question about wireless internet

802.11g built into my laptop

[sadelb]

I just bought a new laptop with wireless internet built into it. (802.11g) I do not have wireless internet yet but lets say my friend has it.. if i am at his house can I just connect wirelessly to the internet? if so how do i do that? just set up an internet connection on the spot? what if at work i have it also, do i have to set up a complete different connection as well? how do i do this? when i bought the computer they asked me if i should set up a connection and i said no because I didnt have one but I am thinking I can use anybodies in the area if they have it. thanks in advance

[SEOMike]

It's actually really easy with XP. When the card is enabled and you are close to a wireless network you will see an icon in your system tray informing you that a wireless network is available. If you double click it, you will see a list of available wireless networks and you can try connecting to them from there. The network of any smart person will be protected by some sort of wireless encryption and without the key (or special software), you can't connect.

Seeing as how your "friend" and your "work" aren't offering you advice on how to connect... you should be careful. Clandestine wireless surfing (or WarDriving) can be risky. There are tools to identify new devices connected to wireless networks... and that makes YOU vulnerable. I have these tools in place and if somebody tries to hack me when I'm having a bad day, they have a bad day too.

WarDriving is fun, but be careful and don't be malicious.

[sadelb]

thanks! I was in my apartment and I saw that there was a wireless connection but it was very low and I could not connect to internet explorer.. It said I was only receiving about 20 or 30 packets which I didnt really understand.. Could I not connect because of the bad connection? does a connection have to be pretty strong in order to connect?

[SEOMike]

Sounds like it may be trying to connect to a network that's protected.

There are some tools available on the net (such as Network Stumbler) that will identify wireless networks and tell you if they are encrypted or not. They will also give you a signal strength. This is helpful if you walk around your apartment with your laptop to see if the signal strength is stonger in one spot.

[sadelb]

if a connection is encrypt is there a way to still use his internet with certain programs or is it pretty much blocked out for me to use.. will network stumbler help me out with something like this or do i need another program.. just until i buy wireless. :)