ESL Aequitas

ESL Aequitas
Basic data
developer	Tilmann Felgner
Current version	1.04
operating system	Windows
category	Anti-cheat tool
License	Freeware
German speaking	Yes
	www.esl.eu

Aequitas (from Latin Aequitas : equality) is the official anti-cheat tool of the Electronic Sports League (ESL) programmed by Tilmann "T-Man" Felgner . On October 11th 2010, Aequitas was replaced by the successor ESL Wire Anti-Cheat .

aims

According to the developers, the basic idea behind the program is to create conditions like those at a network party . For example, it should be possible to look at the monitor, identify the user precisely and check files relevant to the game.

functionality

Aequitas checks various things, such as starting and closing processes, and saves the results in a ZIP archive in which, among other things, a. Screenshots and possibly custom models of the course of the game are saved and the log file is transmitted directly to the ESL.

Game-related files

Each time the game is started, files relevant to the game (e.g. configuration files) are checked. The configuration files are saved in the ZIP archive created by Aequitas. Many of the other files included with the game are checked against the originals based on their checksum .

Screenshots

Aequitas creates screenshots at irregular intervals and saves them in a tamper-proof way so that they can later be viewed by anyone. Many of the common cheats used in league operations are visible on these screenshots, e.g. B. Wallhacks .

Cheat programs

Aequitas can recognize some well-known cheat programs. If a cheat is discovered, the ESL is notified without the user noticing anything. The ESL proceeds in a similar way to Valve with Valve Anti-Cheat : First, the data is only collected and compared. After a while the players will be banned. So you can never know whether the cheat program will be recognized or not.

Others

Aequitas scans the running, started and finished processes of the computer and saves them in the log file . In addition, certain data is collected about the user's PC (e.g. MAC address ).

commitment

Aequitas can theoretically be extended to any game due to the fact that it does not hook itself directly into the game, but rather takes on a monitoring function. At the moment, only those games are supported that run on Valve's Steam platform (e.g. Counter-Strike , CS: Source , HLDM etc.). The program is compulsory in all leagues of Steam-based ESL games. The Aequitas archive must be uploaded after each match, otherwise the players concerned will be penalized with penalty points and the match will be deleted.

criticism

A controversial discussion arose because of the data collection, which some players went too far. On the one hand, there was the argument that it was important to be able to identify users in order to maintain a league that was as professional as possible, especially since this is in every conventional league, such as B. in football, is normal. On the other hand, there were concerns about data protection law, since this data is encrypted and sent to the operator of the ESL, Turtle Entertainment . However, they commented on the allegations at an early stage and stated that the data is normally only stored for seven days and only a few employees have access to it. Nevertheless, the statements of the company cannot be checked by the players, so it is not possible for the users of Aequitas to check which data is ultimately collected and transmitted to the company. The classification of Aequitas as a Trojan by antivirus companies is correct in this respect.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ GamePorts.net: ESL Wire Anti-Cheat declares war on cheaters ( Memento from August 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive )

[1] GamePorts.net: ESL Wire Anti-Cheat declares war on cheaters ( Memento from August 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive )