Computer wifi question

When I click on the wifi icon in the task bar it shows my belkin router at the top ... but then there are all these
other connections showing. If I open one of them it has a check mark in "connect auto".

I set only my top belkin connection to "connect auto", but the others reset themselves.

Sometimes one will actually close and a new one will pop up.

Appreciate any one shedding some light for me on what's going on with this.

It is just your neighbours wifi showing up when your system does a scan. I assume that they are all password protected so you won't actually be able to connect to any of them.

As for the auto connect tick box that is just there for networks that you use a lot. If you take your laptop to the coffee shop or a friends and then bring it back home you probably won't want to keep having to typing in your password to log on to your home wifi. So you tick that box and the laptop remembers your password and auto connects next time it sees that network.

Dan Marchant wrote in post #18253368
It is just your neighbours wifi showing up when your system does a scan. I assume that they are all password protected so you won't actually be able to connect to any of them.

As for the auto connect tick box that is just there for networks that you use a lot. If you take your laptop to the coffee shop or a friends and then bring it back home you probably won't want to keep having to typing in your password to log on to your home wifi. So you tick that box and the laptop remembers your password and auto connects next time it sees that network.

At first I thought they were all connected to my system.

Thanks, have a better understanding now.

With a laptop as well as having my home network auto connect I also usually set it up so that it auto connects to any place that I am likely to want to use more than once. That way all you have to do is fire up the computer in that location, and you are connected to the web. I do the same with the WiFi on my phone. That will also mean that you will see those networks listed, but with a message that says the network is out of range, depending on your location of course.

Alan

Yep same. My laptop logs on automatically when I take it to the office and my phone logs on at the office and any local restaurants/bars.

Thanks guys.

I would put a password, even a simple one, on your guest network. Otherwise anybody has access to that network and therefore your network connection and bandwidth. That guest network should be isolated from your main network so guests (or anyone on it) don't have access to your local network, but its a good idea to protect it.

'Guest' networks come preset with a password protection on a Belkin router.

Thanks for the replys.