Hacker Conference: Before

So, you are getting ready for your first Hacker conference, you have no idea what to expect. Here is what I did, and I’ll tell you how it worked out: What I should have brought and what I shouldn’t have, etc.

I should precursor this by saying, this may be my first trip to Defcon, but this is by no means my first hacker con. I have gone to and assisted with ShmooCon two years running. So here is my list of DO’s and DON’Ts for the con you go to:

DO:

1. Bring at least one extra pair of clothes. You never know when you can be pushed into a pool unexpectedly.

2. Bring a laptop. Most people will recommend against it, but if you properly prepare your laptop, you’ll be glad you have one if you need it.

3. PREPARE you laptop.
a. Wipe it
b. Reload it with your choice of OS
c. Choose the SLOW formatting/partitioning options
d. Pick a different user name than you usually use
e. PICK A DIFFERENT PASSWORD THAN YOU USUALLY USE

4. Bring an extra charger or power supply for every electronic you have (USB cables that charge as well, will do)

5. Check out the weather patterns for the area the con is held. Dress accordingly, but remember, hotels have AC and heat.

6. Offer the free space in your hotel room up on boards, you’ll not only meet new people and interesting people. But be wary of thieves.

7. Carry a light bag. If you check to huge bags of luggage, make sure you stuff a small one in the fold, a small back pack will suffice.

8. Leave extra room in your bags. Hacker conferences are to hackers, what Disney Land is to little kids.

9. Bring a disposable camera. Yes it’s crappy quality, but if you loose it, or it’s stolen, meh, no big deal. Loosing a Canon EOS1D because you turned around for a split second sucks, even more so if it is a company camera.

DO NOT: (For each of these I have reitterated the fact that you should not do them. Just in case anyone gets confused)

1. DO NOT run up to “Hacker celebrities” and start acting like they know you. They are not from Hollywood and might not react kindly. Kevin Mitnick is used to it, run up to him all day.

2. DO NOT connect to Wireless of any kind around this cat (Render Man):

3. DO NOT expect to see everything you want to see. It is impossible and there is no right or wrong answer to what you should be doing.

4. DO NOT bring anything back from the conference that could get you stuck in Vegas. Lockpicking kits are one example of such items. Know the laws of where you are traveling from and to. Trust me, it is very hard to explain to whoever is paying for your travel (even if it is just your pocket book) why you have to pay an extra $200 just to adjust your flight because you had a nice little chat with the authorities.

5. DO NOT connect to ANYTHING personal. This means instant messengers of all types, your blog, personal email, your bank account.

6. DO NOT CONNECT TO WORK EMAIL. OWA IS OFF LIMITS

and lastly, DO NOT miss out on the night life. If you’re a geek/hacker, these are your people. And, if you can’t make it to Defcon, here are some other conferences that you can look into:

Black Hat
Interz0ne
Outerz0ne
Notacon
PhreakNIC
ToorCon
ShmooCon
SummerCon
Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE)

One final DO: Do what you want, it’s your money, your time. You should have fun.

Frank's the editor in chief of tech.nocr.at. He can be found surfing the internet and playing with gadgets. Follow him on twitter @franklinhares