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antoinejones

A friend of mine just got a new pc and needs wireless internet access as his router is too far away to use wired access... there are two laptops in the house already running of wireless access from the wireless router in the house... so what does he need on his pc to be able to pick up/ on//use the wireless internet thats already setup in his house on his new pc? he said something about a wep key? whats a wep key?

joeyfine

Hello Antoine,

Does he have a wireless card in the PC? that would be 1st.

then he would need the WEP key to access the wireless signal.

Lord Chance

Originally Posted by antoinejones

A friend of mine just got a new pc and needs wireless internet access as his router is too far away to use wired access... there are two laptops in the house already running of wireless access from the wireless router in the house... so what does he need on his pc to be able to pick up/ on//use the wireless internet thats already setup in his house on his new pc? he said something about a wep key? whats a wep key?

As Joeyfine said, you will need a wireless card. Properly installed they work very well. I use one in my reference library machine. For your other question. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a deprecated algorithm to secure IEEE 802.11 wireless networks. While WEP is not the most secure protocol, it is adequate for most home situations. Using the 128bit form is best.

LC

antoinejones

well i dunno if he has a wireless card or not but he only mentioned needing a WEP key so i guess he has a wireless card (ill ask em though) and whats a WEP key?

joeyfine

Antoine,

the key is used to connect to the wireless router. the most important thing is the wireless card. make sure he has that 1st

antoinejones

so then if the wep key is just an algorithm the only physical component he would need is a wireless card? while the wep key would be obtained/set automatically?

edit: if he doesnt have a wireless card any link to a cheap/affordable one you would suggest?

Lord Chance

Originally Posted by antoinejones

so then if the wep key is just an algorithm the only physical component he would need is a wireless card? while the wep key would be obtained/set automatically?

edit: if he doesnt have a wireless card any link to a cheap/affordable one you would suggest?

The WEP key is set at the wireless router. Generaly you will be asked for a pass phrase. With this phrase you will generate a key.

TigerDirect has a good selection and reasonable.
802.11g PCI Adapter, 802.11g Wireless PCI Adapter, 802.11g PCI Adapters TigerDirect.com

LC