To complete the circuit, cheaters have to add a KMBox, a hardware controller that emulates physical keyboard and mouse inputs, to bridge both systems. The commands generated on the second system travel through the KMBox to the primary PC as legitimate movements and actions, paving the way for aimbots and wallhacks.
Please explain the target demographic for this product. How does someone burn $6000 on cheat hardware and still have the self-esteem required to assemble it? pic.twitter.com/RzgEXXOgdD May 21, 2026
Logically, Riot Games won't disclose how it neutralized these DMA cheating setups. The prevailing theory is that the latest Vanguard update is now enforcing stricter IOMMU (Input-Output Memory Management Unit) checks. The IOMMU is a component inside a processor that's responsible for managing and regulating how peripheral devices access system memory. Rumors suggest that Vanguard now blocks DMA firmware that attempts to communicate over SATA or NVMe protocols, two popular firmwares used by cheat developers to masquerade the DMA card as a legitimate storage controller.
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Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom\u2019s Hardware. Although he loves everything that\u2019s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-23/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Zhiye Liu News Editor, RAM Reviewer & SSD Technician Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.
hotaru251 Kernel-level access is the highest possible privilege on a system, and some users fear potential vulnerabilities and misuse. and I really truly do wish MS would go through w/ the rumor of blocking access to kernel from 3rd parties 😐 cheaters get what they deserve nobody is arguing that but this type of "performance" is just the poster child of WHY kernel level access by a game is so dangerous. Reply
Elrabin hotaru251 said: and I really truly do wish MS would go through w/ the rumor of blocking access to kernel from 3rd parties 😐 cheaters get what they deserve nobody is arguing that but this type of "performance" is just the poster child of WHY kernel level access by a game is so dangerous. It's very simple. The DMA card attempted to access OS protected memory space for Valorant. IOMMU protections at the OS level disable the DMA card from initializing. This is standard VTD/IOMMU protections to prevent virtualization sandbox breakout or other malware type schenanigans. Valorant having kernel level anticheat has nothing to do with what occurred here. To play Valorant you need to have VTD enabled in BIOS as well as Secure Boot. Reply
vanadiel007 They will find a way around it, the cat and mouse game will continue. It begs the question if this cat and mouse game is worth it in the end. I think a better solution would be to figure out why cheating is occurring in the first place, and look there for solutions. I don't like the idea of software on my PC that has kernel access to spy on me. Who knows what else it can do, what it can be used for. The intentions are good, but it's still questionable if they should. Reply
hotaru251 vanadiel007 said: I think a better solution would be to figure out why cheating is occurring in the first place, and look there for solutions. i mean thats simple…people dont like being worse than others. cheating gives em that need for betterment…especially in competitive games. Reply
PEnns vanadiel007 said: I think a better solution would be to figure out why cheating is occurring in the first place, and look there for solutions. Maybe because cheating / winning makes them think they are worth something or gives them a life, otherwise they have none. Reply
chaos215bar2 vanadiel007 said: I think a better solution would be to figure out why cheating is occurring in the first place, and look there for solutions. I too would love for Riot Games to solve all of society's ills. Unfortunately, that might be a bit much to ask. Reply
jackt there will be a class action right ? Reply
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/software/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/software/valorant-dev-bans-players-who-spent-usd6-000-on-cheats-then-trolls-them-on-social-media-studio-tweets-congrats-to-the-owners-of-a-brand-new-usd6k-paperweight#main
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