The following are tech talks that I find comedic, learned lessons from, introduced me to new tech, and/or all of the above!

Zoz - Pwned By The Owner: What Happens When You Steal a Hackers Computer (DEFCON 18)

This was the first DEFCON talk I watched and it’s an entertaining hacker tale! Although the technology discussed is ancient by modern standards, the security principles still ring true. Includes NFSW imagery, viewer discretion is advised.

Charles Stross - Dude, you broke the Future! (34C3)

An excellent talk by Science Fiction writer Charles Stross. Although this talk is from 2017, the topics brought up are still important in this tech landscape. Cameras that have a cryptographic signature might be coming sooner than you think.

Zoz - And That’s How I Lost My Other Eye…Explorations in Data Destruction (DEFCON 23)

Yet another entertaining watch from Zoz, on physical and chemical methods of making sure your browser history is gone for good. Don’t try this at home.

“Alex” - Finding Tony Abbott’s Passport Number and entering the Do Not Get Arrested Challenge (2020)

A fun watch from the one and only famed hacker “Alex” and why it’s important to not post everything you do to Instagram ;)

Hunter Scott - RT to Win: 50 lines of Python made me the luckiest guy on Twitter (DEFCON 24)

Although this talk is now horribly outdated because of the Twitter takeover, it’s inspirational of what’s possible with just a tiny Python script and some automation magic!

droogie - Go NULL Yourself (DEFCON 27)

A cautionary tale on the real life consequences of poor data validation.

Adam Savage - Failure (DEFCON 17)

A phenomenal talk on failure from former Mythbuster Adam Savage.

Luke Muscat - The Prototype that was Banned from Halfbrick (GDC 2013)

A confounding talk on the repercussions of what can happen when a game becomes too engaging, and how it takes a toll on players.

Send me an email if you think there is a tech talk that belongs here!