Page 742 - Windows 10 May 2019 Update The Missing Manual: The Book That Should Have Been in the Box

POWER USERS’ CLINIC SECRET HOTSPOTS

It’s entirely possible to be standing right in the middle of a

juicy, strong Wi-Fi hotspot—and not even know it. It turns out
that the hotspot’s owner can choose whether or not it should
broadcast its name. Sometimes, he might want to keep the

hotspot secret—to restrict its use to employees at a coffee
shop, for example, so the customer riffraff can’t slow it down.
In these cases, you’d have to know (a) that the hotspot exists,

and (b) what its name is.

Sometimes you see “Unidentified network” right there in the
list of available hotspots. If so, great—select it, enter the name

and password, and off you go.

If not, open the Network and Sharing Center (Control Panel →
Network and Internet → Network and Sharing Center). Select

“Set up a new connection or network.” On the next screen,
choose “Manually connect to a wireless network,” and then hit
Next.

Now enter the network’s exact name and password. You’ll
probably want to turn on “Start this connection automatically,”
too, if you think you might encounter the hotspot again.

When you click Next, you’ll get a notification that you’ve

successfully connected (if, in fact, you have).

Mobile Hotspot. Tethering, what Microsoft calls Mobile Hotspot,
is letting your cellphone act as a glorified internet antenna for your

PC, whether connected by a cable or a Bluetooth wireless link. See
“Sharing a Cellular Connection”.

Dial-up modems. It’s true: Some people still connect to the

internet using a modem that dials out over ordinary phone lines.
They get cheap service but slow connections, and their numbers

are shrinking. High-speed internet is where it’s at, baby!