[Updated Announcement #2 - December 4, 1992]
dFx International Digest and cDc - Cult Of The Dead Cow proudly present :
The Third Annual
X M A S C O N
AKA
H 0 H 0 C O N
"G0T ANY K0DEZ?!!"
Who: All Hackers, Journalists, Security Personnel, Federal Agents,
Lawyers, Authors and Other Interested Parties.
Where: Allen Park Inn
2121 Allen Parkway
Houston, Texas 77019
U.S.A.
Tel: (800) 231-6310
Hou: (713) 521-9321
Fax: (713) 521-9321, Ext. 350
When: Friday December 18 through Sunday December 20, 1992
Fee: Five Dollars (Optional Donation)
Two Weeks And Counting!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's starting to creep up on us... HoHoCon '92 is right around the
corner and it looks like we're going to surpass our attendence
expectations in a BIG way. We figured we were going to lose a lot of
people when we had to change hotels, but such was not the case. All
the designated HoHoCon rooms at the Allen Park Inn were called for by
the third week of November. Luckily, the hotel opened up another wing
for us. That means it's not too late to reserve a room and make plans
to attend. Another big plus for everyone is that the airlines are
engaging in a price war again which will hopefully help some people
make it.
This update contains some of the new conference revelations as well as
general information from the last announcement. Believe it or not, we
are still in the process of getting everything finalized so we're not
able to give every exact detail of the conference as we don't know
them all yet. If you need additional information or a question
answered, just contact us and we'll try to help you out.
Which brings me to something. Unfortunately, our voice mail system
automatically deletes messages on a three day basis so we weren't able
to get back to some people who wanted us to call them. Before anyone
had a chance to write the phone numbers down, the messages were
erased. If you left a message asking us to call you and you haven't
heard from us yet, please call back again.
On with the new info...
Will HoHoCon Get Raided Like PumpCon & The 2600 Meeting?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've not only been asked this a million times, but I've recently seen
messages across Usenet and smaller bbs nets from people stating they
wouldn't be attending to HoHoCon because of the recent happenings on
the east coast. Those who say they're not coming because they know the
fEdZ, Secret Service, bUnk0 sKwaD, CIA, SPA, Twinkie Police, CERT and
Sha Na Na are planning to arrest everyone in attendence, are not only
stupid but also the ones who'll be missing out as the feds are not
coming to take anyone away. You can believe what you wish but the
following is taken from a conversation we had with a fairly high
ranking federal computer crime investigator (a.k.a the FeDs
themselves) -
"There's a big difference between your conference and what was going
on up North. First of all, the 2600 thing was handled by mall cops,
not the government and the PumpCon people attracted attention to
themselves by doing some really stupid stuff and not thinking. There
was no pre thought in that anyhow.. nobody drew up a game plan
beforehand to sweep the hotel. Plus, those were private little
meetings where the people really didn't have the means of fighting
back even if they thought the interruptions were unjust. Hopefully,
nobody within this organization is going to be stupid enough to break
in the doors of a very well known public meeting of 400 potential
witnesses, a nice percentage of whom are the two people feds hate most
-- Journalists and Lawyers. And we do know about the ones who are
going to be there waiting for us to show up, guns in hand. They'll be
waiting a while. You're talking about the weekend before Christmas, if
I'm not at the mall, my wife's gonna kick my ass. You can tell your
people to sleep easy, we're not coming."
Direct from the source.
Speakers
~~~~~~~~
The big question on people's minds seems to be "Who will be speaking
at the conference?" There are currently twelve speakers slated for
Saturday, and that number is undoubtedly sure to increase within the
next two weeks. We have a number of proposed speakers who are still in
the "trying to make it" stages. Definite speakers at this time include
Scott Chasin (Doc Holiday) and Chris Goggans (Erik Bloodaxe) of
LoD/Comsec, John Draper (Cap'n Crunch), Ray Kaplan, Byron (Louis
Cypher), Mike (Bootleg), Steve Ryan (Brian O'Blivion), and a host of
others including representatives from a fair share of today's computer
underground related publications.
Hardly anything is etched in stone, and some of the speakers are still
deciding exactly what they're going to talk about. Proposed topics at
this time include "The Federal Government Taught Me How to
Counterfeit", "The Computer Underground of the Former Soviet Union",
"The Implementation of a System and Network Security-Related Incident
Tracking and Vulnerability Reporting Database", and, of course,
"bLiNKeEZ!"
We are still entertaining offers from anyone who would like to speak.
Please contact us if you wish to do so.
Will Bruce Sterling Be There?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We've received a few dozen letters from people asking if Bruce would
be attending and speaking (and if he'd also sign their books). The
honest answer is nobody knows. I haven't heard a definite answer yet.
Bruce did speak last year and he does live in Austin, so there is a
decent chance he may attend. Although.. a few people think he may be
wary of coming due to the fact that he was hit in the head with a
flying 'partyball (tm)' last year. Karl says "Sorry about that Bruce."
Who Was That Guy On Dateline?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don't ask me why, but we've also received a large number of letters
from people asking this particular question. The social engineering
extrordinare was Scott Chasin and, yes, he will be attending and
speaking. A few of you asked us some other questions about Scott that
were very odd. As far as we know, he is from Earth and has never been
abducted by aliens. You may want to ask him yourself though.
A Conference Fee?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, but not exactly. There is no designated cost to attend, but we
are gladly accepting donations. We talked to a number of the people
coming and everyone seemed to agree that five dollars ($5) was a
reasonable figure to ask for. Of course, this is completely optional,
but there will be definite benefits to those who donate such as better
seats, better service, cheaper shirt prices, and... prepare
yourself... raffle tickets. That's right, a raffle! It'll be more fun
than bingo with Granny! Everyone who donates five dollars gets a
raffle ticket, and anyone who donates over that will get more. We'll
hold the raffle during the last part of Saturday's conference. Anyone
wishing to donate prizes (or really stupid items) for the raffle
should just let us know or bring it with you. Prizes at this time
include shirts, an autographed copy of Bruce Sterling's 'The Hacker
Crackdown', autographed copies of Steve Jackson's 'Hacker' and 'Gurp
Cyberpunk' games, an autographed Comsec brochure (woo!), Chris
Goggans' UofH parking sticker, SunOs 4.1.3 on CD, a year's
subscription to Mondo 2000, some screwdrivers, a photocopy of Omar and
E.T., and other assorted gOOdeez.
Anyone planning on selling shirts, buttons or other items should also
plan on giving up two of each item. One to myself and one to the
raffle.
Where Does The Money Go?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A reasonable and expected question. Some people don't realize how much
time, effort and $money$ it takes to put on a conference of this size.
It's no secret that hotels will sometimes increase conference room
costs in December because so many businesses hold their Christmas
parties in them. Given that, and the fact that we had to practically
call every hotel in town and haggle like hell to house the con after
HoJo's backed out, you can rest assured knowing we're dropping a nice
amount on the conference room. Anyone doubting this should feel free
to call some hotels in their area and inquire as to what their room
rental is for the same weekend. The going rate in town is about $300.
We've also spent a bit of money on calling not only the media and
speakers, but everyone else who requested we call to answer questions
or fax information to them. Other people wanted us to mail the
information to them. Mail needs stamps. Stamps cost money.
Then there is the fact that immediately after we released the first
announcement, our local Unix site (the only local free site) changed
over to a pay-per-minute scale. We're still receiving and sending
endless letters regarding the conference. We were finally able to set
up our own site last week, but the previous charges still remain.
The only possible way for all of us to be compensated for what we
spent in time organizing this whole thing would be to charge what some
other security conferences do... about fifty times what we're
suggesting.
Transcripts
~~~~~~~~~~~
Those not able to attend have inquired about obtaining transcripts of
the conference. Written transcripts would not only be huge, but next
to impossible to produce and audio transcripts would take up too many
tapes. So, we will be offering "HoHoCon '92 : The Movie" starting the
first week of January. The conference footage will be shot and edited
with professional equipment and will include not only what happened on
Saturday, but Friday and Sunday as well.
