What is VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat)?

VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) is the anti-cheat Valve builds into its own games on Steam, such as Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2. It runs in user mode, with no kernel driver, and checks for known cheat software while you play. A VAC ban is permanent, sits on the Steam account rather than the PC, and shows on the account's public profile.

By Tomasz Lipowski for GCS Cheats, under our editorial policy. Last updated: 6 November 2026.

In plain English This page explains what "VAC" means when people talk about game cheats, in simple words, and where on this site to read more. No cheat is ever 100% safe, so always check a product's status before you buy.

How VAC works

VAC runs beside the game in user mode and scans for known cheat signatures while you play. Unlike Easy Anti-Cheat or BattlEye it loads no kernel driver, so it sees far less of the PC than they do.

In Counter-Strike 2, Valve adds two layers on top. VACnet can cancel a match outright, and VAC Live, Valve’s live ban, ends the match at the end of the round when it catches a cheater, so the match does not affect anyone’s Skill Group. Most of the risk in CS2 has moved from the client to the server.

What a VAC ban means

A VAC ban is permanent and cannot be appealed; Valve has only lifted bans in rare, confirmed false positives. It is tied to the Steam account, not the hardware, so a new account on the same PC can still play. The ban shows on the account's public profile, which is what a VAC ban checker reads.

It covers the game the cheat was detected in and, for some older Valve games, a fixed group of related Source or GoldSrc games as well. Steam shows which games your own ban covers under Settings, Account, VAC Status.

Games that use VAC

VAC protects 5 of the 58 games we track. It runs in user mode, with no kernel driver; one of them also runs a kernel-level anti-cheat beside it. What a ban covers is set by each game, so it is listed per game. Where we sell builds for a game, its name links to our guide or shop page.

Counter-Strike 2 - user-mode, VAC bans on the account (runs VAC + VACnet)
Dota 2 - user-mode, VAC bans on the account
Team Fortress 2 - user-mode, VAC bans on the account
Left 4 Dead 2 - user-mode, VAC bans on the account
Unturned - user-mode VAC, with BattlEye (kernel-level) beside it; account bans, and hardware bans on community servers

Games that do not use VAC

Deadlock is Valve's own game but not a VAC game as far as Valve has said: the system it added in September 2024 is described in its changelog as an anti-cheat detection system and never as VAC.

Other Steam games pick their own anti-cheat. Unturned runs BattlEye beside VAC, and Squad replaced VAC with Easy Anti-Cheat in December 2015.

VAC FAQ

Is VAC kernel-level?

No. VAC runs in user mode and loads no kernel driver. In Counter-Strike 2 Valve has moved detection to the server, through VACnet and VAC Live, rather than deeper into the PC.

Does Deadlock use VAC?

Valve has not said so. Deadlock's anti-cheat, added in September 2024, is Valve's own system, and Valve's changelog never calls it VAC. Its bans are account bans.

Does a VAC ban carry over to other games?

Only within a fixed group. A VAC ban covers the game the cheat was detected in and, for some older Valve games, a set of related Source or GoldSrc games. Steam lists which games your own ban covers under Settings, Account, VAC Status.

Can a VAC ban be removed?

No. VAC bans are permanent and cannot be appealed. Valve has only reversed them in rare cases it confirmed were false positives.