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Configure Windows XP (Professional or Home) to connect to "PSU Secure" wireless network

Description:

This article describes how to configure the Microsoft Windows XP operating system to connect to the secure wireless network available on the PSU campus. For more information and directions for other operating systems and devices, please see this article. For more information about the benefits of this network, please see the Additional Information section of this article.

Requirements:

  • Windows-based PC running Windows XP (Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later installed).
  • A wireless adapter capable of WPA encryption. See the troubleshooting section for more information on possible errors and how to check compatibility.
  • Access to the PSU wireless networks (i.e. you need to be on campus)
  • A PSU computer account:
    • Odin account - the primary student, faculty or staff computer accounts used on campus.
    • Sponsored account - for long-term guests, lecturers, contractors, etc to offer temporary access to PSU computing resources.
    • Guest wireless account - a short-term, wireless-access only account.

Steps:

  1. Locate the wireless status icon in the System Tray in the lower right corner of the screen and right-click on it. From the context menu that appears, choose View Available Wireless Networks.
    Wireless System Tray icon
  2. Remove any PSU networks you have associated to previously. To do this:
    1. Click Change the order of preferred networks on the left side of the Wireless Network Connection window.
      List of available wireless networks
    2. Click on any PSU Wireless network (including PSU Secure if you are trying to set this up again or are having problems) and click the Remove button. Continue until there are no PSU networks listed (you will want to leave any other networks you use, such as your home or favorite coffee shop).
      Removing PSU wireless networks from the Preferred network list
    3. Click the OK button and it will close this window.
  3. Again, right-click on the wireless status icon in the System Tray and choose View Available Wireless Networks.
    Wireless System Tray icon
  4. Click on PSU Secure. Once the appropriate network is highlighted, click the Connect button.
    Choosing the PSU Secure wireless network for the first time
  5. Your computer will now attempt to connect to the secure wireless connection but it will be unable to, this is normal on the first attempt. After the connecting window goes away a "bubble" message will appear on the bottom right corner of your screen indicating a problem; again, this is normal (see images below).
    Attemping to connect to the network for the first time
    First attempt fails and prompts with notification bubble
  6. Modify authentication settings:
    1. Click "Change the order of preferred networks" on the left side of the Wireless Network Connection window.
      Back to the list of available wireless networks
    2. In the properties window that comes up, click on PSU Secure and then on the Properties button.
      Wireless Network Connection Properties window
    3. In the next window that comes up, make sure the Network Authentication field is set to "WPA2" if available, otherwise choose "WPA." The Data Encryption field should be set to "AES" if available or "TKIS" otherwise.
      Check primary authentication types which should already be defaulted correctly.

    7. NOTE: if neither "WPA" option is available, your wireless card is not capable of properly authenticating to this network. You may wish to try updating your wireless cards driver and/or firmware to see if the device manufacturer added the functionality after you purchased the device. For instructions or assitance on this you will need to contact the device manufacturer or refer to your device documentation.

    1. Click on the Authentication tab at the top. Change the selection in the EAP type field to "Protected EAP (PEAP)". Make sure the box that reads "Authenticate as computer when computer information is available" is UNCHECKED. When done, your window should look like the image below.
      Configuring Authentication settings
    2. Click the Properties button and the Protected EAP Properties window will appear. Make sure the Validate server certificate box is checked and the field under Select Authentication Method: is set to "Secured password (EAP-MSCHAP v2)." These are both the default settings and should not require change.Configuring EAP properties
    3. Click the Configure button and the EAP MSCHAPv2 Properties window will appear. Uncheck the box in this window that reads Automatically use my Windows Logon name and password (and domain if any).
      Configuring MSCHAP properties
    4. Click OK on the EAP MSCHAPv2 Properties window. Click OK on Protected EAP Properties window. Click OK on the PSU Secure properties window. You should now be either at the desktop or any window you had open previous to starting these directions.

NOTE: During this process you will have likely seen a "bubble" message in the lower-right indicating a problem (see image below).
Notification bubble indicating problem before Authentication setting are configured
A few seconds after exiting the previous menus, that "bubble" message will now change to a new message. There are two different bubble messages that may appear, just complete all sub-parts of the next step regardless of the order in which they appear.

