-[.40 Cal ]- Games

How To Spot A Hacker 101

Pros vs. Hackers - Represent the two extremes of the Counter-Strike player spectrum. On one end we have the Pro, who each and every one of us should aspire to be like; On the other end we have the Hacker, who sinks to the lowest end of the Counter-Strike community as a cheater.

There is no easy way to say this, but the best way to spot a hacker is by getting good at Counter-Strike yourself. If you are good at Counter-Strike, then you naturally know what to look for, and more importantly, the skill of the player in question.

"Game recognizes game." - simple as that.

Counter-Strike is a very old game. That being said, there are many players who have become godly pro at the game; with their reaction times down to seemingly unhuman split-seconds!

Moving on, here are some things I look for to differentiate the Pros from the Hackers.

How to recognize a Counter-Strike Pro:

1. Steam ID (4-7 digits): I know it is unfair to discriminate the number of digits in someone's SteamID, but the truth is, many 4-7 digit SteamID players are very pro at Counter-Strike as they have been playing for awhile. They also know how valuable their SteamID's are, and generally will not hack. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule; but this is a good rule of thumb.
2. Crouch-running/Bunny-hopping: Players who crouch-runs/bunny-hops are usually very pro. They do it so much that it becomes 2nd nature to them. It is just a bad habit they have; so in this case, just ask them to please stop Crouch-running/Bunny-hopping on the -[.40 cal ]- Servers!
3. Far-range Shooting Pattern: 2-3 shot controlled bursts, while strafing left and right between shots. Most pros shoot like this far-ranged. (They might spray up-cloose which is ok.) If you do not see this 2-3 shot burst strafe-shooting pattern, and the player is just standing in one place getting kills from far-range quickly time-and-again, there is a good chance the player uses aim-bot.
4. Walking with their gun pointed at head-level: This should be self-explanatory. The mark of a seasoned veteran.
5. Playing with headphones, walking around the map: This is a minor point, but I have seen hackers running everywhere on the map. They have too much confidence in their hacks to walk.
6. Knowing all the angles/corners on maps: Pros know every angle on the map and would wait at key chokepoints with their guns pointed at head-level. Their knowledge of CS is very thorough.


How to recognize a Counter-Strike HACKER:

1. New Steam ID (8-9 digits): Again, I know it is unfair to discriminate SteamID's, but most hackers buy new Steam accounts to hack on that is not their main.
2. Walking with their gun pointed down at the ground: This is a sure sign of a new player. In addition, if they get a Kill-Death ratio that is too high, your gut instincts should tell you that something smells fishy...
3. Scanning enemies through walls (Wall-hack): If you see the player in question scanning enemies through walls in a peculiar way, they have wall-hacks. 4. Instant-Aiming/Spray (Aim-bot): Aimbots nowadays can either aim at the head or chest. Their crosshair will usually "jump" to the hitbox of the chest/head of the enemy. (Note: Hackers could tune their aim-bot to aim at the chest instead of the head in a sad attempt to cover-up their aimbot. Be weary of this.)
5. Playstyle inconsistency (Toggler): Some hackers attempt to cover up their hacks very well. They might take their 2-3 kills per round, and then toggle their hacks off. Hackers are weary not to be the last one left on their team, as everyone will be spectating them. They might even appear friendly on chat! but you shouldn't let this deceive you. Hacking ruins the game for everyone else besides the hacker! Report him.


In Summary: Pros have a more active, "sharper," playstyle than the "lazier" hackers.
You can see this when you spectate them - the Pros, who constantly check corners, walk around the map, repositioning after an engagement, etc.
Afraid to die.
vs. - the Hackers, who seem to know where everybody are on the map at all times.


I hope this guide helps, as this is what I have been taught to look for.



- ScorpioN

Awesome guide scorp! ^_^ keep up the good work. Although I have to say, my 8digit ID is looking suspicious now that you mention it O_o. I used to have a low 7 digit tho :O

F@N1 wrote:Awesome guide scorp! ^_^ keep up the good work. Although I have to say, my 8digit ID is looking suspicious now that you mention it O_o. I used to have a low 7 digit tho :O

Thanks fan1!
And lol don't worry, I got an 8-digit too

very nice post

sammy wrote:very nice post

thanks sammy!

Nice post Scorpion, just that there were a few things I disagreed a little with. I tend to scan walls sometimes if I can hear the footsteps because you can pinpoint where they are at times. Also Steam ID doesn't mean much especially since you can buy a 4 digit Steam ID from people.

As far as steam ID I would agree, anyone who would buy a 4 digit ID wouldn't waste it by hacking, and because of hacking people are often steam banned for a year making it necessary to buy a new steam ID i.e. 9 digits. I love the post Scorpion, but there are always exceptions to these points including players who are a mix of both and thus hide their toggling well and only use it to get advantage on few players they can't otherwise overcome. Even pros don't win or have the right instinct in every situation, that's why people like Dynamic who rarely take a loss irk me. Even if every day is your best day you can't always take on a whole team and come out on top.

awesome post!
I need as much education as I can get..I am the oldest newbie alive

-=cRiMiNiMiNaL=- wrote:Even pros don't win or have the right instinct in every situation, that's why people like Dynamic who rarely take a loss irk me.

Dynamic is legit, he was part of .40cal once.

-=cRiMiNiMiNaL=- wrote:Even if every day is your best day you can't always take on a whole team and come out on top.

I've been to my friend's house to play CS with him. We were playing on the .40cal WC3 server back in '08 and he was trying to teach me. I saw him play first-hand as he took on the entire enemy team over and over again, going 45-3 on aztec by the end of the map. Of course, he was once a CS tournament player

You can tell me over an over again how legit players are. I have witnessed iffy things myself before I got tagged up with 40 cal and since, have not been able to get a good demo, but time always prevails. As far as a random moment in time, I'm sure against certain lobbies where players don't play well you could get a score like that. There are pubs I have joined and deathmatch servers where I've held scores like that.
The one thing I can tell you through 8 years of playing this game is, hackers always fail in the end, they always get caught, and not once has my gut instinct ever failed me in sniffing them out. I may not be the best counter-strike player ever, but I have played with thousands of cevo, cal-im, cpl, esea players to know that even they are subject to bad days, or downfall due to strong teams, or unexpected tactics. I know what it's like to be beaten by talent as opposed to programming.