You can also get the official HoHoCon '92 T-shirt even if you can't
make it. The shirts are black and have the following on the back:
dFx & cDc Present:
HOHOCON '92
December 18-20
Allen Park Inn
Houston, Texas
There is a keen, elite message on the front that we're waiting to
unveil at the conference. The shirts will be available at the same
time the video is. Anyone needing additional information or wishing
to purchase either item should contact us (e-mail is best).
How You Can Help?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some folks, most from the Houston and Austin area have offered their
services and we've had a hard time thinking of exactly what we needed.
The following is a list of items we are currently in need of :
A *large* TV for use in the conference room, a tripod, blank Hi-8 and
VHS tapes, volunteers to help work the door on Saturday morning,
interesting items for the raffle, and countless other things I can't
recall.
We're also looking for someone in Houston who may wish to spend a day
with the infamous Cap'n Crunch (John Draper). John is arriving a day
early and needs a place to stay on Thursday night. I can guarantee
you'll hear many interesting stories about the very early days and
telecom and phreaking. You'll probably pick up a few swell exercising
tips too!
Starting Time
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday's conference will not start like last year where we opened
the doors and everyone sort of piled in. The door will be open at
approximately 10 a.m. at which point you can sign the conference
registrar, make a donation if you wish and enter the conference room.
The conference starts promptly at 11 a.m. (no renditions of SummerCon
please). Plan for this in advance as we won't be moving the starting
time like last year.
Ending Notes
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything after this paragraph is taken from the last announcement.
If anyone wants it in full just mail us and we'll send it to you. The
"Howard Johnson's Story" is attached with it in CuD 4.45. If, for some
reason, you can't get CuD and want to read about, we can send that to
you too. That should just about wrap everything up. You know what to
do if you need anything else. Hopefully, we'll see you at the con!
dFx of cDc
----------
What Exactly Is HoHoCon?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HoHoCon is something you have to experience to truly understand. It is
the largest annual gathering of those in, related to, or wishing to
know more about the computer underground (or those just looking for
another excuse to party). Attendees generally include some of the most
notable members of the "hacking/telecom" community, journalists,
authors, security professionals, lawyers, and a host of others. Last
year's speakers ranged from Bruce Sterling to Chris Goggans and Scot
Chasin of Comsec/LoD. The conference is also one of the very few that
is completely open to the public and we encourage anyone who is
interested to attend.
Hotel Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Allen Park Inn is located along Buffalo Bayou and is approximately
three minutes away from Downtown Houston. The HoHoCon group room rates
are $49.00 plus tax (15%) per night, your choice of either single or
double. As usual, when making reservations you will need to tell the
hotel you are with the HoHoCon Conference to receive the group rate.
Unlike our previously chosen joke of a hotel, the Allen Park Inn is
not situated next to an airport and this may cause a small
inconvenience for those of you who will be flying to the conference.
The hotel is centrally located so you can fly in to either
Intercontinental or Hobby airport but we are recommending Hobby as it
is 15 miles closer and much easier to get to from the hotel. Here's
where it may get a little confusing -
If you arrive at Hobby, you will need to take the Downtown Hyatt
Airport Shuttle to the Hyatt, which departs every 30 minutes and will
cost you $6.00. When you get to the Hyatt, get out of the shuttle with
your luggage (for those who may not of figured that out yet) and use
any of the nearby pay phones to call the Allen Park Inn (521-9321) and
tell them you need a ride. It's just like calling Mom when you need a
ride home from glee club! The hotel shuttle will be around shortly to
pick you up and take you to the aforementioned elite meeting place,
and that ride is free. If all this is too much for you, you can always
take a cab directly to the hotel which will run you about $20.
If you arrive at Intercontinental, you will need to board the Airport
Express bus and take it to the Downtown Hyatt ($9). Once there, just
follow the same instructions listed above.
