Microsoft's Wireless
Networking Improvements in Windows XP Service Pack 2Microsoft updated many parts of Windows XP when it
released
Service Pack 2 (SP2). If you don't travel regularly, you might not have
noticed the dramatic improvements to wireless networking. Specifically, the
Wireless Network Connections dialog box now shows much more information, making
it very easy to find and connect to wireless networks in your area.
And if you're like me and frequently depend on wireless
hotspots for Internet access at local coffee shops and airports, you'll be
excited to hear about Wireless Provisioning Services (WPS), which makes
connecting to those hotspots both easier and more secure.
In this column, I'll give you the steps for discovering
and connecting to a home wireless network and a hotspot using the wireless
networking features in SP2.
Understanding the Wireless
Connection Dialog Box
The biggest improvement to wireless networking in Service
Pack 2 is the Wireless Network Connection dialog box, as shown in Figure 1. As
you can see, it lists all the nearby wireless networks that have strong enough
signals for a connection. For each network, it shows the network's Service Set
Identifier (SSID), encryption, connection status, and signal strength. If the
network uses WPS (discussed later in this article), the dialog box displays the
name and logo of the hotspot service provider instead of the SSID.
Figure 1
When you're connecting to public wireless networks, it's
important to understand some are secured and some are not. If the network is
security-enabled, the Wireless Network Connection dialog box shows a gold lock.
The gold lock means you need a key (secure password or number) to connect to it,
but the network will protect the privacy of your communications. If it's not
security-enabled, you don't need a key to connect to it, but other people might
be able to view your communications. For example, if you connect to a wireless
network that is not security-enabled and check your e-mail, another user
connected to the same wireless network (who is skilled with network attack tools
and willing to break the law) could read your user name and password. They could
also read your e-mail messages and identify each Web site you visit.
Like any radio signal, the signal strength of Wi-Fi
networks varies depending on how close you are to the wireless access point (WAP)
and the obstacles that are between you and the WAP. Like the bars on your mobile
phone, the Wireless Network Connection dialog box shows more bars when the
signal is stronger. You can connect even if you only see one bar, but you might
lose your network connection if you move a few feet or if you turn your computer
in a different direction. If you do lose your connection, Windows XP will notify
you and attempt to automatically reconnect.
Connecting to a Wireless
Network
To search for and connect to a wireless network:
| 1. |
Right-click the wireless network connection icon in
your taskbar, as shown in Figure 2, and then click View Available Wireless
Networks.
Figure 2
|
| 2. |
The Wireless Network Connection dialog box appears,
as shown in Figure 1. If no networks appear, click Refresh Network List in
the upper-left corner. |
| 3. |
Choose a network by clicking on its name, and then
click Connect. |
| 4. |
If the network is security-enabled and the hotspot
does not support Windows Provisioning Service, Windows XP prompts you to
enter a key. If it does support WPS, Windows XP might prompt you to download
instructions for connecting to the network. |
| 5. |
Windows XP will briefly change the network's
connection status to Acquiring Network Address, and then to Connected. You
can now close the Wireless Network Connection dialog box. |
If it continues to show Acquiring Network Address and the
network is security-enabled, you probably made an error in entering the key.
After you connect to a network, Windows XP automatically adds the network to
your Preferred Networks list, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3
You may accidentally connect to a neighbor's network and
want to make sure you connect to your own instead. (This is a common issue
mentioned in the Wireless Networks newsgroup.) You can move your home network to
the top of the Preferred Networks list. To edit this list, click Change the
Order of Preferred Networks in the Wireless Network Connection window.
Disabling Windows Firewall
Exceptions
The most visible security improvement with Service Pack 2
is
Windows Firewall and the Security Center. I feel much safer connecting to
hotspots with Windows Firewall enabled, because my computer is more resistant to
attacks from viruses running on the computers of other people at the hotspot.
Although having Windows Firewall enabled makes my computer safer, you can
improve security even more by temporarily disabling exceptions that you've set
for applications like Windows Messenger. You should do this any time you're
connecting to a network that you share with people you don't trust, such as a
public hotspot.
To disable Windows Firewall exceptions, follow these
steps:
| 1. |
Click Start, click Control Panel, click Security
Center, and then click Windows Firewall. |
| 2. |
Select the Don't Allow Exceptions check box, as shown
in Figure 4, and then click OK.
Figure 4
|
To enable your programs to receive connections after you
return to a trusted network, clear the Don't Allow Exceptions check box.
Understanding Wireless
Provisioning Services
Wireless Provisioning Services (WPS) makes it easier for
you to connect to hotspots and improves your privacy by encrypting
communications.
To understand the benefits WPS will provide, consider what
happens when you connect to a hotspot that doesn't support WPS. As I write this
column, I'm at my local Starbucks, and I've connected to the Internet through
their partnership with T-Mobile. Unfortunately, it doesn't support WPS. To
connect to the Internet, I have to go through the following steps each time I
connect to the hotspot (after I've signed up for an account):
| 1. |
First, find the name of the network's SSID. The
pamphlet at the counter reveals that it's "tmobile". |
| 2. |
Next, open the Wireless Network Connections dialog
box, click the tmobile network, and then click Connect. |
| 3. |
Open a Web browser and I'm redirected to the T-Mobile
Web site, where I enter the user name and password for my personal T-Mobile
account. |
| 4. |
After I'm logged in, I can access the Internet using
an unencrypted connection. The hotspot doesn't use encryption because it
would be too hard to have users enter an encryption key. |
With WPS, I would go through these steps:
| 1. |
Windows XP detects the network signal within range
and prompts me to connect to the hotspot, and I confirm that I'm ready to
connect. |
| 2. |
I can immediately access the Internet using an
encrypted connection that WPS automatically configured for me. |
Although my favorite hotspot here at the Starbucks doesn't
support WPS yet, I'll be ready for it if it ever does, because I installed
Service Pack 2. Then I won't have to worry about opening a browser to sign in,
and I'll be able to use other hotspots on the same network without any
additional configuration. WPS can automatically configure network encryption
too, which will make me feel much better about sending my user name and password
across the Internet. As time goes on, more and more hotspots will support WPS.
Working Around Problems
with Service Pack 2
Some users in the
Windows XP Wireless Networking newsgroup report wireless networking issues
after upgrading to SP2. If you haven't installed SP2 yet, you should check your
wireless card vendor's Web site for driver updates now, before you install SP2.
If you've already installed SP2 and have wireless
networking issues, connect to a wired network and see if there is a driver
update available. If there's no update and you must use your wireless card, one
option is to uninstall SP2 until there is a new driver for your wireless network
card. You must weigh your need for the wireless capability against the added
security you lose without SP2. Before you choose to uninstall SP2, read
Knowledge Base article 878454,
How to help
protect your computer if you decide to remove Windows XP Service Pack 2.
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