3 ms·

I am planning on trying to go for defcon next year what should I prepare for, in terms of room, restaurants, and other attractions?

jff 11y ago
A lot of the paranoia is just that--paranoia. Still, there are a lot of people messing around on the wifi and some playing with cell stations, so some caution is justified. If you're going on the company dime and thus have a rental car, the best thing to do is stay at a hotel somewhere else. I haven't gone since they changed venues, but I used to stay at a chain hotel on the other side of the Strip from the Rio. I'd use their hotel wifi but push all my communications over an ssh tunnel, which is what you should be doing anyway on ANY public wifi. When I got to the conference, I tended to just put my phone in airplane mode and leave it like that. I'd bring a spare laptop and boot Linux off a USB stick so I could take notes; I sometimes turned on wifi but never signed in to anything online, just looked up wikipedia articles and such. You're probably not at such a great risk because security is a lot better these days (SSL and whatnot), but you'll pay more attention to the talks if you don't have your usual set of distractions available. Go see the Strip, but after you've seen it once I've never felt much draw to go back. If you have a car, drive over and see Red Rock Canyon in the evening, it's just outside of town and very beautiful. Lots of good restaurants around, just pick what you're interested in. I had some pretty authentic and tasty Chinese food about a mile off the strip last time I went. It's a lot of fun, relax and enjoy!
- Labyrinth 11y ago
  Thank you for the information. While its with my own money it'll be a very educational experience.
  - jff 11y ago
    I still recommend a rental car if you can afford it; walking around in the August heat is awful. Go check out the strip after dark, when it's cool enough to walk a lot without getting heatstroke.
    - iNate2000 11y ago
      Also, the strip is much less impressive without the lights.
- rbritton 11y ago
  Valley of Fire is roughly the same amount of time away as Red Rock too. I found it much better from a photographic standpoint.
- lfowles 11y ago
  A geeky nearby attraction is the National Atomic Testing Museum. http://www.nationalatomictestingmuseum.org/ http://www.nationalatomictestingmuseum.org/
  - jff 11y ago
    How could I have forgotten this! Definitely go to the testing museum, it's about 1 block from the strip and is super cool.
- t0mas88 11y ago
  If you have a car, make sure to also take a look at Hoover dam. It's really an impressive sight.

jff 11y ago

A lot of the paranoia is just that--paranoia. Still, there are a lot of people messing around on the wifi and some playing with cell stations, so some caution is justified. If you're going on the company dime and thus have a rental car, the best thing to do is stay at a hotel somewhere else. I haven't gone since they changed venues, but I used to stay at a chain hotel on the other side of the Strip from the Rio. I'd use their hotel wifi but push all my communications over an ssh tunnel, which is what you should be doing anyway on ANY public wifi. When I got to the conference, I tended to just put my phone in airplane mode and leave it like that. I'd bring a spare laptop and boot Linux off a USB stick so I could take notes; I sometimes turned on wifi but never signed in to anything online, just looked up wikipedia articles and such. You're probably not at such a great risk because security is a lot better these days (SSL and whatnot), but you'll pay more attention to the talks if you don't have your usual set of distractions available. Go see the Strip, but after you've seen it once I've never felt much draw to go back. If you have a car, drive over and see Red Rock Canyon in the evening, it's just outside of town and very beautiful. Lots of good restaurants around, just pick what you're interested in. I had some pretty authentic and tasty Chinese food about a mile off the strip last time I went. It's a lot of fun, relax and enjoy!

Labyrinth 11y ago
Thank you for the information. While its with my own money it'll be a very educational experience.
- jff 11y ago
  I still recommend a rental car if you can afford it; walking around in the August heat is awful. Go check out the strip after dark, when it's cool enough to walk a lot without getting heatstroke.
  - iNate2000 11y ago
    Also, the strip is much less impressive without the lights.
rbritton 11y ago
Valley of Fire is roughly the same amount of time away as Red Rock too. I found it much better from a photographic standpoint.
lfowles 11y ago
A geeky nearby attraction is the National Atomic Testing Museum. http://www.nationalatomictestingmuseum.org/ http://www.nationalatomictestingmuseum.org/
- jff 11y ago
  How could I have forgotten this! Definitely go to the testing museum, it's about 1 block from the strip and is super cool.
t0mas88 11y ago
If you have a car, make sure to also take a look at Hoover dam. It's really an impressive sight.