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<P><STRONG> Dan's Tech
Tips:</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>How to Connect to Hidden Wireless Networks</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>I must admit I have not tried this but thought there those network
wizards out there who might find this useful.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>From Gizmo Daily Tech Treets</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Here is a direct link to the page whith the article.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>The article is also below. It is not very long.</STRONG></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://www.7tutorials.com/how-connect-hidden-wireless-networks">http://www.7tutoria<WBR>ls.com/how-<WBR>connect-hidden-<WBR>wireless-<WBR>networks</A></FONT></P>
<P><STRONG>Hidden wireless networks are those networks which do not broadcast
their Network ID, SSID. While not that many people use such networks, it
definitely ads a bit more security to have your home wireless network hidden
from unwanted guests. In this guide I will share with you what details you need
to know in order to connect to such networks and what are the steps for making a
successful connection.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Step 1: Get the Details of the Hidden Wireless Network</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>First and foremost, you need to know all the identification and
connection details of the hidden wireless network you want to connect to.
Therefore, open your router's configuration page and go to the Wireless
configuration menu. Write down the values for the Network ID (SSID)</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>and Security fields. Depending on what type of security your wireless
network has, you will need to write down the value of another important field,
as following:</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>For WEP security - note the value of the WEP Key field.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>For WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK(AES) security - note the value of the Preshare
Key field.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>NOTE:</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>If your wireless network has no security enabled, then you need to
know only the value of the Network ID (SSID) field.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>802.1X, WPA and WPA2(AES) security is generally used in enterprise
networks and most likely your laptop will be pre-configured to connect to your
corporate wireless network. Therefore this guide won't apply to corporate
networks.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Once you have all these three details, you can go ahead with step
2.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Step 2: Start the "Set Up a Connection or Network"
Wizard</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>To do this, you need to open the Network and Sharing
Center</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>: go to</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Start Menu -> Control Panel -> Network and Internet ->
Network and Sharing Center. In the Network and Sharing Center window you will
see lots of shortcuts. Click on the one that says "Set up a new connection or
network"</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Wireless Networks</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>The "Set Up a Connection or Network" wizard will now start. >From the
list of available options, select "Manually connect to a wireless network" and
click on Next.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Wireless Networks</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Step 3: Complete the Details of the Wireless Network</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Now you will have to complete all the fields shown in this window.
The first one is called Network name. In it, type the name of the wireless
network you want to connect to, which is the equivalent of the Network ID (SSID)
field from your router's wireless configuration menus.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Wireless Networks</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>The next field that needs to be completed is the Security type used
by your wireless network. Depending on the type of security used, make the
following selection:</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>For WEP security - select WEP.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>For WPA-PSK security - select WPA-Personal.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>For WPA2-PSK(AES) security - select WPA2-Personal.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>NOTE: If your wireless network has no security enabled, then select
No authentication (Open)</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Wireless Networks</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Now it is time to select the appropriate type of encryption. If you
are using WPA2-PSK(AES) security, make sure you select AES. Otherwise, leave the
default value Windows 7 gives you.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Wireless Networks</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>For WEP, WPA2 Personal and WPA Personal you will have to enter the
security key:</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>For WEP security - the value of the WEP Key field.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>For WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK(AES) security - the value of the Preshare Key
field.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Wireless Networks</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>If you are in a public environment, then it is a good idea to check
the Hide characters box. Also, don't forget to check the other two
boxes:</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>"Start this connection automatically" and "Connect even if the
network is not broadcasting"</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>These two allow you to connect automatically to the hidden wireless
network. Once all data is completed, click on Next.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>When done, you will see a message which says that you have
successfully added the wireless network to your computer. If you are unsure on
any of the settings, you can click on "Change connection settings" and review
them all.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Wireless Networks</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>This will open a window where you can change all your
settings.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>It can be opened at any time by going to Control Panel -> Network
and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center -> Manage Wireless Networks and
double clicking on the wireless network.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Wireless Networks</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>When done, Windows 7 will automatically connect to the hidden
wireless network. Also, the wireless network icon from the taskbar will
change.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Wireless Networks</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Conclusion</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>As you can see from this guide, connecting to hidden wireless
networks requires a bit more work than connecting to public ones. However, if
you pay a bit of attention and don't skip any of these steps, it can be done in
just a few minutes.</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>If you have any questions about the tips posted in Dan's Tech tips,
please contact Dan at the following email address:</STRONG></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="mailto:dthompson5@mchsi.com">dthompson5@mchsi.<WBR>com</A></FONT></P></DIV></BODY></HTML>