Whenever you connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot the Wireless Zero Configuration Utility incorporated into Windows XP configures itself to make an automatic connection to any and all networks broadcasting the same SSID. That's not a good thing. Bad, nasty, gnarly people could be operating an "Evil Twin" rogue network using the SSID that your laptop will, because of the WZC configuration, connect to automatically.
Blocking Automatic Wi-Fi Connections
You don't want your computer making decisions for you. There's a whole host of sci-fi movies out there in which the primary plot lines have something to do with the machines taking over. I don't want that to happen. I'm not just a paranoid control freak but I insist on the right to tell my computer what I want it to do. I want to decide when I will and will not let it make some simple decisions on its own. For example, I'll let it download and even install Operating System and Anti-virus updates automatically. No problem. But I'm not going to let it decide which networks we're going to connect to until I've made my own inspection of the SSID list.
Here's how you can configure the WZC to ask before connnecting:
- Choose Start => Control Panel => Network and Internet Connections => Network Connections. The Network Connections window now opens.
- Right-click your connection and then click Properties.
The Wireless Network Connection Properties dialog box now opens.
- Click the Wireless Networks tab.
- Click to highlight the network you wish to configure and then click the Propertiesbutton.
The Properties dialog box for the selected network now opens.
- Click the Connection tab.
- Clear the Connect When This Network is in Range check mark.
- Click OK in the open dialog boxes to close them and establish the configuration.
