Welcome to CARO 2010!

 

Dear Attendees of the CARO 2010 Technical Workshop in Helsinki, Finland: I'd like to welcome all of you to Helsinki next week!

 

The CARO Workshop runs Wednesday and Thursday. We have over 140 people from 25 countries participating, with participation from almost all antivirus vendors in the world.

 

We have collected some practical information for you.

 

THE WORKSHOP

On Wednesday the 26th, the workshop runs from 09:00 to 17:45

On Thursday the 27th, the workshop runs from to 09:15 to 17:15

For full program, see http://caro2010.org

 

THE HOTEL

The official hotel for the workshop is Scandic Grand Marina. http://www.scandichotels.com/grandmarina - most delegates are staying here. Grand Marina is in a good location by the seaside of Helsinki - walking distance from many of the attractions. For a Google Maps view of the Grand Marina location, go here: http://bit.ly/grandmarina

 

THE VENUE

Workshop venue is Wanha Satama ("the old port"). It is located a block away from the Grand Marina hotel.

 

GETTING TO GRAND MARINA FROM THE AIRPORT

There are two options to get from the Helsinki airport to downtown: taxi and bus. We recommend taking a taxi.

 

The taxi journey from the airport to Grand Marina takes half an hour and costs about 35 euros or so. The taxi stations are located right outside the arrival areas of the terminals. All taxi drivers speak English, and they will accept all the credit cards you've ever heard of.

 

Finnair City Bus runs from the airport to downtown every 20 minutes for 6 euros (schedule PDF at http://bit.ly/finnairbuspdf  ). However, the Finnair bus will leave you at the Helsinki railway station, which is still around 2 kilometers away from Grand Marina, which is by the seaside. Tram 4 could be used for the remainder of the trip - but it is probably easier to just take a taxi from the airport.

 

GETTING BACK TO THE AIRPORT

For those leaving right after the workshop on Thursday, we have organized a free bus transportation from Wanha Satama.

 

PRE-WORKSHOP DRINKS

In Finland, we like to drink. So we have pre-workshop drinks at Marina Congress Center restaurant (2nd floor) on Tuesday 19:00-20:30. This is in the building right opposite the Grand Marina hotel.

 

WORKSHOP DINNER

On Wednesday evening, we have organized a workshop dinner at the Suomenlinna fortress (see http://www.suomenlinna.fi/en/ ). We leave together from the Grand Marina hotel lobby at 18:30 to walk to a close-by pier. From there, a boat will take us to the Suomenlinna island and back afterwards. The boat ride will take about half an hour each way.

 

WORKSHOP DRESS CODE

None.

 

CHANGES IN THE WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

We have one change in the program: Mr. Anoirel Issa from Symantec had to cancel. His talk on Thursday has been replaced with McAfee's Igor Muttik. Igor's talk is titled "A Brief History of Time". For more details, refer to the program at http://caro2010.org

 

INTERNET ACCESS IN THE WORKSHOP

We have free internet available at the workshop venue. The Wi-Fi is open and won't need authentication to get online. We should also have power outlets to keep your laptops running through the workshop.

 

AMTSO

For your information: There is a meeting of AMTSO (Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization) in the Marina Congress Center running Monday and Tuesday - right before the CARO workshop. So quite a few of the CARO participants will be attending that before the workshop.

 

CASE EYJAFJALLAJOKULL

There's this nasty volcano in Iceland that's still erupting. We're hoping for no major disruptions in European air travel during the CARO week, but be sure to check with your airline for any changes in the situation.

 

THE LANGUAGE

Finnish is completely incomprehensible. Don't even try. However, pretty much all the Finns speak English and Swedish. And quite a few speak German, French or Russian. In general all the sign posts around town are in Finnish and Swedish.

 

TIMEZONE

UTC + 3. So that's two hours difference to London.

 

RESTAURANTS

Evening restaurants in Helsinki generally open at 18:00. Lunch time is between 11-14. For (expensive) gourmet offerings, aim for restaurant Chez Dominique, GW Sundmans or the offerings at Hotel Kämp. These are all walking distance from Grand Marina.

 

ELECTRICITY

Yes we have it. 220 volts, European-style 2-pin plugs. The plugs are the same as in Germany, Netherlands etc.

 

CURRENCY

Euro it is. Credit cards are accepted in restaurants, stores, kiosks and most other places.

 

TIPPING

No tipping - except for a dinner at a high-end restaurant. If you didn't pay 100 euros for your dinner, do not tip.

 

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN HELSINKI

Bus, tram & metro. Bus and tram ticket can be purchased from the driver when you enter at the front door. For metro, it's a bit more complicated.

 

CRUISIN'

There are daily cruise ferry connections from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and Stockholm (Sweden). Tallinn is close-by (80 kilometers) and the fastest boats take you there in 1.5 hours.

 

HOCKEY

Finns hate the Swedes. It's a hockey thing.

 

RAILS

Rail connections operate from Helsinki to lots of destinations, including up north to Lappland as well as direct access to St. Petersburg and further in Russia. If you're aiming for northern Finland (above arctic circle), you can also take a flight there from Helsinki airport.

 

WEATHER

We had a really, really nasty winter. However, for the last week, it's been nice and warm in Helsinki with up to 25C (77F) temperatures. So no snow any more. In general in May we get the occasional shower in Helsinki - but we believe it's going to be fairly nice and warm. For  a webcam view of the neighborhood of the workshop, go here: http://bit.ly/carocam

 

LENGTH OF DAY

Finland is 1200 kilometers long (720 miles) - one third of that is above the arctic circle. Northern parts of the county get midnight sun, but Helsinki doesn't. The longest days of the year are in the end of June. During workshop, the sun will rise around 4 in the morning and will go down around 22:30. So put your blinds down in the hotel unless you want to wake up reeaally early.

 

TWITTER

For the latest on CARO 2010, see http://twitter.com/caroworkshop

For your own Tweets related to the workshop, please use the official hashtag #CAROHELSINKI

To see what people are Tweeting about the workshop, go to http://search.twitter.com/search?q=carohelsinki

 

ANYTHING ELSE

Questions? Queries? We're here for you. Drop us an email at info@caro2010.org.

 

With my very best regards,

 

Mikko Hypponen

F-Secure Corporation

CARO 2010 Main Organizer