hi, I got VAC banned and I have no idea why because I wasn't doing anything." ...we already know what the response is going to be. [B]"Your account has been banned by the Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) system for cheating. There are several important considerations for VAC-banned accounts: Steam Support cannot remove the ban on your account Regardless of who was using your account at the time it was banned, the use and security of your Steam account is your responsibility. The details of the ban will not be provided Steam Support will not disclose the cheats that were detected running on your system or the date and time the infraction took place. Any requests for this information will be ignored. VAC may not ban you immediately - the cheating violation may have occurred days or even weeks before the ban is apparent on your account."[/B] OP already said his friend doesn't want to contact support. If he changes his mind...that's the response he's going to get. If his friend wants to play Rust, he needs to create a new Steam account and purchase another copy of Rust. If he suspects there is some background program he is completely unaware of running on his computer, he should do a full virus scan if not backup his files and do a complete wipe. How much more helpful could I be? There is no other possible outcome.

you get vac banned for cheating unless valve announces that there was some fuckup, but that is really rare to begin with.

[quote] *[URL="https://support.steampowered.com/kb_cat.php?id=10"]Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) System info[/URL]* 1. [URL="https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8830-EOBN-8013"]Abusive Admins, New Cheats, and Cheat Websites[/URL] 2. [URL="https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=1010-TOKN-8461"]Reporting Suspected Cheaters[/URL] 3. [URL="https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=4044-QDHJ-5691"]I've Been Banned[/URL] 4. [URL="https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7849-RADZ-6869"]Valve Anti-Cheat System (VAC)[/URL][/quote]

Ethical hacking is still hacking. I'm about 99% sure I got Oculus Rift support setup for Rust however it's untested because I don't want to risk a VAC ban on my main account. Someday I'll set some money aside for another account to test my theory however until that day comes I fully understand the risk involved and what we do is a grey area. Your friend understands this as well. He played with fire in a non hostile way and got burned. It's the risk you take. Perhaps if he came up with something useful in the process someone in the community might be nice enough to provide him with a key. Never hurts to ask.

[QUOTE=Nyarrior;43885093]He refuses to contact steam about it no matter how much i push him. Should i keep on trying till he does, or do you think it's a waste of time?[/QUOTE] If this were my friend, this fact alone would make me wonder if my friend was being entirely truthful to me about whether or not he used any cheats. I'll let you place your own moral judgements on your friend, however.

Programs don't "unintentionally" fuck with other programs this is not how an OS works, there's a 99.9% chance your friend is full of shit.

there is no such thing as ethical hacking unless there is consent from both parties (IE, paying someone to find a hole in a secure network) you aren't gonna get vac banned for an oculus rift by the way. [editline]12th February 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Killuah;43885448]Programs don't "unintentionally" fuck with other programs this is not how an OS works, there's a 99.9% chance your friend is full of shit.[/QUOTE] pffft, looking at cat pictures that downloaded a toolbar to my pc is totally what got me vac banned :downs:

[QUOTE=MrScratch;43885424]Ethical hacking is still hacking. I'm about 99% sure I got Oculus Rift support setup for Rust however it's untested because I don't want to risk a VAC ban on my main account. Someday I'll set some money aside for another account to test my theory however until that day comes I fully understand the risk involved and what we do is a grey area. Your friend understands this as well. He played with fire in a non hostile way and got burned. It's the risk you take. Perhaps if he came up with something useful in the process someone in the community might be nice enough to provide him with a key. Never hurts to ask.[/QUOTE] I'm not sure if he found anything, if he even did anything, that would be useful to Facepunch. He did find a large money spawning exploit for XIV which he reported (and the Senior GM there was very appreciative) and he got caught in a blanket ban a month later cause he followed orders and put all the spawned money in his bank since he was told to. But anyways.. I've decided that when he gets home from work that i will MAKE him contact steam. Won't hurt to try if there is a very tiny chance of him being unbanned. Thank you very much to those of you who have posted! Phew.. I seriously though i would get chewed up more over a VAC thread..

what the hell is XIV and if he reported a bug why did he not get the ban lifted, especially after following instructions. This seems iffy

[QUOTE=Johnny Guitar;43885529]what the hell is XIV and if he reported a bug why did he not get the ban lifted, especially after following instructions. This seems iffy[/QUOTE] Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. it's a MMORPG that launched back in August. I'm currently still fighting for him to get unbanned. Square Enix doesn't care, even when posting screen shots that the GM was appreciative and everything, so meh.. Their customer support is poop to. I'm not going to tell you how to feel about what he did or didn't do and you have every right to feel that you think it's iffy and what not, but it won't change i'll keep looking for more information about this :)

Probably FFXIV, version one or two. And SquareEnix's GM decisions are a bit irrelevant in the context of a VAC ban.

