New to cheats, or unsure what a term on a product page means? This is a plain-English guide to the features, cheat types, play styles and anti-cheat systems we mention across the store. Search it, or jump straight to a term below - every definition also links on to the games, guides and tools it applies to.
54 terms
6 topics
plain English, no jargon
In plain EnglishThis page explains the words we use about game cheats, in simple language. Type a word in the box to find it fast, or pick one of the common words below. Each entry says what the word means and where to read more.
Cheat Terms & Abbreviations
Cheat features
The individual things a cheat does in-game: aim help, vision through walls, recoil control and the rest.
Aimbotpronounced AYM-bot
Automatically aims your crosshair at opponents. Good cheats let you tune smoothness and field of view so it can still look natural.See alsoSmoothingFOVCS2 Cheats
Triggerbotpronounced TRIG-er-bot
Fires the instant your crosshair is over an enemy, removing reaction time from the shot.See alsoAimbotCS2 Cheats
Silent aimpronounced SY-luhnt aym
Lands shots on a target without visibly swinging your crosshair onto it, so gameplay looks cleaner than a normal aimbot.See alsoAimbotLegit
An overlay that shows enemies, loot and objectives through walls - boxes, health bars, names and distances.See alsoWallhackLoot ESPCS2 Cheats
Wallhackpronounced WAWL-hak
Lets you see players or items through solid surfaces. A form of ESP.See alsoESPChamsCS2 Cheats
Chamspronounced chamz
Recolours player models so they stand out clearly, often visible through walls.See alsoESPWallhack
Radar hackpronounced RAY-dar hak
Adds live enemy positions to a minimap or radar overlay, even when they are out of sight.See alsoESPCS2 Cheats
Loot ESPpronounced LOOT ee-ess-PEE
Highlights valuable or rare items through walls, usually colour-coded by rarity. Most useful in extraction and survival games.See alsoEscape from TarkovDayZ
No recoil / RCS (Recoil Control System)pronounced noh ree-KOYL / ar-see-ESS
Compensates for a weapon's recoil pattern automatically so your shots stay on target.See alsoRust CheatsCS2 Cheats
Predictionpronounced pruh-DIK-shuhn
Aimbot logic that leads moving targets and accounts for projectile travel time and bullet drop.See alsoAimbotEscape from Tarkov
Smoothingpronounced SMOO-thing
How gradually an aimbot moves onto a target. Higher smoothing looks human; lower values snap instantly and look obvious.See alsoAimbotLegit
Hitbox / Bonepronounced HIT-boks / bohn
The body region an aimbot targets, such as head, neck, chest or pelvis. Often called the target bone.See alsoAimbotBacktrack
Shows cosmetic skins, knives or gloves on your own client. Visual only - it does not give tradeable items.See alsoCS2 Cheats
Mod menupronounced MOD men-yoo
An in-game menu of options such as money, teleport, god mode and vehicle spawns. Common in GTA and FiveM.See alsoGTA V Mod MenusFiveM Cheats
Bhop / Bunnyhoppronounced BEE-hop / BUN-ee-hop
Automates jump timing so you move faster and less predictably.See alsoCS2 CheatsConfig
Streamproofpronounced STREEM-proof
A cheat overlay that does not show up in screen recordings or shared screens such as OBS or Discord, so it stays hidden on stream.See alsoExternalCS2 Cheats
FOV (Field of View)pronounced eff-oh-VEE
The angular area around your crosshair within which an aimbot will lock onto a target.See alsoFOV converterAimbot
Types of cheat
How a cheat is built and where it runs. This is the single biggest factor in how detectable it is.
Externalpronounced ek-STUR-nuhl
Runs as a separate program that reads game memory from outside the game process. Harder to detect by in-process scans.See alsoInternalDMACompare cheats
Internalpronounced in-TUR-nuhl
Injected into the game process for deeper access and more features, with a higher detection risk.See alsoExternalInjectorCompare cheats
DMA (Direct Memory Access)pronounced dee-em-AY
A physical PCIe card in a second device reads the game's memory, leaving no cheat software on the gaming PC. The hardest to detect, but it needs extra hardware.See alsoExternalValorant guideCompare cheats
Kernel driverpronounced KUR-nuhl DRY-ver
A cheat that loads at the kernel level (ring 0) to sit beneath usermode anti-cheat checks. Needed against kernel anti-cheats such as Vanguard.See alsoValorant CheatsVanguardAnti-cheat guides
Usermodepronounced YOO-zer-mohd
Runs at ordinary application privilege. Easier to build but more exposed to kernel-level anti-cheats.See alsoKernel driverAnti-cheat database
Injectorpronounced in-JEK-ter
A small tool that loads an internal cheat into the running game process.See alsoInternalLoader
Loaderpronounced LOH-der
The app you run to authenticate your licence and then launch or inject the cheat.See alsoInjectorLifetime
HvH & anti-aim
The hacker-versus-hacker layer: techniques for beating other people's cheats, not ordinary players.
