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July 15th, 2009 17:00
WiFi Setup
Just bought a Inspiron 1545. Wanted a laptop to connect to the internet while on vacation in various hotels/motels around the country.
I understand that you do not need any special equipment to hook up at the various hotels that are set up for WIFI, other than the WiFi card already in the laptop. (If at home I need modem like I have for desktop and a router).
My question is how do I get setup to use it? I went to the Wireless Network Connection and saw where several services were showing with various signal strengths. I tried clicking the one with the strongest signal, but i got a message stating "Type the security key or pass phrase for 2 Wire 878. The person who setup the network can give you the key or pass phrase". This is where I am confused, since I'm newt o WiFi. WHO provides this info or is that person me, if I am able to setup the network? If so, then HOW do I set it up?
Any help from those of you smarter than me is appreciated.
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dallascowboyswo
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July 15th, 2009 17:00
What you are seeing is the SSID of a network. The SSID is the name of the network given by whomever set it up. If it is a secure network then whoever setup the network would provide the password to you. If it is unsecured then you are able to connect. Just to let you know it is illegal to jump on unsecured networks that may be in your neighborhood. You can jump on Wifi spots that are unsecured such as a coffee shop, library etc.. Some Wifi spots require you have a password that you would have to get from the establishment to logon. If you want to create your own wireless network at home then you would need a modem and a wireless router.
Tomoso
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July 16th, 2009 00:00
Thanks for the reply.
When you say "The SSID is the name of the network given by whomever set it up. If it is a secure network then whoever setup the network would provide the password to you".
This is part of my confusion. HOW do I go about getting the password to setup the connection if I don't know how to contact them for the info. There must be some simple way as I am sure there are thousands of network connections being setup every day . Sorry if I sound dumb, but it escapes me how to actually get the password that allows me to setup and use a WiFi connection.
Thanks
dallascowboyswo
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July 16th, 2009 00:00
More then likely any local SSID that was setup, was likely setup to be secure so that you can not login. If you want to use wifi in your own house you would have to buy your own wireless router and modem and setup your own SSID that would enable your to go wireless in your home. If you go to a hotel and they offer free wifi then you will have to log into the SSID the hotel gives you. If it is password protected then they would provide the password.
Tomoso
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July 16th, 2009 02:00
Thanks again. Now that I think about it, it makes sense now.