Wireless Internet at Work

[adam-red]

Okay, I know nothing about wi-fi stuff but I'm not stupid. So in the place where I work, the computer rooms have got wireless hotspots there. In theory, you can bring your laptop in and not have to use one of the computers but be able to use your laptop instead to access the internet. How would this work? Is there likely to be any security settings you need to specify? Is there a program you need in order to configure the laptop for you? Any information would be a big help.

Thanks in advance
Adam

[GroundZero3]

How would this work?

Well it depends on the network admin and the sensitivity of the data on the network. Hotspots are controlled by Encryption settings or none at all. You will need to talk to your IT department to find out what settings you need to configure your laptop.

Is there likely to be any security settings you need to specify?

refer to above

Is there a program you need in order to configure the laptop for you?

If your running windows 98/ME/2000 wireless cards come with programs to interface with the network card and the operating system. If you are running windows xp, it has built in wireless support. So all you need to do is install the driver for the card and away you go. No need for third party software.

Either way all the network settings for encyption and various wireless settings are done with the wireless card software (98/me/2000) or the built in function of XP