This guide assumes you are using Mac OS X Laptop and that you are using an
Apple AirPort card. This configuration setup may work with other cards
installed on your OS X system.
The first step you will need to take is to update your AirPort software to
the latest versions. You can start by downloading one of these two
packages and installing, depending on which version of OS X you run. These
will allow your AirPort card to be upgraded to use 128-Bit Encryption.
After installing the upgrade, you need to configure the settings for the
wireless card. To start open the System Preferences which will bring
up a window like this.
Click on the picture of the globe that says Network either at the top or
in the middle. This will bring up a window that looks like this.
Now lets add a location to the network preferences. Start by clicking
the drop down menu for location and select New Location. This will
bring up a window like this.
Create a name for this location, In the example I used "Wireless @ Jlab".
You can use what ever you want for a name. Click Ok to proceed.
Next click on the drop down menu for Show and select AirPort. This
will bind the wireless card to these settings when you select the wireless
location. After you do that, you should click on the tab titled AirPort.
This will take you to the network settings for the card.
First thing you want to do is click on "Join a specific network: " and
un check the box that says "Allow this computer to create networks". In
the field labeled Network, type in jlab (all lower case). This is also
called the ESSID for the network. For password, do not use your standard
CUE/Unix password. By Password they mean the WEP Encryption settings
for the network. If you have not obtained a WEP Key, you can access
that HERE
. If you logged in successfully it will give you a 13 character key
that you will use in the Password field above. When you have completed
all the steps click on Apply Now. By not applying the settings you
will loose everything. If everything goes well you will see the AirPort
status icon in the upper right hand side filled in like so.
If your icon is grayed out, you either entered the WEP key wrong, are not
in a wireless area, or you may just need to select which wireless location
you want to use. You can click on the icon in the upper right hand
side and a pop down menu will appear, make sure the wireless location you
just created for jlab is selected.
