Thread: Wireless information
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Old 15-03-2007, 11:32   #25
ntluser
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Smile Re: Wireless information
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aragorn View Post
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
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.
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