On Sun, 4 Feb 2007 07:59:14 -0500, "- Bobb -" wrote: : From: "Robert Coe" : Subject: Re: How to *Not connect to "just any" access point : Date: Saturday, February 03, 2007 10:50 AM : : On Fri, 2 Feb 2007 21:27:54 -0800, Dr. Anton T. Squeegee : wrote: : : In article , : : bobb@noemail.123 (known to some as - Bobb -) scribed... : : : : > In condo complex and have MY wireless router/cable box. I want to ONLY : : > connect to MINE. : : >
: : > If mine should hiccup etc at startup, there are many nearby : non-protected : : > wireless routers from the 40 other tenants in complex. Right now if I " : view : : > available wireless networks" there are 22. I would like to " ignore all : : > others" and ONLY use mine. If mine has an issue, I understand that I : won't : : > be able to connect. - How to do so using Windows XP ? : : The Windows XP supplicant ("WZC") has an option : to not automatically connect to any network not on your "preferred list". If : you turn the option on and put only your network on your preferred list, : you'll be OK. You will, of course, want to turn on encryption (WPA-PSK will : be fine for your purpose) so that someone else can't replicate your SSID and : cause you to accidentally connect. That will also keep unwanted users off of : your network and do it much more effectively than MAC filtering would. : : One caution: Many supplicants, including WZC, have the annoying habit of : automatically adding a network to your preferred list if you connect to it : manually. So if for some reason you do decide to connect to someone else's : network, don't forget to delete it from your preferred list afterwards. : : Bob : ----------- : Bob, : I went here and they mentioned it, no specifics though: :
formatting link
: I AM running XP SP2 on new laptop (HP w/AMD x2), WPA set and I have all : updates, so I have this on my pc already , right ? ( as in I don't need to : download it).
Yeah, but see below.
: But - is this something I invoke ? Just that checkbox ? If not, how to : utilize it ? : When I look at wireless networks, what's available/ settings etc - here's : what I see: : "Wireless Network Connection - Properties shows available and Preferred : list. If I select ADVANCED it shows : "Networks to access" - I chose "access point (infrastructure) only" and have : "automatically connect to non-preferred etworks" unchecked. That my only : option. : : I have the wireless areas I DO use arranged so home is first. : So I thought : if my wireless router not on = no connection, but still if mine is off, : these others have no security and my Pc found them and connected.
It won't connect to one of them if
- It's not on your preferred list, AND
- You've turned off "Automatically connect to non-preferred networks", AND
- You haven't connected to that network before (or you have but you've subsequently removed it from your preferred list).
Other supplicants behave differently. The Intel supplicant, for example, lets you tell it not to connect automatically to some network on its permanent machine-specific list, then goes ahead and automatically connects to it anyway. I haven't seen that behavior in the Microsoft supplicant.
: I DId just update firmware on the linksys router = maybe now I need another : XP update ? : or should that have done it ?
SP2 doesn't include the upgrade to the supplicant to allow it to handle WPA2 (which is slightly better than WPA). If you want that, you have to go find an additional patch on the Microsoft Web site.
: thanks : bobb