Anti-aimpronounced AN-tee-aym
Manipulates the angles your player model appears to face so enemy aimbots lock onto empty space. A core HvH technique.See alsoDesyncResolverCS2 Configs
Fakelag / Fake lagpronounced FAYK-lag
Withholds movement packets so your model jumps between positions, making you harder to hit.See alsoDesyncAnti-aim
Backtrackpronounced BAK-trak
Exploits the server's lag compensation to land shots on where an enemy was a few ticks ago.See alsoHitboxCS2 Configs
Spinbotpronounced SPIN-bot
Continuously spins your model. A blunt form of anti-aim that is obvious but effective in hacker-versus-hacker lobbies.See alsoAnti-aimRage
Resolverpronounced ree-ZOL-ver
The part of an HvH cheat that works out an enemy's true angle through their anti-aim, so your aimbot can hit a target that is faking where it faces. Resolver quality is the main thing separating one HvH cheat from another.See alsoCS2 ConfigsAnti-aim
Desyncpronounced dee-SINK
The gap between where your player model appears and where the server thinks you really are. Anti-aim exploits desync to make your hitbox hard to read.See alsoAnti-aimFakelag
Closet cheatingpronounced KLOZ-it CHEE-ting
Cheating subtly enough to pass as genuine skill, usually low-FOV aimbot and walls with no obvious giveaways.See alsoLegitSmoothing
Play styles
How aggressively you use a cheat. Pick this before you pick a product - it decides which features matter.
Legitpronounced luh-JIT
Conservative settings designed to look like genuine skill, suited to ranked and competitive play.See alsoRage / HvHSmoothingFind your cheat
Rage / HvH (Hacker vs Hacker)pronounced rayj / aych-vee-AYCH
Aggressive, obvious cheating used in lobbies where everyone is already cheating.See alsoLegitAnti-aimCS2 Configs
Configpronounced kuhn-FIG
A saved profile of settings. Many products ship separate legit and rage configs you can switch between.See alsoCS2 ConfigsLegit
Status & safety
The words we use about detection, bans and licences. Read this group before you buy anything.
Undetectedpronounced un-dee-TEK-tid
Not currently detected by the game's anti-cheat, based on our testing before each release.See alsoDetectionAnti-cheat guides
Updatingpronounced UP-day-ting
Temporarily offline while we update the cheat after a game or anti-cheat patch. Shown on a product when it applies.See alsoUndetectedDetection
Detectionpronounced dih-TEK-shuhn
When an anti-cheat recognises a cheat. Detected products are pulled offline until they are updated.See alsoBan waveAnti-cheat database
Ban wavepronounced BAN wayv
Anti-cheats often ban flagged accounts in scheduled batches rather than instantly, so a ban can arrive days after detection.See alsoDetectionCheck for bans
Overwatchpronounced OH-ver-woch
CS2's community review system, where trusted players review reported match demos and can confirm cheating.See alsoCS2 anti-cheat guideVACnet
VAC Livepronounced VAK lyv
CS2's server-side, real-time detection layer that runs alongside classic VAC and can ban mid-match.See alsoCS2 anti-cheat guideVAC
Cooldownpronounced KOOL-down
A temporary competitive ban, as opposed to a permanent ban on the whole account.See alsoBan waveCheck for bans
Lifetimepronounced LYF-tym
A licence that lasts as long as we keep selling that product, with no recurring fee.See alsoLoaderCompare cheats
HWID (Hardware ID)pronounced aych-dub-yoo-eye-DEE
Identifiers your PC's components expose (motherboard, disk and so on). Games use them to issue hardware bans.See alsoHWID SpoofersSpooferAnti-cheat guides
Spooferpronounced SPOO-fer
Changes or masks your HWID so a hardware-banned PC can play again.See alsoHWID SpoofersHWID
Anti-cheat systems
The software on the other side. Each one decides which kind of build survives in its game, and how a ban behaves.
Valve's server-side, machine-learning detection for CS2. It watches in-match behaviour such as crosshair placement, flick patterns and reaction times, and flags accounts that move like software rather than a human.See alsoCS2 anti-cheat guideOverwatch
Secure Boot / TPM 2.0pronounced sih-KYOOR boot / tee-pee-em too point oh
Windows boot-integrity features. Secure Boot only lets trusted code load at startup, and the TPM 2.0 chip stores hardware-backed keys. Kernel anti-cheats such as Vanguard require both, so a cheat driver cannot quietly load before the game.See alsoValorant guideVanguard
GCS