Newbie to wifi hotspots, could use some advice

I recently established a wireless network set up in my home, with a
cable modem, several PCs, and my laptop which connects up with PCMCIA
USB, and an adapter, so I have a small, limited amount of
understanding as to how to connect to a wireless network..

Figuring to see what all the fuss is, over wifi hotspots, I went to
the local library which offers it to all who have a library account.

I turn on the laptop, and the site survey finds the library network,
so I connect to it, and it turns the signal meter green at 99%, and
activates the icon in the task bar, which on my home network,
apparently indicating that I am now connected to the network.

I give it a few moments, but I have no connectivity. An ipconfig
reveals the IP address apparently 'left over' from my home network. No
ping, nothing to indicate connectivity, other than the wireless
adapter software, which tells me I am connected, and of course the web
browser gets me nowhere either.

I have never done this, and do not know for certain, all the steps I
need to take, to connect, beyond what I have seen at home.

My question is, since the library adamantly refuses to talk about the
wifi details, and leaves it up to the customer to cope, is it a safe
assumption that there is no encryption, like WEP, and that because I
can find the network by scanning, and I choose to connect and get a
green signal meter and the green icon in the task bar, that its
something on my laptop that needs attention, or could it still be that
I am not really accessing the wifi network due to some encryption, or
other issue on their end?

If it uses WEP or some other encryption, would I be able to connect at
all, and get the indications I have gotten?

The library web page tells me that once I connect, and try to use the
browser, their page will pop up and ask me for my library card
information, but I don't get that far, and have no experience in this
area, so I wish to know if its all on the laptop side, or do I need to
know something more about the library network?

Sure appreciate any suggestions, or recommendations as to how to
proceed, or what to look for.

Not any other free hotspots close by to experiment with. <shrug>

Thanks a lot for any help,

and I need to mention that my laptop is set to DHCP, which is how it
works on the home network... :-)

> Sure appreciate any suggestions, or recommendations as to how to
> proceed, or what to look for.
>
> Not any other free hotspots close by to experiment with. <shrug>

I would think that the library is a public based wireless network, which
should mean it has no encryption.

So, if you have something like WEP or WAP on the card enabled, then the
computer cannot get an IP from the DHCP server on the network so that the
machine can connect to the Internet, because the wireless network is not
using encryption that requires a key be given by the card.

You should disable WEP or WAP on the card, make sure the firewall on the
machine is running and the machine is NOT set to share resources on the
public wireless network.

mark <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>I give it a few moments, but I have no connectivity. An ipconfig
>reveals the IP address apparently 'left over' from my home network.

It's a common problem with some drivers. My guess(tm) is that you're
not shutting down the laptop, but instead are putting it into
hibernate. That's fine, but when it wakes up, it still thinks it's
connected to your wireless home networks. You can convince it
otherwise by simply rebooting. Much easier is to run:
start -> run -> cmd <enter>
ipconfig /release
(wait a few seconds)
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig (to see that you have a new IP address)

>My question is, since the library adamantly refuses to talk about the
>wifi details, and leaves it up to the customer to cope, is it a safe
>assumption that there is no encryption, like WEP, and that because I
>can find the network by scanning, and I choose to connect and get a
>green signal meter and the green icon in the task bar, that its
>something on my laptop that needs attention, or could it still be that
>I am not really accessing the wifi network due to some encryption, or
>other issue on their end?

Wow. That's the longest comma splice I've seen in a while. Very
impressive. However, your writing would be clearer if you used more
periods and fewer commas.

Most if not all library systems do NOT use encryption of any type.
There's no need or benifit to secure a wide open public network. If
there were encryption, your wireless client software would have asked
for a password when you initially connected. You can also use a
program like Netstumbler or Wi-Fi Hopper to display the type of
encryption. Windoze wireless zero config will also do the same thing
under "View Available Networks".

>If it uses WEP or some other encryption, would I be able to connect at
>all, and get the indications I have gotten?

No. You would have been asked for a password on initial connection.

>The library web page tells me that once I connect, and try to use the
>browser, their page will pop up and ask me for my library card
>information, but I don't get that far, and have no experience in this
>area, so I wish to know if its all on the laptop side, or do I need to
>know something more about the library network?

That's called a "captive portal". You get the same web page until the
access point is satisfied with the library card info. If you can see
that page, everything is working.

>Not any other free hotspots close by to experiment with. <shrug>

Are you sure? Have you checked the various online directories? Even
if they're for pay hot spots, like Starbucks or McDonalds, you can
still connect up to the splash screen, which will determine if it's
working.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

> start -> run -> cmd <enter>
> ipconfig /release
> (wait a few seconds)
> ipconfig /renew
> ipconfig (to see that you have a new IP address)

Also, John Navas wrote a VBS script to do it much neater and easier.
See:
<http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/FixDHCP_script>

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

<snipped>

Hey, I have never had any encryption enabled while in a hotel that has
wireless.

Is the machine going to connect if the wireless is public, but the card has
an encryption key?

"Mr. Arnold" <MR. (E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

><snipped>
>
>Hey, I have never had any encryption enabled while in a hotel that has
>wireless.

I have. Some coffee shops and hotels don't want the whole world on
their wireless network and simply pass out encryption keys to their
customers. The keys get changed erratically.

>Is the machine going to connect if the wireless is public, but the card has
>an encryption key?

I wasn't going to say anything (mostly because I'm 80% asleep), but
you have it wrong. The card does nothing with encryption settings.

In infrastructure mode, the access point controls literally
everything. It controls the channel number, data speed, handshaking,
flow control, encryption and authentication. The wireless client just
follows along meekly obeying whatever the access point demands. The
encryption mode is setup in the access point, not the client. There's
no setting for encryption mode in the client properties.

Of course, things are different in ad-hoc mode, where everything is
done client to client. In that case, the client does control the
channel, speed, handshake, flow control, encryption, and possibly
authentication. However, no public access point that I've seen uses
ad-hoc mode.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Jul 22, 1:11 am, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:

>
> Wow. That's the longest comma splice I've seen in a while. Very
> impressive. However, your writing would be clearer if you used more
> periods and fewer commas.

Since I have no delusions about being able to demand answers from
people who are happy to volunteer their experiences, I suggest that
you cease to demand grammatical perfection from those who seek such
advice......

Proper english, by the way, is "more clear" not "clearer"

> >Not any other free hotspots close by to experiment with. <shrug>
>
> Are you sure?

Why on earth would I lie about such a thing?.......Yes, I am
sure......

mark wrote:
> On Jul 22, 1:11 am, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
>
>> Wow. That's the longest comma splice I've seen in a while. Very
>> impressive. However, your writing would be clearer if you used more
>> periods and fewer commas.
>
> Since I have no delusions about being able to demand answers from
> people who are happy to volunteer their experiences, I suggest that
> you cease to demand grammatical perfection from those who seek such
> advice......
>
> Proper english, by the way, is "more clear" not "clearer"

What abundant, and incorrect, nonsense!

>
>>> Not any other free hotspots close by to experiment with. <shrug>
>> Are you sure?
>
> Why on earth would I lie about such a thing?.......Yes, I am
> sure......
>
>

In article <(E-Mail Removed) .com>,
mark <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> Proper english, by the way, is "more clear" not "clearer"

Bullshit.
--
W. Oates