Using Wi-Fi Networks
Wireless networks, of course, require a
bit more finesse. Unlike wired networks, they’re not assumed to be
safe, since you could be connecting to the Internet from a café,
airport, or other location where electronic predators are lurking,
waiting to steal your valuable personal information directly from the
airwaves. Furthermore, not all wireless networks were created equal:
There are wide-open, unprotected wireless networks and protected
networks that offer various levels of security. But even the various
types of networks aren’t completely safe, so it’s best to err on the
side of safety, which is exactly what Windows 8 does.
To connect to a wireless network, you display the
Networks pane. As described previously, you can do so by clicking the
Network icon in the Notification Area or by typing Winkey + I and then
clicking the Network icon in the Settings pane that appears. As you can
see in Figure 3,
when you’re within in range of one or more wireless networks, those
networks will appear listed in the Networks pane under the heading
Wi-Fi.
You will see two types of wireless networks here:
unprotected and protected. An unprotected network is noted with a small
exclamation point emblem to indicate that it could be unsafe. And as
shown in Figure 4, when you select this type of warning, Windows provides a final warning before you connect.
Figure 4: Windows 8 warns before letting you connect to an unprotected wireless network.
Connect automatically is deselected by default for open, unprotected networks and selected for password-protected networks.
Regardless of the protected status of the
network, you’ll see two other choices when you select a wireless
network in the Networks pane: Connect and Connect automatically.
If you check the latter option before connecting, Windows 8 will
automatically connect to this network whenever it’s within range. (If
there are two or more such networks, Windows 8 will intelligently
select the one with the best connectivity.)
Once you click Connect, one of two things can happen.
For a password protected network, you’ll be prompted to enter the password, as shown in Figure 5, and then Click Enter.
If you are accessing an open, unprotected
network, the Networks pane will ask you whether you want to turn on
sharing between PCs and connect to devices on this network. (For
protected networks, this is the next step.) As with any other network
type, there are two possible answers:
- No, don’t turn on sharing or connect to devices. For networks in public places.
- Yes, turn on sharing and connect to devices. For home or work networks.
Mouse over a connected network and Windows
will provide information about the type of the network (for example,
802.11g or similar for wireless networks) and the type of security it
uses, if any.
Choose accordingly, and you’ll be connected to
the network. In the Networks pane, the connection will be accompanied
by a Connected notation.
Wireless networks provide many more configuration
options than do wired networks. If you right-click a wireless network
to which you’re connected, you’ll see a number of options, though it
should be noted that not all of them are relevant to Wi-Fi networks.
(Some are more applicable to cellular data connections, as described in
the next section.) These options include:
- Show/Hide estimated data usage: This
option is actually a toggle. When it’s enabled, you’ll see a data usage
estimate whenever you select the connection, as shown in Figure 6.
Using this information to keep track of usage
is, of course, valuable for cellular data connections, which are always
metered. You can click the Reset link in the Networks pane to reset the
data usage estimate to 0.
- Set as metered/non-metered connection: This
option changes the behavior of certain connected Windows features when
enabled. Since it’s more typically needed for cellular data networks,
we’ll discuss this feature in the next section.
- Forget/Remember this network: If
you’ve configured Windows 8 to remember a wireless network and thus
reconnect to it automatically, you can change that behavior using this
option (and vice versa).
- Turn sharing on or off: This
option displays the same interface described previously, letting you
choose between enabling and disabling PC sharing and device connections.
- View connection properties: Choosing this option displays an old-school desktop-type configuration window like the one shown in Figure 7. This interface lets you configure advanced settings for obscure, non-typical wireless networks and isn’t generally needed.
