Strange 'nmap' behavior after recent EA App / BF6 update — an interference?

29 January 2026 (UTC +09 hours)

Hi everyone — I’m running into a very unusual issue on my Windows PC that seems to have started after I launched the Battlefield 6 launcher/EA App, and I’m hoping to get input from others who might have seen something similar.

What’s happening

I use nmap on Windows for legitimate network scanning/testing, and recently I noticed very odd behavior:

I uninstalled and reinstalled nmap completely.

When I run simple nmap commands in Command Prompt, they work as expected.

However, all more complex scan options that use advanced timing, tuning, and raw packet operations fail with the usual nmap banner and then stop working — but the same nmap installation works perfectly when launched through Zenmap (the GUI).

The error or behavior looks like the normal Windows nmap banner (“Platform: i686‑pc‑windows‑windows …”), but the scans just don’t proceed unless run through the Zenmap GUI.

This suggests to me that there might be a difference in how raw network traffic or advanced socket operations are being handled in the CLI versus the GUI environment.

Timeline

I believe this behavior began after a Battlefield 6 launcher / EA App update on January 28, 2026.

I haven’t found official BF6 patch notes for that date, but there are community reports of silent anti‑cheat or EA App updates around the same time.

Why I’m posting here

I’m wondering whether the EA App or EA Javelin Anti‑Cheat might be doing something at the system/network stack level that affects how tools like nmap behave — especially those that rely on raw packets or advanced scanning features.

I know that EA’s Javelin Anti‑Cheat runs at kernel level and requires Secure Boot/TPM for deeper OS integration, and that it can interfere with or block certain software it deems suspicious — for example, VPNs and other networking software are sometimes flagged or prevented from running alongside games that use Javelin.

What I’d like to know

If anyone from EA or in the community can help clarify:

Does the Battlefield 6 launcher / EA App install or update any networking‑related drivers, services, or filters that could affect raw socket operations in Windows?

If so, what are the names and locations of those components (e.g., service or driver names, install paths)?

Is there any known interaction between Javelin Anti‑Cheat and packet‑level networking tools like nmap that might explain the difference between Command Prompt and Zenmap behavior?

Thanks in advance — happy to provide additional logs or specific command outputs if that would help.