Translations by Pavel Borecki

Once you have successfully established a wireless network connection, Ubuntu will store these settings (including the network password) in order to make it easier to connect to the same wireless network in future. You may also be prompted to select a \emph{keyring} password here. The keyring stores network and other important passwords in the one place, so you can access them all in future by just remembering your keyring password.

Connecting to a saved wireless network

If you have previously successfully established a wireless connection, that connection's password will be saved on your computer. This will allow you to connect to the same network without having to re-enter the password.

Connecting to a hidden wireless network

In some circumstances, you may need to connect to a hidden wireless network. These hidden networks do not broadcast their names, which means that they will not show up in the list of wireless networks in the NetworkManager menu. In order to be able to connect to a hidden network, you will need to get its name and security settings from your network administrator.

To connect to a hidden network:

Click on the NetworkManager icon in the top panel.

By default, the \textfield{Connection} field should show ``New\ldots'' \dash you can leave this unchanged.

In the \dropdown{Wireless security} field, select one of the options. If the network is open, leave this field as ``None.'' If you do not know the correct setting for the network you will not be able to connect to the hidden network.

Click on the \button{Connect} button.

The rest of the process should work exactly as in the section on the initial connection to wireless networks. Once set up according to the instructions above, the hidden network should show up in the list of saved networks.

Disabling and enabling your wireless network card

Changing an existing wireless network

At times, you may want to change the settings for a wireless connection that you have previously saved. Its password may have changed, or your system administrator asked you to change some networking or security settings.

To edit a saved wireless network connection:

By default, this list shows connections in the order of most recently used to least recently used. Find the connection you want to edit, click on it, and then click \button{Edit}.

Ubuntu should open a window called \window{Editing \variable{connection name}}, where \variable{connection name} is the name of the connection you are editing. The window should display a number of tabs.

If the \checkbox{Connect automatically} option is not selected, Ubuntu will detect the wireless network but will not automatically connect to it without you choosing it from the NetworkManager menu. Select or deselect this setting as needed.

Below the \acronym{SSID}, you should see the \textfield{Mode} field. The ``Infrastructure'' mode means that you would be connecting to a wireless router or access point. This is the most common mode for wireless networks. The ``Ad-hoc'' mode is a computer-to-computer mode and is often only used in advanced cases.

If your network administrator requires \acronym{LEAP}, Dynamic \acronym{WEP}, or \acronym{WPA} \& \acronym{WPA2} Enterprise security, you will need to have the administrator help you set up those security modes.

When you finish making changes to the connection, click \button{Apply} to save your changes and close the window. You can click \button{Cancel} to close the window without making changes.

Finally, click \button{Close} on the \window{Network Connections} window to return to the desktop.

After making changes, your new settings should go into effect immediately.

Other connection methods

There are other ways to get connected with Ubuntu.

With NetworkManager, you can also configure Mobile Broadband connections to keep online through your cellular or other mobile data carrier.

You can also connect to \acronym{DSL}s (Digital Subscriber Lines), which are a method of Internet connection that uses your telephone lines and a ``\acronym{DSL} modem.''

Browsing the web

Starting Firefox

Navigating web pages

Viewing your homepage

When you start Firefox, you will see your home page. By default, you will see the Ubuntu Start Page.

To go to your home page quickly, press \keystroke{Alt+Home}.

Navigating to another page

To navigate:

Click on the Location Bar to select the \acronym{URL} that is already there.

Press \keystroke{Enter}.

To quickly select the \acronym{URL} of the Location Bar, press \keystroke{Ctrl+L}.

If you don't know a \acronym{URL}, try typing something specific to the page you want to visit (for example a name or other search request) into the Location Bar and press \keystroke{Enter}. This will search your preferred search engine\dash Google by default\dash for that term, and take you to the web page that is the top result from the search.

Clicking a link

Most web pages contain links you can click to move to other pages.

To click a link:

Move the mouse pointer until it changes to a pointing finger. This happens whenever the pointer is over a link. Most links are underlined text, but buttons and pictures on a web page can also be links.

Click on the link once. While Firefox locates the link's page, status messages will appear at the bottom of the window.

Retracing your steps

To choose from pages you've visited during the current session, open the \menu{History} menu and choose from the list in the bottom section of the menu.