PunkBuster

Nobody likes a cheater, especially in online multiplayer games. Although they can be tracked down by administrators, it can take some time until it happens. This is why PunkBuster was created several years ago. The application is designed to detect and combat cheating in online games. Although it prevents the user who installs it from cheating, on a local level, PunkBuster is mandatory in many popular games.

The costs of PunkBuster's services are supported by game developers and publishers. This means that gamers don't have to pay for PunkBuster. Although you don't have to go through an installation process, you have to rename the application's executable to "pbsetup" if you wish to run it. The aforementioned file is only 801 KB, so you can download it in no time. Also, PunkBuster is included in certain games and it will be added and updated automatically.

PunkBuster comes with a compact user interface, on which you have to add supported games, to enable the Anti-Cheat service for those games. All you have to do is select a game in a drop menu and specify the path to its installation folder, on a small window. The application supports various games which can be played in online multiplayer mode, including most Battlefield games, Medal of Honor, Assassin's Creed and others.

Once you add a game to PunkBuster's watchlist, you will never have to interact with the application while playing that game. It automatically scans for known game hacks and cheats, generates and sends status reports and performs many other actions, to ensure that you play by the rules. The application will never get in a gamer's way. Administrators are the only ones who need to integrate PunkBuster into their games and to configure it.

It may seem like something against the player who installs it, but, as previously suggested, certain games can't be played without PunkBuster, which means that everyone is forced to play fair. Although most games automatically disable cheats in multiplayer mode, there are other means to hack and exploit them. If someone attempts something like this, PunkBuster will remove them automatically and it will also inform other players of the culprit's wrongful doings.