SWAF-ACF - Anti-Cheat Framework

[maddogx 13]

Mission makers listen up,

over the past few days, Matt Rochelle and I have been working on a script-based anti-cheat framework for Armed Assault. Just now we completed the first successful alpha test using a known ArmA hack made by a well known group of griefers. As I said, the test was successful. People using the cheat are stripped of all weapons and moved into the ocean.

This cheat protection is not limited to specific hacks - it will detect any cheat that changes config entries in Armed Assault by comparing them to the server's config. It will also detect and single out players that change their name during a match (I heard some griefers do this, so we implemented this just to be safe). Be advised though: this script obviously cannot detect sophisticated D3D hacks such as wallhacks - it is limited to config changes only.

SWAF-ACF can be included into any mission with ease. No additional scripting knowledge required. You can follow it's development in this thread.

At this point in time we need to test if the additional bandwidth caused by the script at the beginning of a mission has any negative impact on gameplay. Although the first tests were very promising, we haven't tested it on a server full of people yet.

For this reason, we would like 20 people to participate in a small closed beta on one of our servers. The anti-cheat script will be incorporated into a fairly large coop mission, so we can test it under real life conditions. Since the actual functionality of the script has already been proven, there is no need for anyone to install any cheats for testing purposes - but feel free, if you want to see what happens if you do   .

The closed beta is scheduled for Saturday, 6pm GMT.Anyone who wishes to participate, please send an IM to Matt Rochelle. He will give you the server address and password.

Once the first version of SWAF-ACF is complete we will release it to the public, so that mission makers can include it in their MP missions. This should get rid of the vast majority of casual griefers. Future versions will include a voting framework and possibly some more advanced features - but that's still to be seen.

[mattxr 9]

Yeah it works people, we will be testing it on a big mission which atm is only avaible to swaf members so get your exclusive tryout of this wonderfull SWAF ACF and mission :P

[Gaffa09 0]

Well done mate

Now hopefully most of these cheating scum bags can be named and shamed now!!

[Jack-UK 0]

Excellent job you two

I would love to have attended the closed beta but unfortunately i am busy this saturday

But great job none-the-less and good luck with the beta. I will be laughing in the face of the cheaters from now on .

[jerryhopper 285]

nod3d hax - Well, its at least a start!

Matt, i like to be updated on this mate!

i like to hear more about this - maybe on the radio sometime?

keep up the good work mates!

[maddogx 13]

nod3d hax - Well, its at least a start!

Matt, i like to be updated on this mate!

i like to hear more about this - maybe on the radio sometime?

keep up the good work mates!

Hey Jerry!

Updates on SWAF-ACF will be posted frequently in the development thread, located in the scripting forum. We'll use this thread for the closed beta and general feedback.

An interview on Sahrani Radio?

I'm definitely up for it and I'm sure Matt is too.

[Hostilian 11]

Nice one..

Do the cheaters get kicked eventually?

Was just thinking they might hog a multiplayer slot?

#C

[maddogx 13]

Nice one..

Do the cheaters get kicked eventually?

Was just thinking they might hog a multiplayer slot?

#C

For more specific info on the system, take a look at this discussion.

Kicking players and the general cheating punishment possibilities are being discussed there.

[maddogx 13]

Here's a small update and some additional info on SWAF-ACF:

I've been hearing some worries about people using sound mods such as the FDF-sounds or other mods that change the weapon models for example. Rest assured that the ACF will only punish people who use modified config values that actually change the weapon's firing behaviour and/or damage values. It doesn't care about sounds or models.

SWAF ACF checks a variety of other things in the player's config, but only values that influence the balance of the game. Everything else is ignored.

[mattxr 9]

Yes when i tested it with MadDogX i was using FDF_Sounds

[Jack-UK 0]

Ah thats good to hear, that issue just came into my head lol. You've done well to work around it, nice

The player not getting kicked shouldnt be an issue IMO... if they're dropped in the water all they can do is swim at a realllyyyy slow pace, or get teleported back to the same spot in the ocean (not sure of what the punishment is i havent read the other thread ) They'll just quit themselves or get mega pissed off trying to get back to the game I think its more amusing to force them off into the ocean... instead of getting kicked then all they gotta do is join again and they'll keep reconnecting until you lock the server...

[maddogx 13]

Here's a quote from myself in the development thread:

Quote[/b] ]When a player is found to be cheating he will be immediately stripped of all weapons and moved into the ocean. He will then recieve a 15 second countdown, telling him to leave the server or his game will freeze up. During this time he can obviously do nothing other than disconnect.

If he does stay, his game actually WILL freeze - forcing him to end it via the task manager.

This is the closest I came to actually kicking a player and I think it is quite effective.

[-DirTyDeeDs--Ziggy- 0]

well, I think its a great start. thanks for your service to the community.  

