Riot Vanguard is Riot Games’ anti-cheat. It installs alongside Valorant and comes with its own driver in the Windows kernel, and without it you can’t launch Valorant or most other Riot games. This guide explains what Vanguard does, why it usually starts with Windows and asks for a restart, what the optional Vanguard Pre-Check is, what Vanguard needs from Windows, and how to turn it off for an evening or uninstall it completely. Based on Riot Support as of 20 October 2026.
What Riot Vanguard is
Vanguard is Riot’s in-house game security software built to stop cheating. It has two parts: a client that runs while you play, and a kernel mode driver. The kernel is the lowest layer of Windows, where the system and hardware drivers run, so Vanguard sees more than a regular app does.
According to Riot, Vanguard is reviewed internally and through external security audits by industry experts. Riot also says Vanguard complies with regional data privacy laws and that it worked with its legal and compliance teams to make sure of that.
Vanguard has an icon in the system tray at the bottom right (Riot calls it VGTray). It shows whether Vanguard is running, which Windows security features it monitors, whether your PC meets the requirements and whether you can use Pre-Check. When Vanguard blocks something, it tells you through a Windows notification. Riot’s example is a message about a file Vanguard stopped from loading.
Why it always runs and why it wants a restart
Riot requires Vanguard to be active while you play most of its games, including Valorant and League of Legends. By default it starts when Windows boots. That’s why turning Vanguard off means a restart before you can play Valorant again. The exception is Vanguard Pre-Check.
In Windows, Vanguard runs as the vgc service. If Vanguard isn’t running or didn’t start properly, Valorant throws error VAN 57, and Riot’s first step is to set vgc to start automatically. The full fix is in our guide to VAN error codes.
Vanguard Pre-Check: Vanguard only with the game
Pre-Check is an optional feature. With it, Vanguard doesn’t start with Windows but when you launch a Riot game, and it shuts itself down after you finish playing. No more restarts after turning Vanguard off. Riot only allows it on PCs that meet these requirements:
- Windows 11 version 25H2 or newer,
- Secure Boot,
- TPM 2.0,
- IOMMU,
- Virtualization-Based Security (VBS),
- Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity (HVCI).
The Vanguard tray icon tells you whether you qualify and what’s still missing. Details are in Riot’s article on Vanguard Pre-Check.
What Vanguard needs from Windows and which errors it shows
If Windows doesn’t meet the security requirements, Vanguard won’t start the game and shows a VAN error with a specific code. Overview based on Riot Support:
| Requirement | Error when it’s missing |
|---|---|
| TPM 2.0 enabled and working | VAN 9001 (Vanguard can’t see TPM), VAN 9090 (TPM failed to initialise) |
| Secure Boot | VAN 9003 |
| Exploit Protection (Control Flow Guard) | VAN 9002 |
| TPM 2.0 and UEFI for Virtualization-based Security, Memory Integrity | VAN 9005 |
| Up-to-date Windows (build 19045 or newer, or 26100 or newer, which is Windows 11 only), IOMMU and other features | VAN: RESTRICTION |
How to enable TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot in the BIOS is covered in our system requirements guide. Fixes for each code are in the VAN errors guide.
How to turn Vanguard off for an evening
Need Vanguard off for a while, say because of a program that doesn’t get along with it? Riot Support says:
- Close every game you launch through the Riot Client.
- Close the Riot Client. If its icon is still in the system tray, right-click it and choose Exit.
- Right-click the red Riot Vanguard icon in the system tray and select Exit Vanguard.
- Click Yes in the confirmation window.
From then on you can’t launch most Riot games. To play Valorant again, restart your PC (with Pre-Check, just launch the game).
How to uninstall Vanguard
Riot offers two ways: right-click the Vanguard tray icon → Advanced → Uninstall Vanguard, or use Add or Remove Programs in Windows and remove Riot Vanguard. You’re done when the tray icon is gone after a restart. The full step-by-step process for Valorant and Vanguard is in our uninstall guide.
If Vanguard refuses to uninstall, Riot gives a manual route through Command Prompt as administrator (sc delete vgc and sc delete vgk, a restart and deleting the folder). You’ll find the steps in the VAN errors guide and in Riot’s article. Getting Vanguard back is simple: launch the Riot Client or a game and it installs itself.
Why Riot does this: the ban numbers
In the 13.08 patch notes, Riot said it wants to share its penalty numbers more often. In Act 5’s detection period (18 August to 1 October 2026) it banned for 3 days or longer:
- 171,000+ cheaters,
- 54,000+ botters,
- 76,000+ players for rank manipulation,
- 74,000+ for toxicity,
- 288,000+ for repeated AFK,
- 14,000+ for streamsniping or instalock tools.
The figures come from the 13.08 patch notes. What else Act 6 brought is covered in our guide to the current act.
What about consoles
PS5 and Xbox have their own rules. Riot doesn’t support keyboard and mouse there, and trying to get around that means a ban. More in our console guide.
Join our Discord and ask how Vanguard behaves for players with a similar setup: GamersTogether Discord.
FAQ
Riot Games’ anti-cheat for Valorant, League of Legends and other Riot games. It has a client that runs while you play and a driver in the Windows kernel.
Because by default Vanguard starts when Windows boots, and Valorant won’t launch without it. The exception is Vanguard Pre-Check, which starts Vanguard together with the game.
Windows 11 version 25H2 or newer, Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, IOMMU, VBS and HVCI. The Vanguard tray icon shows whether you meet them.
Close your games and the Riot Client, right-click the red Vanguard tray icon, choose Exit Vanguard and confirm with Yes. Vanguard stays off until your next restart.
Launch the Riot Client or Valorant and Vanguard installs automatically.
Information verified on 20 October 2026. More guides are in our Valorant section.