Wi-Fi is a registered trademark for products that adhere to IEEE 802.11 standards. These products are certified by the Wi-Fi alliance and the Wi-Fi trademark is owned by them. The certification indicates that wireless devices can recognize and communicate with each other irrespective of their manufacturer. The Wi-Fi alliance is basically a syndicate of individual companies that work together to provide wireless products based on the same IEEE 802.11 standards. They provide certification for products based on a series of test events. If a product passes these tests, their manufacturer can mark them with the Wi-Fi logo.

Products such as personal computers, laptops, video game consoles, printers, hand held devices, smart phones and so on have built-in wireless capability and can be used to connect to a wireless network. Wi-Fi networks can be setup within a home environment. For public access to the Internet via Wi-Fi, hotspots are used. . Hot spots can be found in hotels, airports, coffee houses, malls and so on. Mobile computers such as laptops, net books and smart phones can connect to the Internet via hotspots.

Wi-Fi has also found widespread use in corporate or business environments. Corporate organizations use a number of WAP devices and attach them to a traditional wired network, in order to give wireless access to the office LAN. Within the office setup, users have the advantage of network access coupled with mobility.

How to connect to a Wi-Fi network

To connect to your home Wi-Fi network through a laptop with Windows XP, perform the following steps:

  1. Make sure the wireless button on your laptop is turned on.
  2. Right-click the wireless network icon in the lower right hand corner of the Windows taskbar.
  3. The Wireless Network Connection window appears.
  4. The window will contain a list of available wireless networks.
  5. Select your network and click the button Connect.
  6. Windows will display a progress bar as it connects. Once the connection is established, close the Wireless Network Connection window.

You can also set a WEP or a WPA encryption via the wireless router settings page to prevent to unauthorized access to your home wireless network. You will be prompted by Windows to type the encryption key after you click the connect button.

To connect to your home Wi-Fi network through a laptop with Windows Vista, perform the following steps:

  1. Make sure the wireless button on your laptop is turned on.
  2. Click Start and then click the option Connect To.
  3. The Connect to a network window appears.
  4. Select your network and click the button Connect.
  5. Windows will display a progress bar as it connects. Once the connection is established, close the Connect to a network window.

The procedure remains the same for hotspots; however hotspots are of two types: paid and free. At a free hotspot, all you need to do is select the correct network from the wireless network list and click the button "Connect". If your laptop is configured with a static IP address, you will not be able to connect to Wi-Fi as it will have its own IP address. You will have to change the TCP/IP settings to automatically obtain the IP address. For paid hotspots, you will have to either be an existing customer with login credentials, or you can use your credit card to pay for the hotspot usage.