  1. Provide Odin login credentials and accept certificate:
    1. Click on the "bubble" message that says "Wireless Network Connection: Click here to process your logon information for the network PSU Secure" and a logon window will appear.
      Notification bubble requesting logon information
    2. Type in your Odin account name and password, leaving the Logon Domain: field blank.
      Logon window, enter Odin credentials
    3. Click on the "bubble" message that says "Wireless Network Connection: Click here to select a certificate or other credentials for connection to the network PSU Secure" and the Validate Server Certificate window will appear.
      Notification bubble requesting certificate verification
    4. Click the OK button to accept the certificate.
      Certificate window, hit OK to accept
  2. Your computer will now combine this certificate and your Odin login information to authenticate with the network. This can take anywhere from 5-45 seconds after which time the "bubble" message will change to read Wireless Network Connection is now connected.
    Notification bubble indicating successful connection and wireless statusYou will now be able to browse the internet, check mail, or do anything you normally would on the 'PSU' (previously PSU General Access) wireless network.

 

Troubleshooting:

  • What if the directions shown are a completely different set of menus than I have available and the icon in the System Tray is also different?
    Many computer manufacturers create their own wireless networking software and install it on their machines. The directions shown are for the built-in Windows wireless utility that is the preferred method of connecting. Since there are so many different, manufacturer-specific wireless interfaces, we do not provide support for any other utilities except the standard Windows interface. Generally there is a way to switch which interface is shown and the most common approach to enable the Windows wireless network connection utility is detailed in this article.

    NOTE: Most third party wireless utilities should support the PSU Secure network configuration detailed in this article, however, User Support Services will not support these utilities. If you want assistance connecting to the PSU Secure wireless network you must be using the Microsoft provided, Windows-based configuration utility.

  • I am unable to join the wireless network and either receive an error message or the Wireless Network Connections window crashes when attempting to join the PSU Secure network. Other PSU networks seems to work properly.
    This is most likely because your wireless network adapter in your computer is too old to properly authenticate to the PSU Secure wireless network. The driver for your wireless adapter will tell Windows what it can and can not do and you can check this by following the directions in this article.

    • NOTE: A common Windows error encountered when trying to connect with an incompatible wireless card is shown below.
    Common message recieved when using an incompatible card. See how incoherent and not related the message is?

    The inability to connect to PSU Secure does not mean you can not use your wireless device to connect to the internet. You will want to reference the directions for connecting to the PSU network. These are not encrypted but provide the same level of internet connectivity.

  • If you experience problems where you are unable to join the network, or it repeatedly pops up the "bubble" messages for the logon information and/or the certificate (as in steps 8a through 8d above) then the logon information is likely corrupt and you will need to remove it and reconfigure once again. To do this, simply repeat the main directions under the "Steps" section above, but at Step 2 (a-c) be sure to remove PSU Secure from the list. Removing this from the Preferred Networks list will remove both your Odin credentials and the certificate you accepted previously. Continue through all the steps to completely reset your connection settings.

Additional Information:

  • What is the difference between our secure wireless networks and the PSU General Access/PSU Faculty and Staff wireless networks?
    The difference between a secure and non-secure wireless network is that a secure wireless network will encrypt the internet traffic from your computer to the wireless access point so that no one in your local vicinity can snoop your data as it travels in the air. NOTE: Once this traffic goes past the access point and onto the internet, it will travel without encryption. The exception to this transmission security is websites that use their own encryption (SSL). Any website you visit that requires a username and password or is used for purchasing via a credit card should be encrypted and your information is considered "secure". All transmissions between a website using SSL (web address starts with "httpS", not "http") and your computer will remain encrypted for the duration of its transmission across the campus network and the Internet.
  • Configuring this network will store your Odin credentials on your Windows computer in a secure manner. However, anyone who uses your computer to access the PSU network–and hence the internet (from campus)–will be authenticated as you. If you or someone else using your computer does something illegal or against the PSU Acceptable Use Policy while authenticated under your credentials, our records will only show the Odin account used in the steps above as the perpetrator. You are ultimately responsible for what happens on the connection from your machine to the PSU network. Please see the PSU Acceptable Use Policy for more information.
  • Both versions (PSU Secure and PSU Secure Facstaff) of the "Secure" networks use 802.1x-based authentication and encryption techniques. Specifically, these networks authenticate using PEAP and encrypt your communications using WPA2 Enterprise (by default). The network is configured with all available WPA profiles as to support as wide-a-range of wireless devices as possible while maintaining a reasonable level of security (other technologies like WEP are too-easily compromised).

Further Assistance:

If you are unable to get this to work properly we highly recommend that you bring the computer to the Help Desk in Smith Memorial Student Union Room 18 so that a technician can troubleshoot with the computer in front of them. You can also call the Help Desk at 503.725.HELP or email help@pdx.edu for answers to general questions about the network, its operation and use.

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