LITTLEBLACKDOG.COM

Stray Dog Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 44

hey guys.. i have a wi-fi enabled laptop... how would i use Wi-fi???? what if i am in this cafe that has a wi-fi hotspot... how would i configure my laptop to use wi-fi thereby allowing me to surf the web,etc,etc,etc...

Thanks

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2003 12:25 am Post subject:

Whoa...huge question.

Basically, you need to set it up and let Windows manage your Wi-Fi. If you do that, you should be pretty much hassle-free.

1. Open up Control Panel
2. Go to Network Connections
3. Double-Click your Wi-Fi connection ("Wireless Connection")
4. Click the 'Properties' button
5. Click the 'Wireless Networks' tab at the top (between 'General' and 'Advanced')
6. Make sure 'Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings' is checked, and you should be good to go!

Then all you have to do is be near a wireless hotspot, your laptop should pick up the signal, attempt to log you on, and (if it can) get you on the Net. Simple as pie!

Enjoy Smile

Stray Dog Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 44

but in order to browse.. would windows automatically change the proxy settings,etc,etc ????

Thanks for ur prompt reply Smile

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2003 5:53 am Post subject:

you only have to worry about the proxy if where you connect to has a proxy server setup.. otherwise, if it connects you should be able to browse away.

Do you know who's wireless connection you're connecting to? Ask them if they have a proxy setup.

Stray Dog Joined: 12 Aug 2003 Posts: 44

oh .... hmmm! i know this is rather a lame question but here goes :

if im sitting in a Airport.... and it has a wireless hotspot and they charge for example 6 dollars per hour.... .. then how would it work???? i mean how would i be charged?????

also what about the security aspect?? is there any setting that i can do on my laptop which would ensure security in some way ???? or is it just up to the main server to make sure that they have a secured server???

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2003 6:24 pm Post subject:

In the case of a charge service, you're going to have to ask whoever's in charge of it to register you; you can't just sit down and start using the services. If you do try and do that, it'll generally redirect every webpage to another page telling you how to get that all set up; the part of my city near my school is covered by one such wireless service, so anytime I don't get a signal from the school (which pretty much never happens, of course), Windows defaults to this pay service, which pops up said page.

As for security, that depends on the wireless hotspot, not you. Wireless is typically less secure than a wired connection because people can sniff out packets...but at the same time, if you're running through an encrypted site, they're going to sniff encrypted junk. There are ways to increase security--this is typically done through only allowing a certain list of physical computers on the network or by using a password to get on the network--but these are all circumventable (the latter easier than the former). So just be careful and you'll be fine...personally, I'm not too worried about people finding out what webcomics I read Razz