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NProtect GameGuard

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nProtect GameGuard
Developer(s)INCA Internet Co., Ltd.
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
Available inC++
TypeAnti-cheating software
LicenseProprietary
Websitegameguard.nprotect.com

nProtect GameGuard (sometimes called GG or RonnieCordova, with a driver dump_wmimmc.sys - launched via GameMon.des) is a game anti-cheating software developed by INCA Internet. It is bundled with many multiplayer online games such as Phantasy Star Universe, MapleStory, Gunbound, GunZ: The Duel, Sudden Attack, FlyFF, Ragnarok Online and 9dragons to block certain applications and common methods of cheating. Some editions of GameGuard are now bundled with Norton's "Tachyon" anti-spyware library, and others with nProtect KeyCrypt (advertised as anti-keylogger software). KeyCrypt is used to emulate keyboard hardware to block macro programs, but is currently not capable of blocking keyloggers.[1] It hides the game application process, monitors the entire memory range, terminates applications defined by the game vendor and INCA to be cheats, blocks certain calls to DirectX functions and Windows APIs and auto-updates itself to change as new threats surface. Even with these measures, GameGuard can still be compromised by using modified game client files, modified versions of Cheat Engine coupled with server emulation utilities. On some games such as MapleStory, the game itself does a hash check of the GameGuard revision currently running and will exit if it does not match the hash on the server side.

Because of its method of actuation (similar to a rootkit), it is criticized for being too invasive. The software installs a device driver and offers no way to uninstall it; even uninstalling the game will still leave some files hidden on the system. In recent versions (revision 1007 and up), GameGuard fails to halt when the game ends, so GameGuard continues to use resources and inject code into processes. This is usually not noticeable to the end-user, as GameGuard masks its intense CPU usage by hooking Windows system querying APIs. Most anti-virus vendors exclude nProtect GameGuard from their detection databases due it being commercial software.

GameGuard is sometimes cited by users of a specific game as unusable because of numerous errors when attempting to run a game, including the infamous "Error 114," which details that the device driver dump_wmimmc.sys has failed to load, thus not allowing GameMon.des to fully initialize.

GameGuard also conflicts with Windows Vista, causing the OS to be recognized by Microsoft as not genuine. This has been fixed with a patch, but many games have not applied this patch yet. It also conflicts with the current version of Comodo Firewall Pro, causing the computer to reboot unless Defence+ in Comodo is turned off. [2]

Known games running GameGuard

Known blocked applications

References

  1. ^ "nprotect_gameguard.htm" (htm). INCA Internet Co., Ltd. Retrieved 27 August. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Comodo Forum thread "Gameguard + Comodo = Computer reboot ", begun April 23, 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "partner.htm" (htm). INCA Internet Co., Ltd. Retrieved 27 August. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)


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