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General
Information About Wireless Access
The Loyola Notre Dame Library is now a Wi-Fi hot-spot. Most public
locations in the library are Wi-Fi accessible on all four floors.
Laptops equipped with Wi-Fi cards (PC or Mac) can now take advantage
of wireless Internet access for Web and e-mail usage.
Wi-Fi wireless networks use radio waves to
communicate. Wireless computers must be equipped with radio transmitter/receivers
(Wi-Fi cards) to take advantage of the service. Wireless computers
require central hubs to communicate with. These hubs are called
Access Points. Laptops (through a log-on routine) make themselves
known to the Access Points and through them communicate to the
wireless network.
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Using Your Own
Laptop With a Wireless Card
No real configuration should need to be done.
If you're in an area of the library where there is signal, the
wireless adapter in your laptop should pick up the existence of
the wireless LAN. You may be able to access the Internet directly, or
your screen may display a popup in the system tray stating something similar to
"One or more wireless networks have been detected.
Click here to configure."
Click on the balloon, and it should show you a
network option. There may be a check box that says "Allow me
to connect to this network even though it is not secure."
Check this box if it is not checked already, and click on the
Connect button.
Your laptop should automatically get an IP address from
Loyola's server. To check this, try accessing a webpage.
If you are able to get to the Internet, you should be
all set. If not, you may be able to manually pick a
network by clicking on the network icon on your desktop
( ) and choosing either
GatorNet, HoundNet, or LNDL_Guest (if one doesn't work, try another).
If none of these work, there is most likely a hardware incompatibility between
your wireless adapter and the wireless transmitter/receiver
used by Loyola. If there is a problem, please
contact the company that manufactured your adapter,
or your computer company; the library will not offer
support for machines it does not own.
If you have problems getting your laptop to access our wireless
network, you are welcome to use one of the library's public computers.
Current Loyola and Notre Dame students with valid ID have the
added option of checking out one of the laptop computers available in
Media Services.
Please make
sure you scan your laptop regularly for viruses. If the network
scanners discover a laptop that is infected, you may be denied
access to the wireless network. For additional
resources, click on one of the links below (links will open in
a separate window):
On-Campus Help
Anti-Virus Software
(purchase may be required)
- Symantec
Corporation (http://www.symantec.com)
Commercial site where
you can purchase anti-virus software, or get virus alerts.
- McAfee
Security (http://us.mcafee.com)
This is also a commercial site with virus alerts, but
McAfee also has some free utilities and beta software available
for download.
- Stinger
(http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger)
This is a free stand-alone utility that detects and
removes specific viruses. It should be used
in conjuction with a program that offers full anti-virus protection.
For Virus Alerts
- AVERT
Virus Alerts (http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/alert.htm)
This free virus alert page is maintained by Network
Associates, McAfee's parent company.
- Symantec
Security Response (http://securityresponse.symantec.com)
Symantec's free virus alert page.
- CERT
Coordination Center (http://www.cert.org)
The Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) is a government
agency responsible for "protecting our nation's Internet
infrastructure by coordinating defense against and response
to cyber attacks." This site, maintained by the Software
Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University, contains
information on all kinds of system vulnerabilities (including
viruses), and offers advice on how to fix or avoid them.
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Laptop
Usage
We are also pleased to offer current students at
Loyola and Notre Dame with valid ID's a small number of
laptop computers for checkout in Media Services. The checkout procedure
will entail photocopying the student's ID and signing a contract
to return equipment the same day of loan.
1. The laptops are wireless
(Wi-Fi enabled).
2. The operating system is Windows XP. Allow it to boot-up.
3. There is no need to log-on. Each public area in the library
is Wi-Fi accessible, but if you lose signal just move to a different
location.
4. Do not save files on the laptop – use an external
USB (“thumb”) drive or save files to the desktop and
email them as attachments.
5. Shutting down the unit restores it to its original configuration
– and erases any saved files.
Be aware of power usage.
The laptops can run for several hours fully charged, but it is
safer to use the AC adapter/recharger whenever possible.
If you have questions concerning
the checkout or use of the laptops, please call Media Services
at 410-617-6803.
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