Check-in is 3:00 p.m. and check-out is 12:00 noon. Earlier check-in is
available if there are unoccupied rooms ready. Free local calls are
provided, so bring dem 'puterz. I don't know if cable is free also, so
those who wish to rekindle the memories of yesteryear may want to
bring their screwdrivers. The hotel has both 24 hour room service, and
a 24 hour restaurant, The Nashville Room. Call it a wacky coincidence,
but the hotel bar is called the ATI room and like most of Houston's
similar establishments, closes at 2 a.m. Good thing Tony still works
at Spec's...
Directions
~~~~~~~~~~
For those of you who will be driving to the conference, the following
is a list of directions on how to get to the hotel from most of
Houston's major freeways that bring traffic in from out of town:
I-45 North or South: Exit Allen Parkway on the inside (left side) of
the freeway. Take the Studemont/Montrose exit off Allen Parkway, then
make a U-turn at the bridge and head back towards downtown. The hotel
will be on the right hand side.
290: Take 290 to 610 South, then take I-10 East towards downtown. Exit
Studemont. Right on Studemont, left on Allen Parkway. The hotel will
be on the right hand side.
I-10 West: Exit Studemont. Right on Studemont, left on Allen Parkway.
The hotel will be on the right hand side.
I-10 East: Take I-10 East to I-45 South and follow the same directions
from I-45 listed above.
US-59 North or South: Take US-59 to I-45 North and follow the same
directions from I-45 listed above.
Call the hotel if these aren't complete enough or if you need
additional information.
Conference Details
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HoHoCon will last 3 days, with the actual conference being held on
Saturday, December 19 in the Hermitage Room, starting at 11:00 a.m.
and continuing until 5 p.m. or earlier depending on the number of
speakers.
We are still in the planning stages at the moment, primarily due to
time lost in finding a new hotel and getting contracts signed. We have
a number of speakers confirmed (yes, Goggans will be speaking again)
and will try to finalize the list and include it in the next update.
We are definitely still looking for people to speak and welcome
diverse topics (except for "The wonders and joys of ANSI, and how it
changed my life"). If you're interested in rattling away, please
contact us as soon as possible and let us know who you are, who you
represent (if anyone), the topic you wish to speak on, a rough
estimate of how long you will need, and whether or not you will be
needing any audio-visual aids.
We would like to have people bring interesting items and videos again
this year. If you have anything you think people would enjoy having
the chance to see, please let us know ahead of time, and tell us if
you will need any help getting it to the conference. If all else
fails, just bring it to the con and give it to us when you arrive. We
will also include a list of items and videos that will be present in a
future update.
If anyone requires any additional information, needs to ask any
questions, wants to RSVP, or would like to be added to the mailing
list to receive the HoHoCon updates, you may mail us at:
dfx@nuchat.sccsi.com
drunkfux@kidporn.freeside.com
drunkfux@freeside.com
359@7354 (WWIV Net)
or via sluggo mail at:
Freeside Data Network
Attn: HoHoCon/dFx
11504 Hughes Road
Suite 124
Houston, Texas
77089
We also have a VMB which includes all the conference information and
is probably the fastest way to get updated reports. The number is:
713-866-4884
You may also download any of the conference announcements and related
materials by calling 713-492-2783 and using the user name "unix",
which is unpassworded. The files will be in the "/pub/h0h0" directory.
Type "biscuit" if you wish to gain an account on the system. You can
find us there too.
Conference information and updates will most likely also be found in
most computer underground related publications, including CuD,
Informatik, NIA, Mondo 2000, 2600, Phrack, World View, etc. We
completely encourage people to use, reprint, and distribute any
information in this file.
Stupid Ending Statement To Make Us Look Good
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HoHoCon '92 will be a priceless learning experience for professionals
and gives journalists a chance to gather information and ideas direct
from the source. It is also one of the very few times when all the
members of the computer underground can come together for a realistic
purpose. We urge people not to miss out on an event of this caliber,
which doesn't happen very often. If you've ever wanted to meet some of
the most famous people from the hacking community, this may be your
one and only chance. Don't wait to read about it in all the magazines
and then wish you had been there, make your plans to attend now! Be a
part of what we hope to be our largest and greatest conference ever.
Remember, to make your reservations, call (800) 231-6310 and tell them
you're with HoHoCon.