Guide Anti-Cheat - TPM, VBS and HWID Attestation Myths vs Reality

[byte_corvus]

Stumbled on this thread about the 2026 state of AC detections. It’s a decent read for anyone still stuck in the 2020 mindset of just flipping a few serials in the registry. The OP breaks down how modern ACs are moving toward full-system attestation rather than just checking a single hardware ID.

1. The Shift: The days of software-only spoofers seem to be dying out. If your TPM, Secure Boot, and VBS/HVCI aren't aligned, you’re basically flagging yourself.
2. Hardware/Firmware: ACs are now looking at the full "HWID matrix"—firmware, boot state, and OS consistency. If your serials don't match the hardware environment, you're toast.
3. The Myth vs Reality: There is a ton of marketing fluff from people selling permanent spoofers, but the consensus seems to be that most "permanent" claims are just outdated sales pitches.

Basically, if you aren't using a DMA setup with proper firmware and a KMBox, you're at high risk of a permanent HWID ban on the newer titles. The era of "registry edit and done" is officially dead.

Curious what the actual devs here think—is the "attestation wall" really as deep as they claim, or is it just the ACs getting better at flagging suspicious boot states?