This is a direct challenge to 'them', and 'they' are already planning to circumvent this.

in the meantime, they can **** off

[jerryhopper 285]

guys!

together with Nutty, i was looking for a way to record player-id's and names.

and guess what?! - its done!

a small application does the trick, finally we can uniquely indentify all players!!

..another step forward!

ill be posting more about that later

[4 IN 1 0]

maybe too early to ask, but what if the player using a client side config enhancement like ECP? will it still be detected as cheat?

[hardrock 1]

maybe too early to ask, but what if the player using a client side config enhancement like ECP? will it still be detected as cheat?

This question was actually answered, in the other topic I think.

The framework only checks the relevant weapon config values, such as force, ammo and damage. So as long as you run a mod that doesn't touch these values (but may change models etc.), you are fine.

[maddogx 13]

guys!

together with Nutty, i was looking for a way to record player-id's and names.

and guess what?! - its done!  

a small application does the trick, finally we can uniquely indentify all players!!

..another step forward!

ill be posting more about that later

Sounds great! Keep us posted.

As for SWAF-ACF - the beta was successful and we will be releasing the first version shortly, for mission designers to implement at will.

[ggxjimmy 0]

i want it, screw those lame ******, its going on every map on the GGX server, permanent ban if i even smell your wet uniform.

10er ses they've already got an anti anti cheat..they seriously need to get a life. seriously

[Nutty_101 0]

Yeah, i think in the end this will not work that well for us. Sucks because there are ways to change that script while the game is running. It needs to be something the server can check on it's own and compare to the servers mods.

Please don't take what I am saying as this is worthless, as the script will help out quite a bit for a while with the issues. They have also made quite a jump on getting us something to help with the cheater / griefer issues.

[Dwarden 1124]

it's start ... one piece to mosaic ...

[maddogx 13]

I've been making some very significant changes according to input and suggestions from the community - the main changes are that all of the important scripts are now only run on the server from an addon.

The client is basically left with only one script function: recieve and display messages.

This is not an issue, since the server doesn't care if a cheater sees his "you are being kicked" message.

Everything else (comparing, tk-check, punishment etc.) is either done by the server or via non-scripted remote code execution - that cannot be circumvented as far as I know. Another cool thing is that newer versions of the script are distributed via an addon that need only be installed on the server. That way, the behaviour of the anti-cheat-script can be modified at any time without changing the mission.

I assure you, this is as secure and efficient as it can get with SQF scripts. SWAF-ACF won't be released until I'm convinced that it is secure and cannot be beaten too easily. I'm sure some sad little 1337 h4cker will feel threatened/challenged by this and will not rest until he finds a way to avoid detection, but that's another discussion for another day yet to come.

Bare with me. We will be cheat free - at least for a while.

[Nutty_101 0]

Yup, grin. Your doing us all a huge favor. Trust me on that one. Keep it up, i hope one day something will pop up that resolves the issues to a degree.

[maddogx 13]

Yup, grin. Your doing us all a huge favor. Trust me on that one. Keep it up, i hope one day something will pop up that resolves the issues to a degree.

Thanks for your support. As a matter of fact all "issues" are now fixed.

After some small beta tests earlier, I can confirm that everything works as planned. SWAF-ACF now has the following features:

Quote[/b] ]

- ALL important code is run from the server. There is NO dependency on client side scripts that could be manipulated by a cheater. This is the most important fix and should keep the cheat coders occupied a while longer.

- The only client side scripts are for locally displaying messages (like "Player X was kicked!"). Even if a hacker modified these, it would get him nowhere.

- All commands, such as config checks, kicks etc. are executed from the server as non-scripted remote code executions. The client computers cannot avoid this.

- Serverside scripts are stored in an addon that can be easily replaced and is only required by the server. This means, once SWAF-ACF has been incorporated into your mission, the mission PBO does not need to be modified once a new version of SWAF-ACF is released. You just need to update the addon on the server. Players DO NOT NEED the addon. It is for server-side scripts only.

As you can see, the entire anti-cheat framework is now easily implemented into any mission and easily updated once a new version is released - just get the new SWAFACF.pbo addon, put it in the server's addons folder and voila! Improved cheat detection. And the best part is, players who play on your server will never need to download any addons. They will not even need to redownload the mission when you update SWAF-ACF, because all changes are made in the addon. Also, the addon is very small: the current version (2.03b) is under 10kb in size.

I'm still working on the details, but once I release it, I do not expect it to be more than 25kb. I think that's ok for supplying with any mission.

I also plan to create a small website, where the latest version of the SWAF-ACF server addon can be downloaded. Once cheaters start finding ways to circumvent it, and I'm sure some will, I will be releasing updates there.

Expect to see the first release version here tomorrow.

[jerryhopper 285]

any updates?

[maddogx 13]

any updates?

Going a bit slow over the past few days, since I've been playing around with beta 1.07 .

I'll be getting back on the ACF as soon as my hangover dies down... last night was baaad...