Do I connect my desktop to open Wi-Fi nearby?
Hi, everyone. Leo Notenboom here for askleo.com.
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experience when you visit askleo.com. We normally think
of Wi-Fi as being something for mobile devices, laptops,
phones, and so forth but it is possible to use your desktop
computer on the internet using a Wi-Fi connection there are
I'll call it three things you need if you happen to note that
there is WiFi in your area first you need hardware uh that
part's easy the hardware is now often included in many new
desktop machines I was surprised to find it in my new
machine a year and a half ago I don't use it my Ethernet is
faster in general so I've connected with a hardware
connection but I do Wi-Fi as an option. If your machine does
not come with WiFi included in its hardware, it's actually
easy to add. There are two approaches. One is get an
adapter card that would fit inside the machine. They're
very common. They're easy to install. You do need to open
the machine. You do need to feel comfortable adding an
expansion card to your machine but that's usually a pretty
easy way to go. An even easier way to go is a USB WiFi
adapter. They're everywhere. You'll find them on at
retailers all the time and they're really not that
expensive. All you need to do is plug it into a USB port and
with a little bit of configuration, you've got WiFi.
On whatever machine you turn it, you plug it into. Be it a
desktop, a laptop, or something else, I guess. They're actually
kinda nice also because they give you some an added piece of
flexibility that I didn't talk about in the companion article.
You can get a USB extension cord which means that rather
than forcing the Wi-Fi adapter and it's antenna to be right
next to your machine wherever the machine might be. You might
be able to lift it higher, put it somewhere where it gets
better reception which actually dovetails into the second thing
you need to make this happen. And I'll call this range. In
other words, the Wi-Fi hotspot. That you want to connect to, it
needs to be in range. Your machine needs to be able to see
it. That seems kind of obvious but apparently, for some
people, it's not. If your machine, if your phone for
example, if your scan for Wi-Fi connections with your phone in
the same location as your desktop would be. If you don't
see a Wi-Fi hotspot that you know is nearby, well, you're
probably not gonna be able to connect to it with your desktop
either, right? So, it's only those Wi-Fi hotspots that you
can see that you can actually connect to. The third has
nothing to do with technology and has everything to do with
manners. You need permission. If you've your own Wi-Fi
hotspot, you set it up on your own home network with your own
ISP, great. You're done. You give yourself permission,
right? But if you're intending to use a Wi-Fi hotspot that is
nearby, maybe you live next to or on top of a coffee shop that
provides open Wi-Fi to its customers. You need permission.
You should be asking them if you're, if you want to use
their Wi-Fi while you're not customer. Just because you
happen to be nearby. Technologically, you don't have
to, right? I mean, you could just jump on their WiFi and
start using it. That would be bad. That would be impolite at
best and potentially even maybe illegal. The real issue here is
that they're providing their Wi-Fi for their customers. If
you're not a customer, technically, you're not
entitled to it. And no, running downstairs, buying a cup of
coffee, and then running back upstairs and using their Wi-Fi
all day long, that's abusing the privilege, right? That
really is abuse of what they have to offer but it's easily
solved. Ask. That's all you need to do. Ask. Ask the owner
of whatever WiFi hotspot you happen to find if you can use
it. If they say yes, great. You're done. Might wanna take
some protection in the form of a VPN too because you are using
an open Wi-Fi hotspots and all that entails but they said,
yes, you have their permission. With the hardware, the range,
and the permission, you're done. If they don't give you
permission, then yeah, it's time to look for a different
solution to your internet connectivity problem. Don't use
an open WiFi hotspots that you don't have permission to use.
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askleo.com/2689. I'm Leo Notenboom. This is askleo.com.
Thanks for watching.