If haven’t been cheating and the error appears, you should consider checking out this article as it should help you get rid of the problem. The article contains methods other people found successful and we hope they will help you as well!
What Causes the “Disconnected by VAC: You Cannot Play on Secure Servers” Error on Windows?
This error message should appear only if you are using cheats while playing a game protected by VAC. However, this problem also affects users who are not cheating due to various causes. We have decided to list out these causes in a single article for you to check out!
Solution 1: Verify the Integrity of Game Files
If you have purchased and installed the game via Steam, you have access to a great option which enabled you to check the game’s installation for missing or corrupt files and the utility will enable you to re-download and replace these files which can indeed solve many problems regarding the game, including this “Disconnected by VAC” problem. Make sure you try this out!
Solution 2: Add the Steam Folder to Your Antivirus Exceptions List
Antivirus tools should not disturb the operations of normal, trustworthy programs such as Steam but they sometimes do that and that is a fact that has been going on for years now. This often occurs with free antivirus tools such as Avast or AVG but the problem can be resolved simply by adding Steam to the exceptions list, without needing to uninstall or change the antivirus you are using.
Solution 3: Update or Rollback Your Network Adapter Driver
The problem can often be caused by a driver issue, the network driver to be more specific. There are several scenarios which can occur regarding the network adapter driver. Some users have old, outdated drivers and the error appears with new games which require the latest drivers to be installed. In other scenarios, installing the latest driver causes the problem to appear. Either way, follow the instructions below for both methods!
Alternative: Rollback the Driver
For the users for which the problem started to appear after they have installed the latest drivers for their network adapter, there is a different method they can use. It involves rolling back the driver. This process will look for backup files of the driver which was installed before the most recent updates and that driver will be installed instead.
Solution 4: End the Powershell Process While Playing
Official Steam Support posted a message saying that certain occurrences of the “Disconnected by VAC: You cannot play on secure servers” error are caused by Powershell running alongside the game. Disabling Powershell for good is not recommended because of its functionality but you can end its process while playing the game by following the steps below!
Solution 5: Add an Exception for Steam Executables in Windows Firewall
The latest Steam update was reported to cause issues with Windows Defender Firewall. If you have Windows Defender running on your computer, you might want to add an exception for the Steam executable to make it run properly.
Solution 6: Activate Data Execution Prevention (DEP) on Your Computer.
If your motherboard is capable of using DEP, you should try enabling it as many users claim that this was able to resolve the problem almost instantly on their computer. DEP is a set of technologies that perform additional memory checks to prevent malicious software from running on your computer. Enabling it definitely won’t do any harm so make sure you follow the steps below!
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