Technology Solutions Centre

Connecting to the Visitors Wireless Network

The open wireless network is currently only available at locations marked on the document found here:

Wireless Access Maps

NOTES

The open network is NOT encrypted, so you may wish to avoid performing any confidential transactions while connected to it (i.e. banking). The only services available on the open wireless network are HTTP (regular web browsing), HTTPS (browsing encrypted websites), and SSH (Secure Shell) to UofW Internal servers.

The network is called "UW-VISITOR" and its name is broadcast.  If you see any other network names in your list of available networks, these are NOT University networks and you should avoid attempting to connect to them. They likely originate from outside the campus. 

CONFIGURATION

There is really no configuration necessary to connect to the open wireless network. Simply power up your machine in any of the areas listed above. When prompted regarding an available network called "UW-VISITOR", simply connect. You may have to manually open the list of available wireless networks, depending on your operating system.   

EXAMPLE

Operating system: Windows XP (will be slightly different with SP2)

Network adapter: Orinoco Silver PCMCIA card

When the machine is powered up while in range of an open wireless network, you should see a notification like the one shown below. Click the bubble to open the network properties.

                                                   

In the window that appears, you are warned that "UW-VISITOR" is unencrypted. Click the "Allow Me to connect…." check box, and then click "Connect".

                                      

You should see a bubble appear, which informs you that you are connected to the network called "UW-VISITOR". Within seconds, you should obtain an IP address and will be able to browse the internet.