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Using the Windows XP wireless network connection utility
To connect to a secure wireless LAN, you must have the appropriate access and logon rights to that
network. You must ensure that the security settings that you configure for your wireless connections
match exactly with those that are configured for the access point.
The following table lists the authentication methods that the Windows XP wireless network connection
utility supports.
If necessary, contact your network administrator to arrange access and request the following information:
• Network names (SSID) of the specific wireless networks to which you want to connect.
• Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) wireless network key information (may include network
authentication type, encryption type, network key) for any WPA-enabled networks to which
you want to connect.
• Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) wireless network key information (network key) for any
WEP-enabled networks to which you want to connect. Your network key is either 5 or 13
ASCII (text) characters, or 10 or 26 hexadecimal (0-9, A-F) characters.
Note:
If you require access to a network account, you will also require the domain name of the account,
a user name and a password.
To connect to a secure wireless network
1. Make sure that the connection settings are configured for the wireless network that you want
to access.
2. From the Windows desktop, click the Wireless Utility status icon
in the system tray.
The Connect to Wireless Network window is displayed.
3. In the Available Networks panel, select the wireless network that you want to access.
Notes:
•
For the data encryption information, home users should refer to the access point settings;
corporate users should contact their network administrator. For information on how to obtain
a client certificate for TLS or TTLS authentication, contact your network administrator
or see Obtaining Certificates.
•
(Windows XP SP2 only) To automatically connect to your network when it is in range,
select the
Connect when the network is in range
check box on the Connection tab.
Click
Connect
.
Authentication
method
Description
Open
No authentication is used.
Shared
A pre-shared key (PSK) must be entered into the network
configuration settings to connect to the wireless network.
802.1x
Requires authentication. The authentication credentials that are
required depends on how the access point has been configured.
For example, you might have to enter a user name and password
which is verified with an authentication server.
WPA
Requires Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) authentication. This method
requires that you also configure the encryption key settings.
WPA-PSK
WPA authentication is used with a pre-shared key. This method
enables you to enter a static network key.
