wireless networking is a way to
connect computers or other devices, either in your home or across
long distances, using infrared light or radio frequency signals.
Devices commonly used for wireless networking include desktop and
laptop computers, hand-held
computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile
phones, pen-based computers, and pagers.
Wireless networking is useful in many situations. For
example, if you are away from your computer, you can use your mobile
phone to read and respond to e-mail. If you travel with a laptop
computer, you can connect to the Internet through wireless access
points installed in airports, hotels, and other public locations.
You can also synchronize data and transfer files between two
computers or between a computer and another
device.
Wireless local area networks (WLANs) are often used in
corporate or campus buildings, or in airports. WLANs are also used
in home or small office networks.
There are two type of WLAN
A local area network that uses access points to connect
computers and devices on the network. This is also called an
infrastructure network.
A computer-to-computer local area network (also called an ad
hoc network) with several users in a limited area, such as a
conference room. This type of network does not use an access point.
When your computer is in range of a wireless network, a message
will appear in the notification area on your screen. You can click
the message to see a list of wireless networks and then select a
wireless network to connect to. if you are traveling, you can get a
list of available wireless networks in the area where you will be
staying by entering the city, state or province, and postal code for
that area.
Sometimes when you connect to a wireless
network, you are prompted to enter a network key (also called a WEP
key, or wired equivalency privacy key). This key is like a
password that you need to gain access to the network. In some cases,
the key might be provided to you by the network administrator. In
other cases, you might be asked to create a key.
Syndication
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