KGL Guide to VAC Ban FAQs

I think it is fair to say that all clans here wish to play in a fair and cheat free environment where they can trust the opposing teams and the players within to not employ underhand tactics such as hacks or interface enhancements to give them an unfair advantage.
Of course trust is a difficult concept in todays gaming scene due to the high volume of hackers out there at all levels of skill. There are measures to root out hackers from the game, XAC being our main method of choice, but VAC bans also serve their purpose in somewhat excluding those players (on a Steam Acc. basis) who hack on any VAC Secured server. It isn't perfect. There is nothing to stop players buying a new Steam ID and continuing on with their play, but it is our job, as league organisers, to try to root out these players and ensure that their VAC bans are rightfully held against them.

Personally, I hate hackers and believe that they deserve the ill treatment they get after their offence. They have nobody to blame other than themselves so no pity should be wasted on them.

KGL is not one person, one Admin or one clan. What morals are strongly held in KGL may not be held in other clans, thus we in KGL must live with the reality that various players and clans view the VAC ban issue differently. We the KGL Admin Team have taken this into account in the debate regarding our stance.


The KGL Vac Ban stance and notice of action.


- Any person who has had an account VAC banned prior to todays date 31st March 2009 will serve a 2 year ban from all KGL clan membership and KGL event participation from the date of the account being VAC banned. Evidence will be required by the Admin team to assertain the date the VAC ban was given in order for any person to be considered to have "served" their 2 year ban.

- Any person having an account VAC banned or having been proven to have hacked in any other league, event or server setting from todays date 31st March 2009, will be banned for a period of 4 years from all KGL clan membership and KGL event participation.


From todays date 31st March 2009, all KGL clans have 1 week to look at all their rosters and ensure that there are no persons playing on new accounts after having a previous account VAC banned inside the last 2 years. Any CL or DCL who wishes to have a player removed for this reason during this time will not be subject to any Admin action and will not have the removal made public. All reports should be made to Akirah, Karen or Blair Mayne only.
Failure to carry out your own "housekeeping" may result in Admin action being taken against the entire clan as well as the removal of any players who fall under the remit of this ruling.

The Admin team will start the process of clan/player scrutiny after the weeks in-clan "housecleaning" is complete.



What is Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC)

The Valve Anti-Cheat system is enabled for servers displaying the Secured shield logo. 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.

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
* Playing multi-player mods which do not modify core .EXE and .DLL files
* System hardware configurations
* Updated system drivers, such as video card drivers
* Using custom skins, sounds or maps

More reading on this question @ SteamPowered

When you get VAC banned, not all your games in your Steam Account get banned, you only get banned from a game engine.

Example :

* If you cheated in CS 1.6, you'll be banned from the HL1 engine (CS 1.6, CZ, HL, DoD, TFC, etc)
* If you cheated in CSS, you'll be banned from the HL2 engine (CSS, DoD:S, TF2, etc)

Since VAC2 (2005), all VAC bans are permanent. Before, with VAC1, there used to be 5 year bans and 1 year bans. Some people have been unbanned recently because they had 5 year VAC1 bans, and we got them in our database because their VAC status was checked by our site before their unban. Those who have been recently unbanned can be found in the VAC unbanned list.

More reading on this @ Vacbanned.com




What if my Steam Account gets hacked/stolen?

The Steam position In the event that a hijacked Steam account is banned by the Valve Anti-Cheat System, Steam Support can not remove the ban.

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.

More reading on this question @ SteamPowered

The KGL position The security of your Steam Account is your responsibility. As "Oh, it wasn't me who hacked in CSS, my account was stolen." is a very convienient and hard to prove/disprove excuse, we do not accept this as a legitimate reason to suspend the application of our VAC Ban Policy in any case.


I was VAC Banned in CS 1.6 but my account is not banned on CS:S. How does this affect me in KGL?

If you have a VAC Ban of any description which is over 2 years old (only applies to bans prior to 31st March 2009), regardless of what game you were banned for, you will be able to play in KGL. You will, however, have to prove the date your ban was applied to satisfy the KGL Admin Team that you have "served" your 2 year penalty. Details of how this can be proven will be discussed with a user when such instances arise.


I transferred a Steam Account to a friend/relative/my pet goldfish and they have subsequently got it VAC Banned. Does my original ownership affect me in KGL?

The Steam position You may not reveal, share or otherwise allow others to use your password or Account. You agree that you are personally responsible for the use of your password and Account and for all of the communication and activity on Steam that results from use of your login name and password. You may not sell or charge others for the right to use your Account, or otherwise transfer your Account.

More reading on this question @ SteamPowered

The KGL position Where an account is found to be linked by ownership to a player it will be assumed by KGL that they were in ownership of said account when it was VAC Banned. Very compelling and clear evidence to the contrary would be required to convince us otherwise. Even in the event of said evidence being provided, KGL reserve the right to deal with the player as they see fit.


I have hundreds of XAC screenshots and that proves I don't hack!

No it doesn't. You may have 1 million XAC screenshots, but all this proves is that you didn't use any hack that XAC recognises whilst you had XAC running.


I hacked once for fun on that old account on a public server and got VAC Banned. I play competatively now and don't hack.

Whether it be in public servers, PCWs, BE Mixes or Official League/Event Host matches, if you hack and are caught, you will be banned from KGL. The 2 year ban is KGLs way of accepting players back in after they have hopefully learned their lesson. Call us unreasonable, but we feel 2 years is a suitable punishment for your "fun".