Reading a report
The four verdicts, what the findings mean, and how to decide.
The four verdicts
| Verdict | What it means |
|---|---|
| Cheats found | At least one serious finding: a known cheat, a cheat loader's behaviour, a hacking tool Defender caught, or logs cleared to hide something. |
| Prepared for the check | Nothing was found because the PC was cleaned first. Ask why before you pass it. |
| Suspicious | Findings that need a look before you decide. Plenty of honest PCs land here. |
| Nothing found | No cheat, cheating tool or cover-up showed up. |
The verdict is a reading of the findings; your staff decide. Venom never bans anyone by itself, and the player is never told the verdict.
"Prepared for the check"
Some players clean their PC before a check: they flush Windows' record of visited websites, wipe the record of programs that ran, and empty their Downloads and Recycle Bin. A clean report from a PC like that is not the same as a clean PC.
Venom only reads a PC as prepared when there is a clear sign that something was wiped, such as a flushed website cache or deleted run records. A new PC, or one restarted just before the check, is not prepared on its own.
Findings
Each finding has a severity and the detail behind it:
| Severity | Examples |
|---|---|
| High | A known cheat ran or is on the PC; a cheat loader's pattern of throwaway programs; Defender caught a hacking tool; a program Defender flagged was downloaded again and again; Windows logs were cleared. |
| Medium | Defender switched off or told to ignore a folder; a cheating tool; driver protections off; an unsigned program from Downloads run today; a virtual machine. |
| Low | Programs deleted after running; a fresh restart; firewall or SmartScreen off. Useful context, rarely enough alone. |
Findings name the file, the folder and when it happened, so you can ask the player about each one.
Deciding
- Cheats found: open the high findings and check they make sense together. Most cases are clear-cut.
- Prepared: ask the player why their PC was cleaned. You can run a second check later.
- Suspicious: read the findings and ask about them. Many have an honest explanation, such as Defender turned off by another antivirus.
- Nothing found: mark the player clean.
Venom gets better as the network learns. If a report is read again later, the check page shows both what staff saw when they decided and how today's rules read it.
Reports are deleted after 90 days.