Connecting to Secure Wireless Network Connections with Windows 7

Filed Under (Tips & Tricks) by admin on 12-04-2010

Depending on where your travels take you, access to wireless networks can be more or less secure. The last secure wireless network I connected to was password protected with 802.1x PEAP. The wireless network help desk has printed instructions for connecting your XP or Vista laptop, but no instructions for Windows 7. Each operating system has slightly different configuration screens, so I used a combination of the instructions and screenshots from both operating systems to give me the details I needed to get connected.

Interestingly, the Windows Vista instructions implied a much faster process where the user is prompted to trust the server certificate and the PEAP and MSCHAP v2 settings do not need to be manually configured. I’ve never run Windows Vista on a laptop, so I can’t confirm or deny the need to configure those items. In Windows XP and Windows 7, however, you have to make sure that the root certificate is trusted and other settings are configured before attempting to connect.

Below is an example of the secure network settings provided and where to plug in that information in Windows 7. Settings may vary depending on the requirements of other secure networks you encounter.

Setting Information
- SSID: secure2010
- Network Authentication: WPA2 or WPA (enterprise)
- Data Encryption: AES or TKIP
- EAP type: PEAP
- Validate server certificate: ms1.showfloor.net
- Certification Authority: Thawte Premium Server CA
- PEAP authentication method: MSCHAP v2
- MSCHAP properties: Do not use Windows logon
- Enable Fast Reconnect: No

Step By Step

1 – Open the Network and Sharing Center.
2 – Set up a connection to a new network (manually create a network).

3 – After the network connect is created, go to its properties. On the Security tab, click the settings for PEAP.

4 – Check “connect to this server” and add the server name to validate the server certificate.
5 – Check the appropriate trusted root CA.

6 – Disable Fast Reconnect.

7 – Click the “configure” button for MSCHAP and unselect the option to use the Windows logon.

When you connect to the network you’ll be prompted for the username and password. Once entered, your connection will authenticate and you’ll be on your way.

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Comments:

12 Responses to “Connecting to Secure Wireless Network Connections with Windows 7”

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4. Richard O on 4 Jul 2010 at 3:29 pm #
   
   

   The current settings for windows makes it very difficult when you change your wireless password your old passowrd is still cached this makes it very difficult. Your software has gone backwards because it was easier to remove an old wireless connection.

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