Re: Wireless information
 

i found the same as most WPA drivers for XP at the time were naff - they did get better and i no longer required 3rd party programs. Netgear do seem to release a lot of updates and often so a check of the website every few weeks pays off.

Re: Wireless information
 

I'm new to wireless stuff so forgive me if i get mixed up! but would this this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Linksys-WRT5...377126-1831011

and this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Linksys-WUSB...030906-8776421
be all i need to link 2 computers together? or do i need 2 off the USB adapters?
I'm on the 4 meg connection old comp running XP Pro pentium 3 800 256 ram.
New comp PENTIUM DUAL CORE 64BIT 5.6GHZ CPU, 2GB DDR, 200GB HD XP Pro. any advice would be great

Re: Wireless information
 

as long as one pc is hard wired to the router then yes :) 5.6 ghz cpu?????? you over clocked that or you typoed? ;)

---------- Post added at 17:02 ---------- Previous post was at 17:02 ----------

Re: Wireless information
 

thanks Zing 5.6GHz Dual core 2x2.8GHz. so would i need 2 of the usb adapters or just 1?

Re: Wireless information
 

You'll only have one connection per PC, despite it being dual cored so only one USB adapter is required.

Re: Wireless information
 

thank you Rob, just 1 for the old one then ( it'll keep the kids happy) cheers

---------- Post added at 19:47 ---------- Previous post was at 18:40 ----------

just me again Amazon don't have any of the USB adapters would this still be ok http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...253054-8934845
or does anyone have any other suggestions?

Re: Wireless information
 

Hi,

I'm a wifi novice and I have just got a new laptop with bluetooth and wireless. I want to connect to my nearest free hotspot safely.

How do I know if a hotspot is free and how do I connect given that they seem to ask for keys which I don't have.

I don't want to end up piggybacking illegally on someone's wireless internet connection.

How do I enable WPA security and prevent wifi hackers accessing my system please?

Any advice would be most welcome.

Re: Wireless information
 

There's some useful stuff to start on here:

http://kbserver.netgear.com/kb_web_files/n101191.asp
http://kbserver.netgear.com/kb_web_files/N101379.asp

Re: Wireless information
 

If a 'hotspot' is asking for an encryption key, it is secured and probably not free. If it is a public hotspot, contact the owner/admin to get the encryption key.
WPA encryption is set on the router (aka base station or hotspot) and every client connecting has to use it.
If you have your own wireless router then WPA should be enabled if it is available but how to enable it depends on the model of the router.
HTH

Re: Wireless information
 

Hi Aragorn,

Thanks for that. I'm not using a router as I have wireless and bluetooth built into my laptop.

When I activate the wireless connection I receive signals and get a list of available connections, some secured and some not. The secured ones do ask for an encryption key and tend to have a stronger signal. The others have a weaker signal appear to be other people in my neighbourhood using wireless.

I'm not sure at this point if WPA is activated on my laptop but I have installed
a program called Hotspot Shield ( by Anchorfree) which hopefully will offer some protection from hackers. I've heard of a WPA2 protocol but not sure if my machine has it.

I've also got hold of a number of wireless utilities e.g. wireshark which hopefully will let me know what traffic there is in my area, once I learn how to operate it.

It could well be that there isn't a free hotspot near me. I suspect the strongest signal may be from a hotspot in a local pub but I'm not sure about that.

Re: Wireless information
 

Ditto to lots of wireless info on wi-fiplanet.com :)