Riot makes Vanguard run only when you play — on secured PCs
Riot will let Vanguard stop launching at boot and run on-demand while a game is active, though the option requires a system that meets certain security requirements.
Riot Games is changing its controversial Vanguard anti-cheat so it no longer automatically launches at system startup. An update rolling out today (and possibly already live) will make Vanguard “on demand,” so the driver runs only while you’re playing and shuts down when gameplay ends. Vanguard has drawn criticism since its 2020 launch because it runs in kernel mode and used to be active continuously in the background. Riot anti-cheat chief Phillip Koskinas announced, “Starting later today, the universally beloved anti-cheat product, Vanguard, will begin to support on-demand sessions from all sufficiently secured PC devices.” Riot says the on-demand option will be available only for systems whose hardware meets modern security requirements.
