In response to the increasing demand of accessing the Wireless LAN (WLAN) with various devices such as pocket PC and Palm, the Computing Services Centre (CSC) has upgraded the WLAN authentication system to adopt more generic authenticate methods such as using a Web browser for user validation. Unlike the old system that requires special authentication software installed in the client side, the new system utilizes built-in features of most modern operating systems to logon and no additional software is required.

Client side setup for the new system

Client side setup for making a wireless connection with the new system is simple and easy. Make sure that your IEEE802.11b compatible WLAN card is registered and its driver properly installed. To establish a WLAN connection, just bring up your favourite Web browser and visit any Web page. If you are not yet authenticated, the new system will take you to the log-on page. Enter your Network Connection Account ID to log on. Upon successful log-on, you will be automatically redirected to the Web page previously entered and you can now access the Internet.

You can visit the WLAN home page at http://www.ncm2.xyz/csc/deptweb/facilities/ctnet/wlan/wlanmain.htm for more information.

Removing the old client side setup

The old authentication software (Authenticated VLANs Client) will no longer be used after the upgrade. If your notebook had it already installed, you can remove it from the "Add/remove Programs" under the control panel to prevent it from popping up every time you boot up your notebook computer.

More features

Besides supporting more authentication methods, the new system also provides more advanced features than that of the old system: