Wi-Fi Basics: Getting Connected

Once you try Wi-Fi, we guarantee you'll be hooked on the freedom and mobility !here
are more than "#$,$$$ worldwide %ublic hots%ots, and that doesn't e&en count home and
office Wi-Fi nets, which are e&en more numerous, or the burgeoning munici%al Wi-Fi
mo&ement, which seeks to co&er entire cities with Wi-Fi clouds Wi-Fi truly brings
broadband 'nternet access to the masses -- much of it free of charge (nd with this guide,
you'll learn how to get connected, find a nearby hots%ot, and work securely once you're
there
What )ou'll *eed
!he first thing you'll need to do is make sure you ha&e an a%%ro%riate la%to% and Wi-Fi
ada%ter (lmost e&ery new la%to% sold in recent years comes with Wi-Fi built-in,
Windows and +acs alike 'f you ha&e one of these machines, you can ski% on to the ne,t
section On Windows la%to%s, look for a Centrino logo on the case -a Wi-Fi chi%set from
'ntel., or a reference to Wi-Fi /$#""b or g in your la%to% s%ecifications )ou can also
check to see if you ha&e built-in Wi-Fi by o%ening the *etwork Connections Control
0anel, and looking for a 1Wireless *etwork Connection1 under the 2(* or 3igh-4%eed
'nternet heading !he Control 0anel will tell you the name of your ada%ter -such as 'ntel
05O6Wireless., and whether the ada%ter is %resently enabled or disabled 'f it's disabled,
double click on it to enable it
On +ac la%to%s, check for an (ir0ort heading on the *etwork 0references %anel, or the
(ir0ort icon -four rays. toward the right of the menu bar +ake sure (ir0ort is 1turned
on1 from this menu 'f you see (ir0ort in *etworks, but not in the menu bar, click
Configure in *etworks, and then check the bo, to show (ir0ort in the menu bar
'f you don't already ha&e a Wi-Fi card, or if the one you ha&e doesn't gi&e you ade7uate
range to connect at the hots%ots you %refer, check out our +obile Warrior's Guide, which
has the scoo% on the latest wireless la%to%s and ada%ter cards
+aking the Wi-Fi Connection
*ow that you'&e got a Wi-Fi-e7ui%%ed la%to% at the ready, it's time to &enture out to your
nearest hots%ot We recommend going to a %lace like 4tarbucks or +c8onald's for your
first try9 they are e&erywhere, and connecting is easy
When you get there, find a nice table near a %ower outlet if you need one, and as close to
the back as %ossible !hese ty%es of hots%ots usually ha&e their Wi-Fi access %oints
%ositioned at the rear of the store in an office or other em%loyee area, and the farther you
mo&e to the door -or out to the %atio., the weaker the signal *ow o%en your la%to% and
turn it on 'n Windows :0 -unless you are using a third-%arty ada%ter card, in which case
follow their directions., there will be a system tray icon that looks like a little com%uter
with three wa&es coming out of it 5ight click on this, and choose 1;iew (&ailable
Wireless *etworks1 !his will bring u% a list of Wi-Fi access %oints in the area, which
may be sur%risingly long< 2ook for the 44'8 -access %oint name. that corres%onds to the
hots%ot %ro&ider at that location For e,am%le, at 4tarbucks, !-+obile 3ots%ot is the
%ro&ider, and the 44'8 is 1tmobile1 (t +c8onald's, most, but not all, =4 Wi-Fi
locations are run by Way%ort, and ha&e the 44'8 1Way%ort>(ccess1 =sually, there will
be a sign on the door or window of a hots%ot with %ro&ider information that will hel% you
choose the right 44'8 (nother hint that you are choosing the right 44'8 will be that it is
listed as 1unsecured,1 as in the illustration below 0ublic hots%ots are generally
unsecured, so that no encry%tion key is needed to connect to them

(fter you'&e selected the hots%ot 44'8, click the Connect button, and the word
1Connected1 should a%%ear ne,t to the 44'8 in the abo&e window Close this window
)ou can check your connection at any time by double-clicking on the system tray icon,
which brings u% the Wireless *etwork Connection 4tatus bo, 3ere you'll see signal
strength, through%ut rate, the network 44'8 you are connected to, and so on On the +ac,
all this is much easier, ?ust select the 44'8 from the (ir0ort menu and that's all there is
too it

Congratulations< )ou'&e made a successful Wi-Fi connection to the hots%ot But there's
one more thing you need to do to seal the deal )ou need to o%en a new 'nternet browser
window, ideally using @,%lorer on Windows or 4afari on +ac since they are the most
widely com%atible -)ou can always switch to your %referred browser later. !his window
will then bring u% any login screen that might be needed to connect at the hots%ot For
%aid hots%ots, you'll need to enter your subscri%tion information or a credit card, but e&en
free hots%ots often ask you to click a button to agree to their usage terms Once you'&e
logged in, you are done< )ou can now surf, use email and '+ %rograms, chat on 4ky%e or
other ;o'0 ser&ices, watch streaming &ideo, and download to your heart's content

Troubleshooting Tips: What if you'&e o%ened a new browser window and still don't see
a login screenA !ry ty%ing a known web site address into your address bar, such as
wwwgooglecom, which will usually force the hots%ot's login screen to load -'f the
hots%ot network has a lot of users, you may ha&e to do this se&eral times before the login
screen will a%%ear. (lso it's a good idea before you set out to be sure your system is
u%dated with the latest 4er&ice 0acks and 4oftware =%dates -40# handles Wi-Fi much
better than 40". )ou may also need to sim%ly get closer to the access %oint -your signal
may be too weak to connect.
Finding and 4ecuring 3ots%ot Connections
*ow that you'&e seen how easy it is to connect at hots%ots, it's time to take the ne,t ste%,
and learn how to locate hots%ots when you tra&el, as well as kee% your connection secure
5ead on to find out how
Finding Wi-Fi 3ots%ots
+aking it easy to find and connect to Wi-Fi hots%ots all o&er the world is what BiWire is
all about, so naturally we ha&e lots of ad&ice for you on this to%ic< BiWire's massi&e
directory of more than "#$,$$$ distinct hots%ots in "#/ countries includes most Wi-Fi
%ro&ider networks, such as Boingo, !-+obile, Way%ort, i0ass and many more, as well as
inde%endent sites, air%orts and munici%al hots%ots @&en better, nearly "$,$$$ of those
hots%ots are com%letely free of charge -- ?ust check the 1free1 button in the search bo, to
limit your results
While the online directory always stands ready to ser&e you, when you are on the road
and need to find the nearest hots%ot, that %resents a chicken-and-egg dilemma -- you can't
get online to find a hots%ot, without B@'*G at a hots%ot 4o we'&e also created an offline
search solution, called Wi-Fi 3ots%ot Finder Wi-Fi 3ots%ot Finder for Windows installs
as %art of the BiWire 3ots%ot 3el%er utility suite -more on that on the ne,t %age., and
maintains a database of hots%ots in areas you s%ecify )ou can choose any combination of
locations to kee% track of: e&erything in a %articular city, a state, or an entire country )ou
can download the whole world, if you want !he database will e&en u%date itself
%eriodically, so you always ha&e an u%-to-date list of %ublic hots%ots
Wi-Fi 3ots%ot Finder %resently runs on Windows :0 and #$$$ ( +ac O4 : &ersion of
BiWire 3ots%ot 3el%er, including Wi-Fi 3ots%ot Finder, is %lanned for later this year We
also ha&e &ersions of the directory for handhelds and smart%hones, and a &ery cool
3ots%ot Finder for 4ky%e that includes interacti&e ma%%ing 4ee the downloads %age for
more information
=sing Wi-Fi 3ots%ot Finder
(fter installing BiWire 3ots%ot 3el%er you'll see shortcuts to Wi-Fi 3ots%ot Finder on
your deskto% and 0rogram menu, sim%ly select one of those to o%en the utility )ou'll then
be %resented with a search screen )ou can enter as much or as little information as you
like: an e,act address, a Ci% code, a city or a state, de%ending on what you are looking for
)ou can also narrow your search by radius, ser&ice %ro&ider -(!D!, Boingo, !-+obile,
etc. business name -such as 4tarbucks or +c8onald's., and whether the location is free
or %aid

(fter clicking 1Find 3ots%ots,1 you'll be %resented with the search results in a scrolling
window, nearest first )ou can see clearly which locations are free, and what %ro&iders
ser&ice each hots%ot, so you can make best use of any Wi-Fi subscri%tions 'f you ha%%en
to be online when using the Wi-Fi 3ots%ot Finder, you can also click 1+a% !his1 or
1+ore 'nfo1 buttons to go to the BiWirecom site and get com%lete details for any
hots%ots, such as 44'8s, a street ma%, and whether food is a&ailable

!o maintain your hots%ot directory and select which geogra%hic areas you want to ha&e
a&ailable for offline &iewing, click the 0references button at the bottom of the window
!his screen lets you set the u%date fre7uency, and choose any combination of country,
state6territory and6or city hots%ot data to download (fter making your selections, click
4a&e 0references and =%date *ow From then on, u%dates will be automatic, although
you can also add or delete locations and u%date manually at any time 8atabase u%dates
take %lace in the background, and you can kee% working and e&en search for hots%ots
while an u%date is in %rogress

!he Wi-Fi 3ots%ot Finder can also be launched by left-clicking the BiWire icon in the
Windows 4ystem !ray and choosing it from the menu Finally, if you'&e installed the
BiWire !oolbar for 'nternet @,%lorer or Firefo, -see ne,t %age., you can search for
hots%ots right from the toolbar<
3ow to Be 4ecure at Wi-Fi 3ots%ots
While Wi-Fi hots%ots are hands-down the most %o%ular and efficient way of getting
online on the road, they do ha&e %erils !he key %roblem is that %ublic hots%ots -whether
free or %aid. must by their nature be 1o%en,1 or unencry%ted, so that new users can
connect without ha&ing to know a %assword 4ending unencry%ted data flying through the
air lea&es it &ulnerable to interce%tion, ?ust as unencry%ted cellular and cordless %hone
con&ersations used to be Wi-Fi ea&esdro%%ers can -- and do -- use readily a&ailable
utilities to 1sniff1 data %assing o&er a wireless network Banking %asswords, email logins,
sensiti&e com%any data and much more can all %ass free and clear for hackers to ca%ture
when you are connected at a hots%ot Check out this chilling e,am%le of a hi?acked email
4o what can you do about this &ery real threatA 2ots< First, you can check the safety of
your connection at any time using our free Wi-Fi 4ecurity !est, which runs in 'nternet
@,%lorer on Windows !his test works for home and office Wi-Fi networks as well as
%ublic ones (nd if you ha&e a home Wi-Fi router, follow the ste%-by-ste% %rocess for
locking down your network gi&en in our Com%lete Guide to Wi-Fi 4ecurity !his should
gi&e you a reasonably bullet-%roof home Wi-Fi cloud For hots%ots on the road, you'll
need to take a different a%%roach, one that in&ol&es su%erim%osing security measures on
otherwise o%en networks !hat's where BiWire 3ots%ot 3el%er comes in
3ots%ot 3el%er Basics
BiWire 3ots%ot 3el%er %rotects and enhances your %ublic Wi-Fi connection in four basic
ways:
E Wi-Fi Security, accessible through BiWire 3ots%ot 3el%er, creates a secure, encry%ted
1tunnel1 to the 'nternet through which all your inbound and outbound traffic will flow:
email, Web %ages, instant messages, ;o'0 %hone calls, F!0 downloads, etc !his is ?ust
like the %rotection offered by industrial-strength cor%orate ;0* ser&ices -- without the
cost or com%le,ity Bust install the software and turn it on
E Wi-Fi Security also includes a %ersonal firewall to block Wi-Fi hackers from using
your wireless connection to gain access to your com%uter and stealing confidential files
or infecting your com%uter with &iruses =nlike other Firewall %rograms, it doesn't get in
the way of your internet access and it re7uires no configuration
E Wi-Fi Hotspot Finder lets you locate the nearest hots%ots -- both free and %aid -- e&en
when you're offline )ou can download the hots%ot directory for %articular cities, states,
countries, or the whole world -2earn more about Wi-Fi 3ots%ot Finder on the %re&ious
%age in this article.
E Wi-Fi Mailer works with Wi-Fi 4ecurity to seamlessly deli&er email from your
fa&orite email %rogram through BiWire's 4+!0 ser&ers with no reconfiguration hassles,
u% to #$$ emails %er day 'f you're tired of resorting to webmail to send or re%ly to emails
while at hots%ots, you'll lo&e the con&enience of Wi-Fi +ailer
Best of all, you can test-dri&e Wi-Fi +ailer and Wi-Fi 4ecurity for "$ days at no charge
=nlocking the software for unlimited use costs ?ust F#GHI %er year -!he offline Wi-Fi
3ots%ot Finder included with 3ots%ot 3el%er is free, whether you u%grade to the full
&ersion or not. !o get started with BiWire 3ots%ot 3el%er for Windows, download it and
run the installer, shown below

'n addition to 3ots%ot 3el%er, you can choose to install the BiWire !oolbars for @,%lorer
and6or Firefo, +ore on those below
Once installed in your 4ystem !ray, BiWire 3ots%ot 3el%er will immediately start to
%rotect your connection< )ou'll see a message like the one below confirming that Wi-Fi
4ecurity is u% and running )ou can also enable or disable automatic starting of Wi-Fi
4ecurity when you connect to Wi-Fi -auto start is enabled by default. 4ee the little
yellow lock that a%%ears on the BiWire icon in the system trayA !his lock blinks on and
off to indicate your connection is secure whene&er you're transmitting or recei&ing data
o&er Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi 4ecurity is running

!hat's all you need to do to start surfing or emailing with com%lete wireless security
From then on, left-clicking the BiWire icon in the 4ystem !ray lets you access all the
features of 3ots%ot 3el%er !his window also shows the status of your Wi-Fi connection
-- click on the 1i1 icon for more detailed connection information -- and how much time
remains in your annual subscri%tion or free trial

!he 3ots%ot 3el%er menu -accessed by a right-click. also has a few additional o%tions
From this menu you can o%en and e,it the %rogram, turn security on and off with a single
click, register your co%y of the software, go to the BiWire home %age, or contact BiWire
technical su%%ort

BiWire !oolbars for 'nternet @,%lorer and Firefo,

!he BiWire !oolbars for 'nternet @,%lorer and Firefo, bring %owerful Wi-Fi monitoring
ca%abilities to your deskto% Both of these toolbars let you kee% tabs on critical
connection details, such as signal strength, 44'8, +(C address, data transferred, and
your le&el of security %rotection !hey also %ro&ide a handy ?um%ing off %oint for
searching Wi-Fi 3ots%ot Finder for the nearest Wi-Fi location, and accessing BiWire user
guides and free member message boards )ou can install them se%arately or in concert
with BiWire 3ots%ot 3el%er !ogether, 3el%er and the !oolbars make a %owerful team
!he key to the BiWire !oolbar is the Connection 4tatus menu, where you'll find useful
information like the data rate and signal strength of your connection -mo&e closer to the
access %oint to im%ro&e these., the ty%e of encry%tion used -if any., and whether Wi-Fi
4ecurity is acti&e and %rotecting your data

=se the Wi-Fi 3ots%ot Finder menu in the !oolbar to search for a hots%ot immediately,
without ha&ing to o%en another window

(nd check out the many useful resources on BiWirecom from the BiWire menu, including
how-to articles like this one, re&iews of the best wireless gear, community discussion
boards, and our download area
BiWire 3ots%ot Finder for 4ky%e
'f you s%end as much time talking and chatting on 4ky%e as you do emailing, the new
BiWire 3ots%ot Finder for 4ky%e is for you Bust add 1BiWire 3ots%ot Finder1 to your
contact list in (*) chat-ca%able 4ky%e client -including 0C, +ac and Windows +obile.,
and you can instantly start making sim%le te,t 7ueries to find the hots%ot nearest you by
chatting with the Finder For e,am%le, ty%ing 1Berkeley, C(1 brings u% a list of sites in
that city

)ou can also add keywords like 1free,1 1!-+obile,1 or 1+c8onald's1 to narrow your
search Bust ty%e 1A1 to get a handy hel% file with a long list of keywords +ore sam%le
7ueries:
'cafes in 4W" -where '4W"' is %art of a %ostcode.'
'free brussels ""I$'
'tmobile within #$ miles of austin t,'
'starbucks in leeds uk'
'sky%eCone in Canberra'
4ky%e @,tra for Windows :06;ista
But the real %ayoff comes when you are using Windows :0 or ;ista, and download the
BiWire 3ots%ot Finder for 4ky%e @,tra !his add-in for the Windows 4ky%e client lets
you see hots%ot search results on an interacti&e ma%, find rele&ant %oints of interest like
gas stations and restaurants, look u% local traffic and weather, and e&en %in%oint your
own location< (fter installing, the following welcome screen will %o% u% ne,t to your
4ky%e window, %ro&iding an o&er&iew of features:

!y%e a 7uery, like Berkeley, C(, and you'll see results both in the chat window and on a
ma% +o&e your mouse o&er a location icon to &iew details like name and address

(t any time, you can also click the A button in the u%%er right corner to get a handy list of
search terms to hel% refine your 7uery

*e,t, try clicking the 1Find *earby1 button, then ty%ing 1gas,1 to find local gas stations
)ou can also get local directions, traffic, weather and more

Finally, click the 1Find +e1 button to &iew your location and nearby hots%ots on the ma%
!his feature works in most urban areas, as well as many others

Wi-Fi !ools
!he BiWire 4ky%e @,tra also contains a number of handy features for checking and
managing your Wi-Fi connection Clicking on the Wi-Fi !ools tab at the to% switches
modes, and %resents you with a laundry list of connection details, like your 44'8,
encry%tion method, '0 address, and +(C address )ou'll also find lots of handy links to
BiWire's many Wi-Fi resources

Want to see what other networks are around, along with signal strength and com%ression
methodA Bust click on the Connection +anager button for a com%lete list (&ailable
networks for which you ha&e %rofiles in your system are marked in yellow