Opening the Network Connections Window

You do most of your work in this tutorial in Windows 7's Network Connections window, and Windows 7 gives you two main ways to access this window:

• In the Network and Sharing Center, click the Change Adapter Settings link in the Tasks list.
• Select Start, type connections, and then click View Network Connections.

If you've previously created a direct broadband Internet connection, a dial-up Internet connection, or a connection to a VPN, you see icons for each connection. However, you always one or both of the following two types of icons:

• Wired-These Ethernet connections take the default name Local Area Connection, and you can recognize them by the RJ-45 jack shown with the icon. If you have more than one Ethernet NIC installed in your computer, you see a wired connection icon for each one (with subsequent connections named Local Area Connection 2, and so on).
• Wireless-These connections take the default name Wireless Network Connection, and you can recognize them by the green signal bars shown with the icon.

When you're in the default Tiles view, both wired and wireless icons show the name of the network to which they're connected (or the icon shows Disconnected if no current connection is present) and the name of the NIC through which each connection is made. (Details view shows you more data, such as the current connectivity setting-such as Access to Local Only or Access to Local and Internet-and the network category.) If the network connection currently has a problem, you see a red X added to the icon and the connection's Status field may display an error message (such as Network cable unplugged).