❘ Published: 2022-12-30T18:21:47
❘ Updated: 2022-12-30T18:22:03
GTA Online players on PC have been plagued by new crash and kick exploits following the recent release of a weekly update.
Rockstar Games typically deploys weekly updates to Grand Theft Auto Online every Thursday. The latest such releases allow users to ring in the new year with the Western Powersurge motorcycle.
The latest 2022 update will also give GTA Online players access to free gifts, most notably a bundle containing three pairs of New Year’s glasses, a firework launcher, a Yellow Holly beer hat, and much more.
Unfortunately, the update also introduced exploits to PC that could cause quite a bit of trouble for unwitting players.
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Crash and kick exploits affect the PC version of GTA Online
Industry insider and Twitter user Tez2 issued a PSA to all Grand Theft Auto Online PC players. Apparently there are “new remote ‘crash’ and ‘kick’ exploits in the wild”.
Cheats can crash another user’s GTA Online game in single player or lobbies, although they don’t have to actually show up in the same session as their targets.
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According to Tez2, the best course of action for those who want to avoid such problems is to use a firewall to block all unknown connections.
#GTAOnline PC warningThere are new external “crash” and “kick” exploits in the wild.You can get crashed in single player or any type of GTAO lobby. The cheater does not have to be in session.Using a firewall to block connections protects you from these exploits.
— Tez2 (@TezFunz2) December 30, 2022
The Twitter user later informed a player that relying on VPNs will not help in this regard. Firewalls seem like the best bet, with Tez2 specifically recommend GitLab’s Speyedr as a good choice.
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In subsequent comments, the insider added that the latest PC exploits in GTA Online deviate from the norm in that “there is no need for [the cheater and the target] be in the same session.”
How long this particular issue will continue to plague the experience is anyone’s guess.