[QUOTE=Nyarrior;43885559]Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. it's a MMORPG that launched back in August. I'm currently still fighting for him to get unbanned. Square Enix doesn't care, even when posting screen shots that the GM was appreciative and everything, so meh.. Their customer support is poop to. I'm not going to tell you how to feel about what he did or didn't do and you have every right to feel that you think it's iffy and what not, but it won't change i'll keep looking for more information about this :)[/QUOTE] why are you fighting your friends battles?

this whole "fighting for my friend" story sounds so lame

[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;43885565]Probably FFXIV, version one or two. And SquareEnix's GM decisions are a bit irrelevant in the context of a VAC ban.[/QUOTE] Sorry, won't happen again. [QUOTE=Johnny Guitar;43885575]why are you fighting your friends battles?[/QUOTE] Cause i care about him very much, wish to play more Rust with him, and it's also how i am. Can't help it D: [QUOTE=Killuah;43885578]this whole "fighting for my friend" story sounds so lame[/QUOTE] Well, this wasn't suppose to be a heartfelt story either..

[QUOTE=Johnny Guitar;43885575]why are you fighting your friends battles?[/QUOTE] Because he's an friend?

Sounds like your friend doesn't care about getting banned or asserting himself. He should try it sometime. But anyway. I think this thread can be left to die, though, there's nothing more to be said unless people want to troll and risk the consequences.

[QUOTE=Nyarrior;43885608]Sorry, won't happen again. Cause i care about him very much, wish to play more Rust with him, and it's also how i am. Can't help it D: Well, this wasn't suppose to be a heartfelt story either..[/QUOTE] your friend is the one that gets himself unbanned, not you. The only thing you can do is pressure him and if he doesn't want to get unbanned that is his decision.

[QUOTE=Johnny Guitar;43885619]your friend is the one that gets himself unbanned, not you. The only thing you can do is pressure him and if he doesn't want to get unbanned that is his decision.[/QUOTE] And i will. I will pressure him into contacting steam. I'm not the type to give up, even when i'm not the one banned. [QUOTE=elixwhitetail;43885614]Sounds like your friend doesn't care about getting banned or asserting himself. He should try it sometime. But anyway. I think this thread can be left to die, though, there's nothing more to be said unless people want to troll and risk the consequences.[/QUOTE] It's not that he doesn't care, cause he does, it's about reading the VAC support part where it says no bans will be lifted at all, so he doesn't want to try cause of it. And yes, agree. A Moderator can close the thread if needed. Thanks again!

VAC Support doesn't read this section and all the info you need about a vac ban is handed over to you by valve when you get vac banned

[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;43885155]You're not helping, Jim.[/QUOTE] My advice to Nyarrior was that his friend create a new steam account and purchase another copy of Rust if he still wants to play. I also said if he suspects there is some malicious program running in the background that he does a full virus scan, backup his files and wipe his computer. I am not aware of any other way to get around a VAC ban. I'm sorry if that advice was deemed unhelpful. [QUOTE=Nyarrior;43885254]I'm not here crying "ohmuhguh why is he banned? He no hack!", I'm just here looking for answers to round it to why he was banned.[/quote] Since, I couldn't give you helpful advice, I found some helpful advice that Elix has given other players here on the Rust forum concerning being VAC banned. [QUOTE=elixwhitetail;43883767]You were told that all cheating bans are permanent on the title screen. That was your warning. You ignored it and are now permanently banned for hacking.[/QUOTE] Elix also had this to say to another person who ventured that there might be flaws in VAC and Cheatpunch causing people to be banned. [QUOTE=elixwhitetail;43884424]You believe some random moron with every reason to lie about being caught hacking more than you believe the developers of the game you paid money for? I don't even need to reply.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Johnny Guitar;43885453]you aren't gonna get vac banned for an oculus rift by the way[/QUOTE]I'm talking about stereo rendering not some garbo tridef style overlay. Injecting into a exe is always dangerzone.