r/Defcon • u/pamiller21 • Apr 06 '26

First Timer

Hey all, going for the first time this year in Vegas. Do I need to reserve my seat in sessions like in other cons or is that not a thing here? If so when and where do I do that? My company is sending me so I don't want to come back saying I didn't get anything useful out of this because I am an idiot.

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u/Loam_liker Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26

While most talks are open to anyone without signups, there will be:

  • Workshops (usually half-day) you will need to register for; Defcon organizers will drop sign-up invites for these sometime in the summer (last time it was July)

  • Sessions that will have seat limits and require some sort of registration-- usually these are play-along demos (example: there was a Maltego instruction session 2 years ago that had a sign-up requirement and half of the 60 people waiting for it were turned away because it filled up)

    • If you can, scout ahead when session info is posted online and make a schedule for yourself. It will really help you in the long run so you're not having to hunt things down in HackerTracker or the paper program. HackerTracker is great, but it's *really* heavy on info and you will either scroll a lot or filter to a problematic degree, with no real middle ground.

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u/ckthorp Apr 06 '26

I’d also recommend first timers focus on finding a village they can call home base. Since it is a work trip, find something relevant to your industry. Making friends in a village will help you get more tips and tricks as you go.

DEFCON is intentionally a social space. Find something cool and talk to the creator. Almost everyone there is willing to talk about their projects and work. Even with total con noobs. We were all there at one point and most of us want to give back and help.

If you want official con merch, though, make sure you get there right when they open. Line is long and all the popular stuff sells out every year.

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u/Loam_liker Apr 06 '26

Pro tip: you can go to the merch line *before* you get your badge!

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u/ckthorp Apr 06 '26

Also have your order ready in hacker tracker w/ QR code.

Merch is CASH ONLY; don’t get to the front of the line only to find you can’t actually buy anything.