Catching Cheaters with Their Own Computers

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Although he's optimistic about the power of the system, Schluessler doesn't expect it to prevent cheats altogether. "The fact that the system relies on hardware makes it more difficult for hackers to circumvent it," he says. "This does not mean it is crack-proof." What Schluessler does expect is that it would force cheaters to modify their hardware, rather than just writing software code. This increases the expense of cheating, and ties it to a physical change to a computer, rather than to a bit of code that can be easily distributed over the Internet.

Some players have expressed concern that anti-cheat systems invade their privacy by sending information about their computers over the Internet. Ray says that this is a necessary evil for any anti-cheat system. "Privacy and security are at odds in many aspects of life these days," he says. Players who want to be sure they're playing in a fair environment, he adds, must choose to trust that their privacy will be respected. Schluessler says that those who don't like the Intel system would always be free to turn it off and play on an unregulated server.

While there are no plans yet to make the system available to consumers, Schluessler says that this is his ultimate goal.