Secure your WiFi network

Posted on 18 Apr 2007 at 10:20

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Unlike the wireless networking tool in Windows XP, Vista can see and display wireless networks that don't broadcast their identifying names (their SSIDs). Windows Vista also allows you to set this kind of 'hidden' wireless network as your default wireless network, to which Windows connects automatically every time you boot your PC. Windows XP can't do this. If there is a named wireless network in the vicinity, it will always try to connect to that network first.

If the network to which you wish to connect is listed, click on it and enter the WPA security key. If it isn't listed, click on the 'Set up a connection or network' option. On the next screen, choose to set up a wireless, broadband or dial-up connection. Hereafter just follow the wizard, entering the SSID of the desired network along with the encryption key, then click Connect.

Right-clicking the wireless network icon in Windows Vista also reveals a broader range of options than those available in Windows XP. You can turn off the pop-up windows that tell you a new wireless network has been found (a source of irritation in Windows XP with Service Pack 2) and you can open the Network and Sharing Center, which is the Vista equivalent of Windows XP's My Network Places.

Author: Karl Wright

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