Setting Up Wireless Network Card on Windows XP to Access LAWN

By Hanz Makmur - Jul 1, 2002

 

 

This document is intended for users with a wireless-capable Windows XP notebook computer who wish to connect to the DCIS Wireless Network (LAWN). We will discuss how-tos for laptops with pre-installed (internal) and external wireless Orinoco cards. The reasons this special configuration is necessary is that Windows XP default authentication scheme is different from what LAWN uses.

 

Configuring Your Builtin or Orinoco 802.11 Wireless card.

 

To configure your wireless card, follow these steps.

 

1. If you don't have a built in wireless card, insert the Orinoco card into your PC Card slot now. Windows will load the necessary drivers and recognize that you have just inserted a new wireless card.

Figure 1.

2. Go to the Start Menu and click on My Network Places using your right mouse button as shown in figure 1. A new will open. (see Figure 2.)

Figure 2.

 

3. Double Click on Wireless Network Connection and Windows XP will try to enable this Wireless Network connection as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

4. A new will open. (See Figure 4 ) If you are in an area where LAWN Access Point signals can be detected, you will see LAWN as one of the available network options. Click on LAWN and click Advanced button.
   
   

Figure 4.

5. A Wireless Network Connection Property window will open. (See Figure 5) Select LAWN from the list of Available networks and click the Configure button. Be sure the Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings check box is checked.
   
   

Figure 5.

 

 

6. A Wireless Network property window will open. (see Figure 6.) Make sure that none of the options are checked. The LAWN system is designed not to do data encryption natively; It is intended that encryption be done via a VPN, SSH, SSL or similar encryption mechanism. (This is in part because all of the Wireless encryption protocols are known to be 'crackable', it was judged a more secure solution to use these higher-level encryption mechanism.) We recommend that you use an encryption scheme when using your machine on the network. See DCIS document ÒSecuring Your Computer Network CommunicationsÓ for more details. Click the OK button when you done.
   
   

Figure 6.

 

7. You are now back at the Wireless Network Connection Properties window (Figure 5.) Now click on the Authentication tab at the top of the window and a property window will open. (See Figure 7)
   
   
8. Make sure that the Enable network access control using IEEE 802.1X checkbox is NOT checked as shown in Figure 7. Click the OK button when you are done.
   
   

Figure 7.

9. At this time, you will see an additional network icon at the bottom right corner of your screen displaying the status of the wireless connection signals (See Figure 8.)

Figure 8.

 

10. Double clicking on the icon shown in Figure 8 will open the Wireless Network Connection Status window shown in Figure 9. In this window you can see the wireless signal strength, speed and connection length. Use this window for diagnostic purposes if you are having connection problems.

 

Figure 9

 

11. To access LAWN you will need to login. Simply run any Internet browser and you will be forwarded automatically to a login screen. Make sure you have Javascript and Java turn on in your browser. If these are not enabled, your browser will automatically be forwarded to a page that will help you do this.
    
    

This concludes the steps for Setting Up Your Wireless Network card in MS Windows XP. Please make sure you review DCIS Securing Your Computer Network Communications to make sure that no one can eavesdrop on your network communication activities.