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DefCon las vegas


3w`Sparky

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I am looking to attend defcon in 2010, I have never been to anything quite like this and I live in the UK so it will be a fairly lenghty trip for me so i have lots of questions like do i need to pre book, what should i expect, do's and don't

any experiences would be very much welcomed?

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If you want to stay in the hotel book ahead of time, it almost always sells out.

Do's

1. Make friends

2. Drink

3. Learn cool stuff

4. Shower, Brush Teeth (for the good of other attendees)

5. Disable wifi / bluetooth on your smart phone

6. Go to Toxic BBQ (bring beer)

Don'ts

1. Connect to Defon wifi AP, unless you're prepared to defend yourself

2. Use the ATM's in the Riv

3. Attempt to bungee jump off roof

4. Be a douche

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thats some good advice haha, I am looking to book in a month or two for the hotel (undecided yet)

i was thinking of taking a crapper laptop to plug into the network there , thinking i might use deep freeze on it tho so for the most part any killing of my laptop will be recoverable by rebooting.

I guess I just don't know what to expect is this a oneday show or week long ?

should I commit more than one day to going to this show ?

anybody on here looking to go ?

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I'd say to to Shmoocon instead. It is a great con and the right size so you don't get swalloed up by the crowd. The talks are usually top rate and you can get into them without cueing. It is also loads cheaper to get to than Defon each time I've priced it up.

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I'd say to to Shmoocon instead. It is a great con and the right size so you don't get swalloed up by the crowd. The talks are usually top rate and you can get into them without cueing. It is also loads cheaper to get to than Defon each time I've priced it up.

It is harder to get tickets for shmoo though. I agree, it is a nicer con to attend. The guys that set up the defcon wifi were pretty bummed out about everybody telling everybody else not to use the wifi. They try to make the wifi as secure as humanly possible. I still used my phone as a modem though.... The lines sucked, I blame Adam Savage for that one though. The freaking line to see him went out past the pool!

Oh, and the #1 rule of Defcon. If a Goon says move, freaking MOVE!!!

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So Defcon also requires tickets ?

and why would no one use the wifi , i'm hoping to be hacked while i'm using it - counting on it infact !

thats what crapper laptops are for !

Yes, but you can buy them at the door. AFAIK there's no limit to the amount they will sell. Shmoocon has a limited number.

Here's the wrap up from the guy that runs the defcon network.

http://www.defconnetworking.org/

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Defcon is an amazing experience that will leave you dead tired at the end of the weekend.

* If you want to meet people, you will.

* The talks are good, but the great ones fill up quickly.

* There are a lot of parties at night, but most card at the door.

* Don't expect to be able to pay cash for your hotel room, the hotel will actually turn you away for this.

* Check the receipt when you check into your hotel, its possible that there could be a mix up and if you don't take care of it quickly enough you could be out of a room.

* In my experience, the wireless network isn't as hostile as everyone makes it out to be. Just (as a precaution) don't do anything sensitive in the clear on this network.

* Don't eat at the Riv! There are plenty of off-the-strip restaurants nearby that are loads cheaper. IIRC, there is a grocery store not too far away either, from which you can get food to make your own meals in your room for even cheaper.

* Do unto others... If you're nice to the goons, they'll be... not... terrible? to you :P Same goes for everyone else. I had a guy ask me once to jump in line ahead of me, b/c he was in a rush. I let him in and got my items paid for and an invite to a party out of it.

I feel like Defcon is growing faster than its infrastructure, which is making things burst at the seams so to speak. I hope they can expand, allowing for more people because Defcon is an experience I never want to give up.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I'm itching to go one of these years. I'm a relative n00b in the security area though, so lots of learning. I understand a lot of what I hear talked about, but a lot will give you some blank stares or a goofy expression. :D

+1. How much do tickets run?

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thanks for all the info guys this is really handy stuff, from what i have read it's a weekend'er event not just a day- are both days the same content or are they completely different content?

Some of the unofficial events start Thursday, then it's Friday, Sat and Sunday. Different stuff every day.

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Its $120 USD cash only, you can NOT pre-order. And you buy badges, not tickets. The badges are small circuits you can hack (that's one of the competitions there), although there is no limit to the number they let into the con, they do have a limited number of real badges (when they run out they give you paper badges instead).

Defcon 15 Badges

Defcon 16 Badges

Defcon 17 Badges

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Its $120 USD cash only, you can NOT pre-order. And you buy badges, not tickets. The badges are small circuits you can hack (that's one of the competitions there), although there is no limit to the number they let into the con, they do have a limited number of real badges (when they run out they give you paper badges instead).

Defcon 15 Badges

Defcon 16 Badges

Defcon 17 Badges

Yea, I had to wait until Friday to get my badge. They ran out of the real ones Thursday by 11am.

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