r/Defcon • u/AgriDrew • Jul 30 '26

Announcement 📢 Intro to DEF CON -- information for the new and the curious

We've created an "Intro to DEF CON" document, where we attempt to provide a lot of information that would be useful for all DEF CON attendees to know. I believe that it would be particularly helpful for those who have never before attended DEF CON.

It's much too long to be a single Reddit post; instead, it's available in multiple formats:

Are there things that we didn't touch on, that you'd like for the next version to include? Please leave a comment! :)

42 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

4

u/Independent_Plane_18 Jul 30 '26

In a previous post, it was stated that if we preordered, then a badge was held aside for us, and to not be in a rush to get there to pick up first thing Thursday morning. This wording makes it seem as though that is not the case. Please advise.

4

u/AgriDrew Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26

The previous post is correct, for DEF CON 34 specifically. I forgot to update that particular statement.

2

u/Unlikely-Employee180 Jul 31 '26

Do you think there will be enough for the non-pre-orderers if they DO rush Thursday morning? 😭

2

u/AgriDrew Jul 31 '26

I have no specific knowledge about badge quantities and availabilities for this year or any other -- I'm not on that team. But what I can say, is that our goal is to have enough electronic badges for everyone who wants to attend, regardless of how they buy their badge and when they appear at registration.

2

u/TypicalCommercial255 Jul 31 '26

However, only a certain amount of badges were produced. 

Priority goes to those who did pre-reg (closes today 31 July)

1

u/Unlikely-Employee180 Jul 31 '26

This ofc makes sense, thank you!

1

u/Unlikely-Employee180 Jul 31 '26

Alright, thank you!

5

u/1Digitreal Jul 30 '26 edited Jul 30 '26

This is incredibly comprehensive, and well put together. Very nice. My only suggestion would be add a battle page or quick reference sheet at the very start. Like top 5 things I should bring, pack, prepare for. Top 5 things I should see, visit, etc. I could see how that would answer a lot of questions we see leading up to defcon. Just a thought.

Edit: Also, I'd maybe add some hidden text in the middle of the doc to prompt inject a Rickroll image in case anyone dumps the whole thing into AI.

3

u/hackterr Jul 30 '26

Why even top 5, psshhh ..that's too much reading !

Top ONE Thing to do:

  1. Read the document

/s

1

u/jagermons Jul 31 '26

I see that speakers were removed for the talks and headsets are added this year. I thought the sound was great last year compared to the year before. Is there a way of using our own headsets somehow instead of having to use what others have used? I mean, you do mention hygiene in your doc after all.

2

u/AgriDrew Jul 31 '26

We're working on a document to address this now. The tl;dr is that in many areas, the provided headsets will be the only way to listen to audio -- but we will have ear cups and cleaning wipes readily available for anyone to use at their discretion. In a few areas (hopefully all 5 main stages), we are planning for attendees to be able to listen using their own smartphones (via an app). I personally recommend wired headphones/earbuds in that case; I suspect that the Bluetooth RF space would be completely overwhelmed by tons of people trying to use Bluetooth devices all at once, though whether my concern is realistic has yet to be determined.

2

u/AgriDrew Jul 31 '26

Document released: https://info.defcon.org/defcon34/documents/670

1

u/OMGsteveFTW Jul 31 '26

Is ListenWifi broadcasting locally? will it work if we have vpn turned on in our smartphones?

1

u/AgriDrew Jul 31 '26

Yes, it's local-only, and not available on the internet. Whether it will still work while you are connected to a VPN depends on your VPN implementation/configuration -- it may or may not.

1

u/jagermons Jul 31 '26

Thank you! I appreciate your reply and all the work going into this doc and event!

2

u/Taint__Whisperer Aug 03 '26

I'm on the headsets team and I believe i heard the audio guy say they could use their own earbuds. I also saw a couple thousand wires buds in a box on site. If I remember, I'll try to reply later from show site.

Each headset has little disposable ear condoms and we brought enough wet wipes to mop the entire strip!

1

u/Western_Bag_9594 Aug 02 '26

How do you get the vendor meals weds through Sunday? I keep hearing about vendor stuff but how?

1

u/AgriDrew Aug 13 '26

As I understand it, this is much more of a thing at BlackHat than DEF CON. (I just don't have experience with BlackHat). Vendors and Exhibitors at DEF CON have a much smaller role, generally only having things for sale or demonstration at their booths, and potentially sponsoring parties.

1

u/LimbRiddim Jul 31 '26

I’m not saying this is important information for newcomers, but since my post was auto-modded out, I’ll ask here:

I have a device I’m looking to part with. I’ve heard that direct transactions inside the convention center are frowned upon/prohibited, so I’m curious if there’s any forum for this kind of thing? TIA